Science and Creation
Details and Description
Description
John C. Polkinghorne, internationally renowned priest-scientist, addresses fundamental questions about how scientific and theological worldviews relate to each other in this, the second volume (originally published in 1988) of his trilogy, which also included Science and Providence and One World.
Dr. Polkinghorne illustrates how a scientifically minded person approaches the task of theological inquiry, postulating that there exists a close analogy between theory and experiment in science and belief and understanding in theology. He offers a fresh perspective on such questions as: Are we witnessing today a revival a natural theology—the search for God through the exercise of reason and the study of nature? How do the insights of modern physics into the interlacing of order and disorder relate to the Christian doctrine of Creation? What is the relationship between mind and matter?
Polkinghorne states that the "remarkable insights that science affords us into the intelligible workings of the world cry out for an explanation more profound than that which it itself can provide. Religion, if it is to take seriously its claim that the world is the creation of God, must be humble enough to learn from science what that world is actually like.The dialogue between them can only be mutually enriching."
Table of Contents
Preface to the 2006 Edition / ix
Acknowledgments / xv
Introduction / 3
1. Natural Theology / 7
2. Insightful Inquiry / 25
3. Order and Disorder / 44
4. Creation and Creator / 63
5. The Nature of Reality / 83
6. Theological Science / 101
Notes / 119
Bibliography / 129
Index / 133
Endorsements and Reviews
Endorsements
For far too long the science-religion debate has been dominated—even clouded—by questions of biological evolution thrown up in the nineteenth century, while the transformation of the physical world in the twentieth has often seemed strangely irrelevant. This book epitomizes a welcome trend to redress the balance. . . . [It] is to be warmly recommended to all who seek to enrich the dialogue between science and theology.
Reviews
The Living Church—Milwaukee, WI
In this surprisingly accessible volume, a reprint of the 1988 original, John Polkinghorne, Anglican priest and former professor of mathematical physics, harks back to the tradition of natural theology, which concerns what can be known of God from observation of the natural order, a concept out of favor since the advent of Darwinism.
Catholic Library World—Vol. 77, No. 2
Scientific knowledge is concerned with generalities with the knowledge of the God of Jesus Christ is personal and particular and demands more commitment than science. Yet according to the author there exists a close analogy between theory and experiment in science and religion. Science cannot tell theology how to construct a doctrine of creation, but one cannot construct a doctrine of creation without taking into account what science tells about the world. This book is recommended to all who seek to grasp the implication of science for faith and theology.
Catholic Books Review
The 2006 edition of Science and Creation: The Search for Understanding by John Polkinghorne explores the relationship between theology and science focused through the nature of creation.
[T]his re-publication of Polkinghorne’s 1988 volume still provides an integrated presentation of scientific and theological insights on the crucial questions of creation and its Creator for those unacquainted with the fruitful dialogue between theology and science on this topic.
PsycCRITIQUES—Vol. 52, Rel. 19, Art. 5
John Polkinghorne’s Science and Creation provides a thorough and well thought-out description of natural theology with applications to relevant scientific findings and theory. The book provides a means of integration for religion and science and challenges some commonly held beliefs about religion that influence its potential relationship with scientific understanding. Although the book will likely be relevant to the many psychologists who affirm the reality of God’s personal existence (Delaney, Miller, & Bisonó, in press), its important arguments will likely benefit the nonreligious among us as well. Skepticism and bias toward religious scientists is common within psychology, and many of these attitudes may be influenced by misinformed beliefs about the relationship between religion and science. Furthermore, psychology is the study of human thoughts, feelings, and behavior, and it is the case that a clear majority of Americans do hold religious convictions. Polkinghorne argues that "the testimony of the tone deaf would not be allowed to negate the reality of music" (p. 108), and similarly, psychologists may be better informed in our science and practice by taking time to listen to an articulate believer explain where and how religion may fit within our world.
Translations
Asian-English
Lithuanian