Science and Religion in Quest of Truth

JOHN POLKINGHORNE

First published in Great Britain in 2011

Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge

36 Causton Street

London SW1P 4ST

www.spckpublishing.co.uk

Copyright © John Polkinghorne 2011

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

SPCK does not necessarily endorse the individual views contained in its publications.

Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Anglicized Edition, copyright © 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

isbn 978-0-281-06412-0

The first serious book I ever read about science and religion was Ian Barbour’s Issues in Science and Religion. He has been a leading pioneer in the modern discussion of these questions and it has been a privilege to read his many writings and to know him as a friend and colleague in the quest for truth. I dedicate this book to Ian, with my thanks and admiration.

Contents

Abbreviations for Selected Writings of John Polkinghorne

Introduction

one. Truth and Understanding

two. Some Lessons from History

three. Insights from Science

four. Theology and Science in Interactive Context

five. Motivated Christian Belief

Postscript: Other Faiths

Index

Abbreviations 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 Encountering Scripture, 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 One World, 2nd edn, Templeton Foundation Press, 2007.

QPT Quantum Physics and Theology, SPCK/Yale University Press, 2007.

RR Reason and Reality, SPCK/Trinity Press International, 1991.

S as T Scientists as Theologians, SPCK, 1996.

SC Science and Creation, 2nd edn, Templeton Foundation Press, 2006.

SCB Science and Christian Belief, SPCK, 1994; in North America, The Faith of a Physicist, Fortress Press, 1996.

SP Science and Providence, 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.

In the citations, numbers signify the relevant chapters.