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Science states that the universe will end in cosmic collapse. If so, can there be credible hope of a personal existence after death? In answering this, this work draws on science, culture, scripture and theology to consider what might be the grounds for hope in a destiny beyond death.
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As a prologue to our theological consideration of eschatology, we shall see what resources are available to us from culture in general and from science in particular. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
As a prologue to our theological consideration of eschatology, we shall see what resources are available to us from culture in general and from science in particular. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Having recently finished Greer's "The Long Descent", Catton's "Overshoot" and Hamilton's "Requiem for a Species", I bought this book in the hope that it might provide some kind of Christian perspective on the catastrophe that seems likely to overtake us some time this century as a result of climate change, resource exhaustion and overpopulation. No such luck. Despite the book being less than ten years old, climate change is not even mentioned; instead, the sections on "threats" and "catastrophes" concentrate mostly on asteroid impacts, supernova explosions and the sun frying the earth in five billion years time, none of which have ever caused me to lose any sleep. Surely only a physicist could make such a bizarre selection.
The author does no better when looking backwards in time to the origins of his faith. What he calls Christianity's "unflinching engagement in history" (p94) is not very prominent in his own examination of the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. He admits that the "perplexing diversity" (or one could say, total lack of agreement) of the accounts of resurrection appearances in the gospels "might at first seem to be indicative of a gaggle of made up stories, with each writer following his fancy in the version that he gives" (p70). Quite so. But no, they are apparently to be believed because of the "surprising common thread" (or one could say, well-known dramatic device) that it was sometimes difficult to recognize the risen Christ -- though this difficulty is actually only unambiguously present in two of the four examples he mentions, and clearly absent in those he does not.
Much of the rest of the book is taken up with psychologically naive discussions of the prospects for survival of the individual soul after death. By "soul", the author seems simply to mean "ego"; it never seems to occur to him that there might be more to human selfhood than this, as any examination of Jung, Wilber, Buddhism or indeed the Christian mystical tradition would make clear.
The whole thing is delivered with a curious lack of passion that came over to me a lot of the time like complacency. Nowhere did I sense any fundamental mystery, uncertainty or urgency; everything seems to fit neatly into the author's well-ordered "evangelical lite" framework. By the time I had struggled through to the end of the book, I felt as if I had downed a whole gallon of very weak tea. If I hadn't bought my copy from Oxfam, I would be wanting my money back.
The author does no better when looking backwards in time to the origins of his faith. What he calls Christianity's "unflinching engagement in history" (p94) is not very prominent in his own examination of the evidence for the resurrection of Jesus. He admits that the "perplexing diversity" (or one could say, total lack of agreement) of the accounts of resurrection appearances in the gospels "might at first seem to be indicative of a gaggle of made up stories, with each writer following his fancy in the version that he gives" (p70). Quite so. But no, they are apparently to be believed because of the "surprising common thread" (or one could say, well-known dramatic device) that it was sometimes difficult to recognize the risen Christ -- though this difficulty is actually only unambiguously present in two of the four examples he mentions, and clearly absent in those he does not.
Much of the rest of the book is taken up with psychologically naive discussions of the prospects for survival of the individual soul after death. By "soul", the author seems simply to mean "ego"; it never seems to occur to him that there might be more to human selfhood than this, as any examination of Jung, Wilber, Buddhism or indeed the Christian mystical tradition would make clear.
The whole thing is delivered with a curious lack of passion that came over to me a lot of the time like complacency. Nowhere did I sense any fundamental mystery, uncertainty or urgency; everything seems to fit neatly into the author's well-ordered "evangelical lite" framework. By the time I had struggled through to the end of the book, I felt as if I had downed a whole gallon of very weak tea. If I hadn't bought my copy from Oxfam, I would be wanting my money back.
Format:Hardcover
This book is John Polkinghorne's personal take on a symposium conducted between scientists and theologians, looking at the subject of the last things, the end of the cosmos. Like all of Polkinghorne's stuff, it's characterized by the integrity and seriousness with which he he handles his chosen disciplines of physics and theology. Treat them both as the grown-up academic pursuits they are, he says, and see how they can cross-fertilize each other.
Here's an example: part of our humanness is an extraordinary capacity for transcendental hope. This is a mystery in itself: it's not obvious to me why this capacity for cosmic yearning offered an evolutionary advantage to proto-humans on the African savannah who were busy wondering where their next antelope was coming from. And of course our physics offers no final hope. However brightly the spark of intelligence shines in the universe, it must be extinguished eventually as the stars burn out. We find ourselves dwelling in 'a finely tuned and fruitful universe which is condemned to ultimate futility' (p27). By recognizing that theology may have insights here, we can grope towards a fuller understanding not just of the 'how' questions but the 'who' and the 'why' questions, which in turn are part of our total human questioning and experience.
So, disciplined by integrity, Polkinghorne is free to speculate. I had to consult my online Oxford English Dictionary at least once (maths might inhabit a noetic realm of its own? Had to look that one up, not being a Platonist) but this book was huge fun in seeing how far, if at all, the unimaginable can be imagined, and the insights of cosmology and eschatology can be married (or maybe if not actually married, how they can at least co-habit). I loved it. Wonderful stuff.
Here's an example: part of our humanness is an extraordinary capacity for transcendental hope. This is a mystery in itself: it's not obvious to me why this capacity for cosmic yearning offered an evolutionary advantage to proto-humans on the African savannah who were busy wondering where their next antelope was coming from. And of course our physics offers no final hope. However brightly the spark of intelligence shines in the universe, it must be extinguished eventually as the stars burn out. We find ourselves dwelling in 'a finely tuned and fruitful universe which is condemned to ultimate futility' (p27). By recognizing that theology may have insights here, we can grope towards a fuller understanding not just of the 'how' questions but the 'who' and the 'why' questions, which in turn are part of our total human questioning and experience.
So, disciplined by integrity, Polkinghorne is free to speculate. I had to consult my online Oxford English Dictionary at least once (maths might inhabit a noetic realm of its own? Had to look that one up, not being a Platonist) but this book was huge fun in seeing how far, if at all, the unimaginable can be imagined, and the insights of cosmology and eschatology can be married (or maybe if not actually married, how they can at least co-habit). I loved it. Wonderful stuff.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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7 reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
An intellectual and spirtual challenge
25 Sep 2002
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I had to use my dictionary many times, and found myself rereading whole sections over, sometimes more than once. But I found the scope of Polkinghorne's book wonderful and challenging, from the physics of the Big Bang and the eschatological challenge of infinite expansion (vs. the Big Crunch) to pastoral implications for Anglican priests. This book is a condensation of a series of academic papers, certainly more dense and obscure, but it does a remarkable job of stretching our minds and perspective while still being inspriational. One of the most meaningful books of my spritual journey.
20 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Beyond the Scientific Paradigm
18 Aug 2004
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Polkinghorne's book is a summary for the general reader of the discussions on eschatology by several scientists and theologians found in the earlier work, The End of the World and the Ends of God. However, as Polkinghorne alone wrote the latter work, it bears his mark as a well-known former scientist and current Anglican priest and writer on religious topics for the general public. The ideas he expresses would not be well-received either by doctrinaire fundamentalists, or by committed atheists. However, for the reader with an open mind, it presents a thought-provoking inquiry and meditation on the questions dealing with, to put it concisely, the meaning of it all. Does existence have a point, and if so, what is it?
Of course, as mentioned before, the author in an Anglican priest, so he writes from the Christian perspective. But there is no hint of dogmatism in what he has to say; and no apologies or lack of conviction either. Whether one agrees or disagrees with his ideas, they are stimulating. For example, in contast to most earlier theologians who speculated that any future existence must be beyond time, and thus an eternal Now, Polkinghorne points out that human beings are creatures of space and time, that cherished art-forms such as music require time, and proposes that any redeemed universe would contain some type of both space and time. Although he does not, of course, claim to know what a redeemed time would be like, he envisions the new creation as having its own history. Though it would be a history of fulfilment rather than becoming. And it would be based on the template set by the old universe, tho the new would have God as the direct underlying basis of it, rather than the laws of physics as now, based as they are on death and decay, as well as on life and creation.
To the sceptics who bemoan the seemingly inevitable boredom of an eternal existence, Polkinghorne agrees that from our current perspective, even the most fanatical golf enthusiast might begin to tire of it after his millionth game. But the new creation he looks for would be one in which everyone could explore the endless beauties, interests, and possibilities of God's truly infinite, endless nature. In such a state, there would be a tension between continuity and discontinuity: for both the universe as a whole and the resurrected beings within it,the new life would have to be substantially different from the old. At the same time, the redeemed would truly have to be continuations of what they were in this existence, not just copies. Only in this way can redemption really be redemption. All in all, this is a book that should be read by anyone curious about a modern Christian perspective on eschatological questions.
Of course, as mentioned before, the author in an Anglican priest, so he writes from the Christian perspective. But there is no hint of dogmatism in what he has to say; and no apologies or lack of conviction either. Whether one agrees or disagrees with his ideas, they are stimulating. For example, in contast to most earlier theologians who speculated that any future existence must be beyond time, and thus an eternal Now, Polkinghorne points out that human beings are creatures of space and time, that cherished art-forms such as music require time, and proposes that any redeemed universe would contain some type of both space and time. Although he does not, of course, claim to know what a redeemed time would be like, he envisions the new creation as having its own history. Though it would be a history of fulfilment rather than becoming. And it would be based on the template set by the old universe, tho the new would have God as the direct underlying basis of it, rather than the laws of physics as now, based as they are on death and decay, as well as on life and creation.
To the sceptics who bemoan the seemingly inevitable boredom of an eternal existence, Polkinghorne agrees that from our current perspective, even the most fanatical golf enthusiast might begin to tire of it after his millionth game. But the new creation he looks for would be one in which everyone could explore the endless beauties, interests, and possibilities of God's truly infinite, endless nature. In such a state, there would be a tension between continuity and discontinuity: for both the universe as a whole and the resurrected beings within it,the new life would have to be substantially different from the old. At the same time, the redeemed would truly have to be continuations of what they were in this existence, not just copies. Only in this way can redemption really be redemption. All in all, this is a book that should be read by anyone curious about a modern Christian perspective on eschatological questions.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
The end of the world from a scientist-theologian's point of view
7 Dec 2011
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
The thesis of this book is that Christian belief provides the essential resource for answering the fundamental question of whether we live in a world that makes sense not just now, but totally and forever. Quoting author John Polkinghorne, "What I am seeking to do is to present the motivations for Christian eschatological hope, and to show that this hope is intelligible and defensible in the twenty-first century."
Polkinghorne then goes on to support his thesis. Although it draws its inspiration from an earlier collection of essays by a number of authors, this book stands on its own quite nicely.
For Polkinghorne, a foundation of the discussion "is the necessity of an interplay between continuity and discontinuity in speaking of God's purposes beyond the end of history." (p. xxiii) "There must be sufficient continuity to ensure that individuals truly share in the life to come as their resurrected selves and not as new beings simply given the old names. There must be sufficient discontinuity to ensure that the life to come is free from the suffering and mortality of the old creation." (p. 149)
"The equally necessary continuity between the old and new creations lies in the fact that the latter is the redeemed transform of the former. The pattern for this is the resurrection of Christ where . . . the Lord's risen body is the eschatological transform of his dead body. This implies that the new creation does not arise from a radically novel creative act ex nihilo, but as a redemptive act ex vetere, out of the old. God's total creative intent is seen to be intrinsically a two-step process: first the old creation, allowed to explore and realize its potentiality at some metaphysical distance from its Creator; then the redeemed new creation which, through the Cosmic Christ, is brought into a freely embraced and intimate relationship with the life of God." (p. 116)
"Therefore, we must expect that there will be a destiny for the whole universe beyond its death, just as there will be a post mortem destiny for humankind. We have seen that two remarkable New Testament passages (Romans 8:18-25; Colossians 1:15-20) do indeed speak of cosmic redemption." (p. 113)
Along the way, Polkinghorne offers his scientist-theologian thoughts on an intermediate state between death and resurrection, universalism, and annihilationism.
The book has footnotes instead of endnotes (as should be the case for all books) and a three-page Index.
I recommend it for any Christian interested in how to think about the end of the world from a scientist-theologian's point of view.
Polkinghorne then goes on to support his thesis. Although it draws its inspiration from an earlier collection of essays by a number of authors, this book stands on its own quite nicely.
For Polkinghorne, a foundation of the discussion "is the necessity of an interplay between continuity and discontinuity in speaking of God's purposes beyond the end of history." (p. xxiii) "There must be sufficient continuity to ensure that individuals truly share in the life to come as their resurrected selves and not as new beings simply given the old names. There must be sufficient discontinuity to ensure that the life to come is free from the suffering and mortality of the old creation." (p. 149)
"The equally necessary continuity between the old and new creations lies in the fact that the latter is the redeemed transform of the former. The pattern for this is the resurrection of Christ where . . . the Lord's risen body is the eschatological transform of his dead body. This implies that the new creation does not arise from a radically novel creative act ex nihilo, but as a redemptive act ex vetere, out of the old. God's total creative intent is seen to be intrinsically a two-step process: first the old creation, allowed to explore and realize its potentiality at some metaphysical distance from its Creator; then the redeemed new creation which, through the Cosmic Christ, is brought into a freely embraced and intimate relationship with the life of God." (p. 116)
"Therefore, we must expect that there will be a destiny for the whole universe beyond its death, just as there will be a post mortem destiny for humankind. We have seen that two remarkable New Testament passages (Romans 8:18-25; Colossians 1:15-20) do indeed speak of cosmic redemption." (p. 113)
Along the way, Polkinghorne offers his scientist-theologian thoughts on an intermediate state between death and resurrection, universalism, and annihilationism.
The book has footnotes instead of endnotes (as should be the case for all books) and a three-page Index.
I recommend it for any Christian interested in how to think about the end of the world from a scientist-theologian's point of view.
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