Exploring Reality: The Intertwining of Science and Religion [Hardcover]

John Polkinghorne is one of the most gifted and eloquent writers in the science-and-theology field, and this is by far the best introduction to his thought in general. Though much of it is familiar from previous works, here he weaves together a consistent, spiritually and intellectually satisfying approach to reality as a whole. It touches on all the bases, including the challenge of evolution, the historicity of Jesus' life and resurrection, theology, the problem of evil, God's action, etc. Polkinghorne carefully balances his commitment to orthodox Christian belief (esp. the literal resurrection of Jesus) with the need to revisit articles of faith in light of new knowledge (such as belief in an immortal soul). The chapter on human nature is especially illuminating, while the 'concluding unscientific postscript' is a delightful romp in metaphysical speculation. The second chapter is perhaps the weakest, in which Polkinghorne tries once more to flesh out his approach to divine action through quantum mechanics and chaos theory, which I find less than convincing. It is best, I think to let divine action be divine action, the one blazing, invisible mystery like the sun through which we see and understand everything else. In any case, the book as a whole is a delight, combining rigorous scholarship with earnest faith seeking understanding. A must read.

I've read several of Polkinghorne's books and I don't think that this one is particularly outstanding. But he doesn't avoid the topic's toughest problems, in fact he has sought them out and proceeds to make most of his points cleanly; so it's not a bad book either.

Polkinghorne should be no stranger to those interested in the interface of science and religion. [For the reader who is unfamiliar with him] he is a Cambridge quantum physicist turned Anglican cleric and has published extensively on issues of interest in both theoretical physics and theology. These are his topics again, with a chapter on ethics as well. . .

"It has turned out that it is our mathematical abilities that have furnished the key to unlock deep secrets of the physical universe. Once more one encounters a mystery impenetrable to conventional evolutionary thinking. Survival needs would seem to require no more than a little arithmetic, some elementary Euclidean geometry, and the ability to make certain kinds of simple logical association. Whence then comes the human ability to explore non-commutative algebras, prove Format's Last Theorem, and discover the Mandelbrot set? These rational feats go far beyond anything susceptible to Darwinian explanation. p52

"Sociobiology seeks to explain human ethical intuitions in terms of inherited patterns of behaviour favouring the propagation of at least some of an individual's genes. Once again, one may acknowledge a source of partial insight. No doubt ideas of kin altruism (the mutual support extended between those who share in the family gene pool) and reciprocal altruism (favours done in the expectation of favours later to be received) shed some Darwinian light on aspects of human behaviour. Games theoretic models of behavioural strategies that optimise probable returns in given circumstances--such as 'tit for tat': respond in the same manner that your opponent has displayed to you--give some insight into the nature of prudent decision making. But sociobiology tells too banal a story to be able to account for radical altruism, the ethical imperative that leads a person to risk their own life in the attempt to save an unknown and unrelated stranger from the danger of death. Love of that incalculable kind eludes Darwinian explanation. Equally elusive to evolutionary explanation are many human aesthetic experiences. What survival value has Mozart's music given us, however profoundly it enriches our lives in other ways?

"The proper response to all this is not to adopt a Procrustean technique of chopping down the range of human experience until it fits into a narrow Darwinian bed, nor is it to abandon evolutionary thinking altogether. Rather, it is to release that thinking from the poverty of its neo-Darwinian captivity."

This may not be Polkinghorne's finest volume, but it has its moments of great saliency and discernment and I do recommend it.

Reality: is anyone as well equipped to tackle such an all-'encompassing subject as John Polkinghorne? Following a 25 year run as an accomplished particle physicist, Polkinghorne studied theology and became a priest in the Church of England. A result of this somewhat unique bi-vocational career is that Polkinghorne has become perhaps the most prolific writer on the intersection of faith and science. In Exploring Reality, Polkinghorne alternates between physical and metaphysical approaches to his subject matter. In this interweaving of hard science with the "softer" realms of theology, Polkinghorne has given us an engaging introduction to his view of reality.'' Regular readers of Polkinghorne will find familiar discussions of subjects like quantum mechanics, relativity, evolution, and how these speak to questions of ultimate reality. For me, however, the value of the book was in Polkinghorne's forays into such subjects as the Trinity, evil, the historical Jesus and the nature of time.''

In the chapter titled "Evil", Polkinghorne summarizes his "free process theology" approach to the problem of evil (page 144): "A theologian would say that what is involved in the occurring costliness of creation is the divine permissive will, allowing creatures to behave in accordance with their natures. Bringing the world into being was a kenotic act of self-limitation on the Creator's part, so that not all that happens does so under tight divine control. The gift of Love in allowing the genuinely other to be is necessarily a precarious gift. I believe that God wills neither the act of a murderer nor the incidence of an earthquake, but both are allowed to happen in a creation given its creaturely freedom."

A central theme in Polkinghorne's thinking about evil and suffering is found in the concluding paragraph of the chapter: God himself enters into the suffering of this cosmos (page 146): "The Christian God is the crucified God, not a compassionate spectator from the outside, but truly a fellow sufferer who understands creatures' pain from the inside."

By far my favorite chapter, "The Nature of Time: Unfolding Story" outlines Polkinghorne's understanding of the dimension of time. He notes with apparent approval that openness is becoming increasingly accepted. Polkinghorne's makes clear his "openness" to openness (page 119): "It would be no defect in the divine perfection not to know the details of the future if that future is not yet in existence and available to be known."

Open Theism is a subject of interest to me, so I was very interested in Polkinghorne's stated position. Other topics under the general subject of time include progressive revelation (which Polkinghorne sees as continuing to the present), the relationship of entropy to the resurrected body of Christ, and time's continuance in the new creation. Polkinghorne departs from conventional evangelical theology when he declares on page 125, "The life of the new creation will be a temporal life, lived within the unfolding `time' of that world to come, whose everlasting nature is the true meaning of the fullness of times."

In short, Polkinghorne questions the common thinking that "eternity" is outside the bounds of time, and that God lives outside of time. Since I have long been asking the same questions, it was gratifying to read Polkinghorne's thoughtful comments about time.

An elementary understanding of science is helpful in reading Polkinghorne. However, this book is a collection of free-standing essays. And the chapters on theology can be read on their own. For those who are inclined to think outside the box, I recommend this selection.