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This short and succinct book is an excellent introduction to the thinking that has been going on over the last thirty years in the dialogue between Christian Theology and the sciences. John Polkinghorne, both a theologian and an academic scientist (physicist) gave the Yale University Terry Lecture Series on Religion in the Light of Science, in October 1996. The lectures have been collected into the present work, "Belief in God in an Age of Science." In the Preface, Polkinghorne informs us that, "Five principal concerns have characterized activity in the past thirty years across the boundary between science and theology: a rejection of reductionism, partly based on an appeal to science's increasing recognition of the interconnected and holistic character of much physical process; an understanding of an evolutionary universe as being compatible with a theological doctrine of "creatio continua"; a revival of a cautiously revised form of natural theology; a methodological comparison of science and theology that exhibits their common concern with the attainment of understanding through the search for motivated belief; and speculations concerning how physical process might be sufficiently open to accommodate the acts of agents, both human and divine (xi)." With this quick historical groundwork laid, the author lets us know that the focus of the book will be with the last three areas of dialogue. The chapters of the book are then "Belief in God in an Age of Science," "Finding Truth: Science and Religion Compared," "Does God Act in the Physical World," "The Continuing Dialogue Between Science and Religion," "Critical Realism in Science and Religion," and a quite short, "Mathematical Postscript." The first chapter takes on a type of revised natural theology that is described as an "insightful, rather than logically demonstrative discipline (xii)." Polkinghorne goes on to discuss "two locations where general hints of the divine presence might be expected to be seen most clearly. One is the vast cosmos itself, with its fifteen-billion-year history of evolving development (2)." The other is the miracle of humanity itself (2). This new natural theology has for the author two important points. "The first is that the new style natural theology in no way seeks to be a rival to scientific explanation but rather it aims to compliment that explanation by setting it within a wider and more profound context of understanding (10)." The second point is that, "The new natural theology is invulnerable to this charge of naive anthropomorphism, for the endowment of matter with anthropic potentiality has no human analogy. It is the creative act of a specially divine character (11)." The second chapter, "Finding Truth: science and Religion Compared," I found to be very illuminating. John Polkinghorne sets out five general principals of inquiry from his work with physics that he thinks are also applicable to other searches for truth. He summarizes these as: "(1) Moments of radical revision in which new phenomena lead to new insights, so placing the ideas of the past in a novel intellectual setting, transcending previous understanding but still retaining elements in continuity with it. There is a change in the questions to be faced with total abandonment of the answers obtained before. (The transition from Maxwell's understanding of the nature of light to Einstein's, with the consequent recognition of wave/particle duality.) (2) Periods of confusion in which old and new ideas stand side by side in unresolved tension with each other, and people hold on to experience without being able totally to reconcile the different aspects of it. (Quantum theory from 1900 to 1925.) (3) Moments of new synthesis and understanding, in which a theory is revealed capable of satisfactorily explaining the new phenomena in a convincing and comprehensive way while, at the same time, treating the old phenomena as particular limiting cases. (The discovery of modern quantum theory.) (4) A continuing wrestling with unresolved problems, essential for a total understanding of the new theory, but for the moment not capable of final settlement. (The measurement problem in quantum theory.) (5) Realisations that the new theory has deep implications of a kind unanticipated when it was first conceived (anti-matter, non-locality, etc.) (29)."With this structure in place, the author then goes on to show how this process has been true for Christian Theology. Throughout the remaining chapters, John Polkinghorne further investigates the points of intersection between science and theology. I would note two significant ideas that he dwells upon. One is that the science and theology group/discussion should have a common interest in and The dialogue between Christianity and science in America has often been a contentious one. The decision by the Kansas Board of Education to ban the teaching of evolutionary theory is a most recent example. John Polkinghorne reminds us that there are large numbers of Christians who see the universe in a quite different way. The dialogue between science and religion is an important one. Like the author, we look forward to seeing works published that consider the relationship between non-Christian traditions and the sciences. Readers interested in the topic of Christianity and science should also consult Polkinghorne's (Faith of a Physicist 1994). review ©2000 by Tom Collins and RSiSS Return to resources in Science and Religion |
