Notes1
- A decent attempt and summary of Polkinghorne’s opus.
- He makes a parallel between science and theology, claiming that both are responses to how things are, based on ‘bottom up thinking’. As such, he introduces methodological parallels. Science is always provisional, but makes progress. Likewise – he says – theology, in contrast to the claims of fundamentalists.
- This has two consequences with respect to Scripture and Church doctrine: much in the OT is either to be taken (in retrospect) as figurative, or has been superseded by a better understanding of God and morality. So, genocide and slavery are now seen to be wrong. We now question whether ‘a loving God would exact eternal punishment for finite sins’. He prefers ‘motivated belief’ rather than ‘fideistic certainties’. Also, some post-Biblical theological developments – such as that of the Trinity and Christology – are to be taken as true.
- There are good summaries of the state of modern science, though I doubt they can really be understood by those without considerable scientific background.
- Polkinghorne reviews the 4 possibilities that Barbour2 sees for the relation of science and theology: Conflict, Independence, Dialogue and Integration. Dialogue – for good reason – is the favourite option.
- Polkinghorne – as a QM expert – sees this as a way in for the operation of the divine and free will, though he thinks it has to be handled with care to keep the probabilities in hand. He does think, however, that God can break in for really important ‘signs’, in particular the resurrection of Jesus. He thinks there’s an analogy between wave-particle duality and the two natures of Christ.
- He thinks the future is truly open (and that even God doesn’t know it), but seems to agree that the block universe agreed better with Relativity.
- There’s an interesting discussion of Resurrection of human beings and the future state.
Back Cover Blurb
- One of the world’s most distinguished scientist-theologians offers a distillation and summation of his life’s work on the big questions about God, humanity and the cosmos.
- ‘For particle physicist John Polkinghorne - the only ordained member of the Royal Society - science and theology are not at loggerheads. They are instead attempts to formulate coherent and adequate accounts of the phenomena within their purview ... Polkinghorne’s argument for the proposition that God is real is cogent and his evidence is elegant.’
→ New Scientist
- ‘Polkinghorne is the unquestioned leader in the growing field of science and religion, and by a considerable margin, is its most intellectually credible thinker.
→ Karl W. Giberson, co-author of The Language of Science and Faith
- ‘I found this survey of science and theology to be readable, scholarly, well-organised, and insightful as always … this is a fine introductory survey that will be helpful to a wide variety of readers.’
→ John Haught, author of God and the New Atheism
- John Polkinghorne, KBE, FRS, is past President and now Fellow of Queens' College Cambridge. Former Professor of Mathematical Physics at Cambridge University, he is a priest and Canon Theologian of Liverpool Cathedral. He won the Templeton Prize for Science and Religion in 2002, and his many books have formed the core of SPCK's prestigious Science and Theology list. His books have been translated into eleven languages so far.
ContentsAbbreviations for Selected Writings of John Polkinghorne – ix
Introduction – xi
- Truth and Understanding – 1
- Some Lessons from History – 26
- Insights from Science – 33
- Theology and Science in Interactive Context – 69
- Motivated Christian Belief – 116
Postscript: Other Faiths – 131
Index – 135
Abbreviations3 for Selected Writings of John Polkinghorne
- BG: Belief in God in an Age of Science, Yale University Press, 1998.
- BS: Beyond Science, Cambridge University Press, 1996.
- ER: Exploring Reality, SPCK/Yale University Press, 2005.
- ES: "Polkinghorne (John) - Encountering Scripture: A Scientist Explores The Bible", SPCK, 2010
- FSU: Faith, Science and Understanding, SPCK/Yale University Press, 2000.
- GH: The God of Hope and the End of the World, SPCK/Yale University Press, 2002.
- OW: "Polkinghorne (John) - One World - The Interaction of Science and Theology"; 2nd edn, Templeton Foundation Press, 2007.
- QPT: Quantum Physics and Theology, SPCK/Yale University Press, 2007.
- RR: "Polkinghorne (John) - Reason and Reality: The relationship between science and theology", SPCK/Trinity Press International, 1991.
- S as T: Scientists as Theologians, SPCK, 1996.
- SC: "Polkinghorne (John) - Science and Creation - The Search for Understanding"; 2nd edn, Templeton Foundation Press, 2006.
- SCB: "Polkinghorne (John) - Science and Christian Belief: Theological Reflections of a Bottom-up Thinker", SPCK, 1994; in North America, The Faith of a Physicist, Fortress Press, 1996.
- SP: "Polkinghorne (John) - Science and Providence - God's Interaction with the World"; 2nd edn, Templeton Foundation Press, 2005.
- ST: Science and the Trinity, SPCK/Yale University Press, 2004.
- TCS: Theology in the Context of Science, SPCK/Yale University Press, 2008.
Introduction
- Much of my writing has been in the form of comparatively short books focused on a particular topic — creation, providence, eschatology and so on. This fitted well with my formation as a scientist, for whom it has been natural and congenial to address particular issues concisely and one by one. The strategy of writing short books has also enabled me from time to time to return to certain key issues as my thinking in these matters has developed. My Gifford Lectures (SCB) had a wider scope, but one that was defined by the clauses of the Nicene Creed, approached in the style of ‘bottom-up thinking’, so natural to the scientist, of motivating belief through consideration of the evidence offered by experience.
- Although taken together these books cover a large range of topics in science and religion, none of them individually corresponds to the substantial volumes surveying within a single cover the wide scope of interaction between these two quests for truth, such as those that have been written by my colleagues Ian Barbour4 and Arthur Peacocke5. The nearest I have got to giving a synoptic account has been the writing of two slim volumes, one addressed to the general reader in fairly informal terms6 and the other more academic in character, but intended to serve simply as an introductory text-book summarising the thoughts of others active in the field as well as those of my own7. In addition, I have written a short comparative survey (S as T) of how Barbour, Peacocke and I had approached certain key issues.
- The arrival of my eightieth birthday has prompted me to consider whether it might not be time to attempt a fuller survey of the issues of science and religion as I see them, set out within the covers of a single book. To do so in the detail comparable to that of the 350-450 page volumes of my col- leagues would have involved a good deal of recycling of what I had already written in my more narrowly focused books. Moreover, some of that material is already conveniently avail- able, collected together in a well-constructed Reader that Thomas Jay Oord has edited8. Accordingly, I have adopted an intermediate strategy in the present volume. It covers what I believe to be the critical issues in the contemporary vigorous dialogue between science and theology, concentrating on what I judge to be the essential insights that are relevant to the issues raised. References are given to my earlier writings where chapters can be found that afford a more detailed engagement with particular issues, but I believe that on its own the present book lays out the core concepts that are fundamental in what is surely one of the most significant interdisciplinary interactions of our time, pursued in a wide quest for truthful understanding. The book concentrates on my own work, not at all because I think that I have said all that need be said but simply because, after more than thirty years of reflection, this is what I have to offer.
→ John Polkinghorne, Queens’ College, Cambridge
In-Page Footnotes ("Polkinghorne (John) - Science and Religion in Quest of Truth")
Footnote 1:
- These are just jottings at the moment – I’ll expand on them in due course.
Footnote 2: Footnote 3:
- In the citations, numbers signify the relevant chapters.
Footnote 4: Footnote 5: Footnote 6: Footnote 7: Footnote 8:
- T. J. Oord (ed.), The Polkinghorne Reader, SPCK/Templeton Press, 2010.
Book Comment
- SPCK, 17 June 2010. Paperback.
- Requested by Becky. Bought two copies!
Text Colour Conventions (see disclaimer)- Blue: Text by me; © Theo Todman, 2026
- Mauve: Text by correspondent(s) or other author(s); © the author(s)