The Faith of a Physicist: Reflections of a Bottom-Up Thinker (Princeton Legacy Library Book 235) by John C. Polkinghorne (PDF)

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Is it possible to think like a scientist and yet have the faith of a Christian? Although many Westerners might say no, there are also many critically minded individuals who entertain what John Polkinghorne calls a “wistful wariness” toward religion–they feel unable to accept religion on rational grounds yet cannot dismiss it completely. Polkinghorne, both a particle physicist and Anglican priest, here explores just what rational grounds there could be for Christian beliefs, maintaining that the quest for motivated understanding is a concern shared by scientists and religious thinkers alike. Anyone who assumes that religion is based on unquestioning certainties, or that it need not take into account empirical knowledge, will be challenged by Polkinghorne’s bottom-up examination of Christian beliefs about events ranging from creation to the resurrection.The author organizes his inquiry around the Nicene Creed, an early statement that continues to summarize Christian beliefs. He applies to each of its tenets the question, “What is the evidence that makes you think this might be true?” The evidence Polkinghorne weighs includes the Hebrew and Christian scriptures–their historical contexts and the possible motivations for their having been written–scientific theories, and human self-consciousness as revealed in literary, philosophical, and psychological works.He begins with the words, “We believe,” and presents understandings of the nature of humanity, showing, for example, that Cartesian theory, evolution, and natural selection do not tell the entire story of what humans are about, especially in light of many sources that attest to our spirituality. Moving through the Creed, Polkinghorne considers the concept of divinity and God as creator in discussions that cover the Theory of Everything, the Big Bang Theory, and the possibility of divine presence within reality so that God is not simply an outside observer. Chapters on Jesus analyze the different ways events are described in the Gospels and the way motivation for belief is conveyed–for example, how do these writings explain why a young man killed in public disgrace could inspire a following, when other major world religious leaders lived to become highly revered elders in their communities?”Faith seeking understanding” is, according to Polkinghorne, like the scientific quest. Both are journeys of intellectual discovery in which those who survey experience from an initially chosen point of view must be open to correction in the light of further experience. “Religion,” he writes, “has long known that ultimately every human image of God proves to be an inadequate idol.” The Faith of a Physicist, based on the prestigious 1993 Gifford Lectures, delivers a powerful message to scientists and theologians, theists and atheists alike.Originally published in 1994.The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

User’s Reviews

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

⭐Hard, slow read. Interesting.. Thought provoking. Informational. Have a dictionary at hand. I don’t agree with everything, but it’s thought provoking In his preface he says, “I know that God is neither male nor female….” Right there that would give me cause not to read it. Christ Jesus said, “Our Father…” Anyone who uses a Biblical lexicon will tell you that just in the first chapter of Genesis, Elohim is seen as Father AND Mother. image is masculine and likeness is feminine. Almighty is feminine and means “breasted one”. I have read one chapter, “Crucifixion and Resurrection”, where he makes several great observations. It’s a must read for any serious Bible scholar, lay or professional.

⭐Great product, received quickly.

⭐One may point to Polkinghorne’s credentials as a theoretical physicist or an Anglican cleric, but in his writings we find that he is also a philosopher, theologian, and student of the humanities (art, history, comparative religion), although he is quick to label himself an “amateur” in these areas. A thoughtful reading of “The Faith of a Physicist” will be particularly valuable to philosophical materialists whose “skepticism” of Christian theism should itself be exposed to skeptical consideration. As Polkinghorne explains, dismissals of theism are often couched in convenient but ignorantly simplistic characterizations: “Scientists who are hostile to religion tend to make remarks such as ‘Unlike science, religion is based on unquestioning certainties’ [Wolpert]. They thereby betray their lack of acquaintance with the practice of religion. Periods of doubt and perplexity have a well-documented role in spiritual development . . . Religion has long known that ultimately every human image of God proves to be an inadequate idol.”Considering metaphysic’s classic poles of dualism versus monism, the author is inclined to reject each in preference to a “dual-aspect monism.” In this he is not particularly controversial, nor in his interpretations of quantum theory in terms of its philosophical implications. Polkinghorne’s biblical exegesis will be controversial on certain points (whose isn’t?). Although he is sometimes accused of being a process theologian, it seems clear that he is not. His theology is ultimately rather classical, including certain elements of process (“There are aspects of Whitehead’s thought from which one can benefit without accepting it in its entirety”) and what he calls a “tinge of deism” (recognizing that the cosmos was indeed “wound-up”). If the reader thinks that one must either demand that Christian scripture is inerrant or reject it as being errant, then Polkinghorne will offer him/her no satisfaction. In fact, all readers will be rather challenged.(Regarding dual-aspect monism and David Bohm’s metaphysics arising from his interpretation of quantum theory): “My instinct as a bottom-up thinker is to be wary of such grandiosities of philosophical fancy. Instead, I would want to follow the flight of such straws in a metaphysical wind as our understanding of the physical world provides. My own tentative ideas have been woven round two concepts: complementarity and openness.” In other words, something like the particle-wave duality and something like the ordered-disorder of the so-called chaos theory.(Regarding Stephen Hawking’s suggestion that his “no boundaries” model displaces the need of a creator): “. . . theology is concerned with ontological origin and not with temporal beginning. The idea of creation has no special stake in a datable start to the universe. If Hawking is right, and quantum effects mean that the cosmos as we know it is like a kind of fuzzy spacetime egg, without a singular point at which it all began, that is scientifically very interesting, but theologically insignificant. When he poses the question, ‘But if the universe is really completely self-contained, having no boundary, or edge, it would have neither beginning nor end: it would simply be. What place, then, for a creator?’ it would be theologically naïve to give any answer other than: ‘Every place – as the sustainer of the self-contained spacetime egg and as the ordainer of its quantum laws.’ God is not a God of the edges, with a vested interest in boundaries.”Polkinghorne uses statements of faith taken from the Nicene Creed as a springboard for his apologetic. He offers a “non-literalist” defense of the doctrine of divine creation that assumes a general correctness to present cosmological and evolutionary theories but also finds them to be unexplained apart from the Divine action of an intelligent will. While questions certainly remain unanswered within the theistic view, the materialistic alternative is seen to provide no ultimate answers at all. He offers a defense of Christianity’s doctrine of “eschatological destiny” which sees the “optimistic arrow of time” (Davies term for complexity in spite of entropy) and entropy’s “pessimistic arrow of time” (second law of thermodynamics) as vectors converging in a significantly unique event. He offers a defense of New Testament uniqueness and reliability (not inerrancy); and a strong defense of the uniqueness of Jesus Christ. He argues that, when all is considered, the claimed resurrection of Christ is more credible than any alternate theories that have been proffered but which fail to explain subsequent events. Polkinghorne offers a defense of the doctrines of the Trinity and of eschatology, and concludes with thoughts of alternative views. If you find the last chapter (Alternatives) to be too brief, Sire’s “The Universe Next Door” may be of further interest. In the course of the text here, Polkinghorne argues for a bold and far reaching teleology including, but not restricted to, physical theory, embracing “the natural theology of the arts”. He argues also for a boldness in defending the authenticity of the canonical Christian gospel; a boldness not simply based in unquestioning fideism but arising from the best documentation of ancient history and human experience. In sum, it makes for a difficult but fascinating read.

⭐For a volume that contains less than 200 pages, this book is certainly rich with interesting ideas. Furthermore, the author has mulled them over until they came to intellectual ripeness. Within an outline drawn from the Apostles’ Creed, Polkinghome gives his view of the anthropic principle, the relation of body to mind, the nature of God, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, and other subjects, in a thoughtful manner. He strikes a good balance between authority and personal opinion. He refers frequently and in humility to what well-known thinkers on all sides of the questions at hand have said (he has obviously done his homework), but is confident, bold, and smart enough to pick his own path across the fields of fact. He argues, at one point, that “The titles assigned to Jesus play the role that models do in scientific investigation.” In other words, the New Testament does not appear as a mass of dogmas artificially superimposed upon stories of Jesus’ life. Rather, terms like “Son of God” show the early Christians groping for a way of coming to grips with remarkable facts. That is the kind of “bottoms up” approach Polkinghome appreciates.I have three caveats. First, Polkinghome slips into theological jargon too often. Second, his idea that we do not have souls, but that at some point in the future, God will make copies of us from His perfect knowledge, not from the same bits of matter though, seemed weak to me. I mean, presumably God could do the same now — there could be copies of us running around on other planets. But what does that have to do with you or I or the promises of Scripture?Third, what Polkinghome primarily seems to give here is a cautious explanation of his faith, rather than a strong argument for it. His initial caution lends his ultimate conclusions about the resurrection of Jesus, for example, a great deal of weight. But while agnostics and atheists who make this book their token foray into Christian apologetics could do worse, they should be aware that the author is passing over some very strong areas of evidence for Christianity. Please do not put the book down saying, “Well, I survived that; I guess I’m safe.” I suggest you also consider the psychological truths G. K. Chesterton discusses in Everlasting Man, the history Don Richardson relates in Eternity in Their Hearts, and the many testimonies of modern Christians on how God answers prayer. (Miracles are the most “bottoms-up” kind of evidence for God.) You might also find my new book, Jesus and the Religions of Man, worth a read, especially if the question Polkinghome raised about spiritual alternatives to the Christian faith is of interest.d.marshall@sun.ac.jp

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