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John C. Polkinghorne, internationally renowned priest-scientist, addresses fundamental questions about how scientific and theological worldviews relate to each other in this, the second volume (originally published in 1988) of his trilogy, which, also, included "Science and Providence" and "One World". Dr. Polkinghorne illustrates how a scientifically minded person approaches the task of theological inquiry, postulating that there exists a close analogy between theory and experiment in science and belief and understanding in theology. He offers a fresh perspective on such questions as: Are we witnessing today a revival a natural theology - the search for God through the exercise of reason and the study of nature? How do the insights of modern physics into the interlacing of order and disorder relate to the Christian doctrine of Creation? What is the relationship between mind and matter? Polkinghorne states that the "Remarkable insights that science affords us into the intelligible workings of the world cry out for an explanation more profound than that which it itself can provide.Religion, if it is to take seriously its claim that the world is the creation of God, must be humble enough to learn from science what that world is actually like. The dialogue between them can only be mutually enriching." This work was originally published by SPCK.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Science and Creation: The search for understanding, by John Polkinghorne, SPCK, 1988, 128 ff.
The compatibility of science and religion, 2
By Howard Jones
This volume, the second of a trilogy, begins where its predecessor, One World, left off - with natural theology. The author was formerly a professor of theoretical physics at Cambridge University but, since 1982, has been an Anglican priest. John Polkinghorne, KBE, FRS, admits quite honestly `I certainly cannot pretend to write as a professional theologian, but only as a scientist deeply interested in the understanding of religion.' As a scientist of considerably lower stature myself but also with an interest and some training in philosophy, to this extent I share a background with the author. The author says that `Theology cannot just be left to the theologians' because too often they ignore totally the findings of science and write as if their scriptures presented truth about the natural world. The remainder of this short book suggests how science can be used to provide evidence for the existence of the God of western religion.
Chapter 2, Insightful Inquiry, suggests how science and theology share the common objective
of gaining `a coherent and satisfying understanding of the world in which we live.' Polkinghorne suggests that the anthropic principle, as well as the fortuitous values of the natural constants in the universe pointed out by Paul Davies, form part of the evidence of a beneficent God. Chapter 3 on Order and Disorder expands on this theme. Rather than the meaningless interpretation of Nature given by Jacques Monod's "Chance and Necessity", Polkinghorne says that the potentiality inherent in the properties of matter `is so remarkable as to constitute an insight of design present in the structure of the world.'
Chapter 4 on Creation and Creator takes us back to theology and Genesis. Refreshingly, in Chapter 5 on The Nature of Reality Polkinghorne adopts the stance that his interpretation of the world as a physicist and as a priest must be consistent. So many religious fundamentalists are happy to use their cars and telephones and undergo surgery, trusting in the validity of science and technology, but insist on rejecting scientific criticism of the Genesis story of Creation. Chapter 6 on Theological Science is an excellent discussion of the consistencies and conflicts between science and theology.
This is a good introduction to the science and religion debate. It concludes with several pages of reference Notes, a Bibliography of further reading, and an Index.
Dr Howard A. Jones is the author of The Thoughtful Guide to God (2006) and The Tao of Holism (2008), both published by O Books of Winchester, UK
One World: Interaction of Science and Theology
Science and Providence: God's Interaction with the World
The compatibility of science and religion, 2
By Howard Jones
This volume, the second of a trilogy, begins where its predecessor, One World, left off - with natural theology. The author was formerly a professor of theoretical physics at Cambridge University but, since 1982, has been an Anglican priest. John Polkinghorne, KBE, FRS, admits quite honestly `I certainly cannot pretend to write as a professional theologian, but only as a scientist deeply interested in the understanding of religion.' As a scientist of considerably lower stature myself but also with an interest and some training in philosophy, to this extent I share a background with the author. The author says that `Theology cannot just be left to the theologians' because too often they ignore totally the findings of science and write as if their scriptures presented truth about the natural world. The remainder of this short book suggests how science can be used to provide evidence for the existence of the God of western religion.
Chapter 2, Insightful Inquiry, suggests how science and theology share the common objective
of gaining `a coherent and satisfying understanding of the world in which we live.' Polkinghorne suggests that the anthropic principle, as well as the fortuitous values of the natural constants in the universe pointed out by Paul Davies, form part of the evidence of a beneficent God. Chapter 3 on Order and Disorder expands on this theme. Rather than the meaningless interpretation of Nature given by Jacques Monod's "Chance and Necessity", Polkinghorne says that the potentiality inherent in the properties of matter `is so remarkable as to constitute an insight of design present in the structure of the world.'
Chapter 4 on Creation and Creator takes us back to theology and Genesis. Refreshingly, in Chapter 5 on The Nature of Reality Polkinghorne adopts the stance that his interpretation of the world as a physicist and as a priest must be consistent. So many religious fundamentalists are happy to use their cars and telephones and undergo surgery, trusting in the validity of science and technology, but insist on rejecting scientific criticism of the Genesis story of Creation. Chapter 6 on Theological Science is an excellent discussion of the consistencies and conflicts between science and theology.
This is a good introduction to the science and religion debate. It concludes with several pages of reference Notes, a Bibliography of further reading, and an Index.
Dr Howard A. Jones is the author of The Thoughtful Guide to God (2006) and The Tao of Holism (2008), both published by O Books of Winchester, UK
One World: Interaction of Science and Theology
Science and Providence: God's Interaction with the World
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
1 review
4 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Science and Creation - The Search for Truth
26 Dec 2007
Format:Paperback
Polkinghorne talks about the theological and scientific paradigms by asking some very fundamental questions about how they relate to one another. Some of the questions he poses include what is the relationship between matter and mind, a subject I find extremely fascinating. How are the realms of "becoming" as we experience it and the world of "being" as he believes the way the world of physics describes it relate to God's involvement and the physical universe. How do the supposed insights of what he believes modern physics and the intertwining of order and disorder relate to the Christian doctrine of creation? These are some of the questions he asks and attempts to answer in this book. Notes at the end of the book, a bibliography and a subject index are most helpful.
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