Faith, Science and Understanding by John Polkinghorne F.R.S. K.B.E. (PDF)

Description

In this captivating book, one of the most highly regarded scientist-theologians of our time explores aspects of the interaction of science and theology. John Polkinghorne defends the place of theology in the university (it is part of the human search for truth) and discusses the role of revelation in religion (it is a record of experience and not the communication of unchallengeable propositions). Throughout his thought-provoking conversation, Polkinghorne speaks with an honesty and openness that derives from his many years of experience in scientific research.A central concern of Polkinghorne’s collection of writings is to reconcile what science can say about the processes of the universe with theology’s belief in a God active within creation. The author examines two related concepts in depth. The first is the divine self-limitation involved in creation that leads to an important reappraisal of the traditional claim that God does not act as a cause among causes. The other is the nature of time and God’s involvement with it, an issue that Polkinghorne shows can link metascience and theological understandings. In the final section of the book, the author reviews three centuries of the science and theology debate and assesses the work of major contemporary contributors to the discussion: Wolfhart Pannenberg, Thomas Torrance, and Paul Davies. He also considers why the science-theology discussion has for several centuries been a particular preoccupation of the English.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: Review “A gentle discourse, very thoughtful . . . on the relationship between physics and theology.” — Kirkus Reviews”An engaging discussion of an important, little understood disciplinary intersection.” — Booklist About the Author John Polkinghorne, K.B.E., F.R.S., is past president and now fellow of Queens’ College, Cambridge, and Canon Theologian of Liverpool, England. He is also the author of Belief in God in an Age of Science, published by Yale University Press and selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the Best Books of 1998.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐This book is a collection of lectures and essays pieced together to explore the themes of exemplified in the title. At sum, each essay considers the relationship between faith and science and suggests that they can be reconciled. John Polkinghorne, an Anglican priest and a trained physicist, wrestles with reconciliation of these different world views. While he does so effectively in many instances, his results are not always satisfactory from my perspective.I found his essay on science and theology in the university and the piece dealing with cosmology to be the most insightful. I thought his chapter on “Design in Biology” less helpful. Polkinghorne accepts the argument of Michael Behe’s “irreducible complexity” theory as an acceptable explanation of design in living organisms. He does not outright deny evolutionary theory, but his move toward the Discovery Institute’s arguments push him in that direction.Can one be a person of both religion and science? Can one be a rational, modern human being with a commitment to empirical scientific knowledge and still accept the concept of divine revelation? Polkinghorne certainly believes so. This is as strong statement of how he walks this tightrope between science and religion.

⭐There are many different categories of knowledge. Each category of knowledge can be approached in many different ways. The author, Sir John Polkinghorne, is in the enviable position of having spent significant times and achieved significant insights in both the knowledge of science and the knowledge of theological philosophy. Combine this background with a wonderful style of writing and you have got a fine work that any thinking person can enjoy over and over, again and again.

⭐John Polkinghorne, a theoretical physicist and an Anglican priest, has written a series of well-thought-out essays on the connection between science and religion. By avoiding the extremes of complete philosophical isolation and total integration, he provides us with not so much a conclusion as an understanding of an on-going dialogue. He takes an explicitly Christian approach to the subject, though he acknowledges that other faiths might come to different conclusions (and that the question of the existence of many different faiths deserves its own separate discussion.) Some key topics include:Historical relations between science and religion in universities.Being a person of both faith and science.The importance of divine revelation.Faith and science in the field of biology.Scientific theories and theological concepts of current interest.How God works in the universe.Discussion of other important workers in the science and religion field.All in all, this was a very worthwhile read. If you want to learn more about the connection between science and religion while avoiding the seemingly endless (and circular) discussions of “intelligent design,” you will find that Polkinghorne has a very refreshing approach to the subject.

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