John Polkinghorne

Last updated

Ruth Polkinghorne
(m. 1955)

The well-known free will defence in relation to moral evil asserts that a world with a possibility of sinful people is better than one with perfectly programmed machines. The tale of human evil is such that one cannot make that assertion without a quiver, but I believe that it is true nevertheless. I have added to it the free-process defence, that a world allowed to make itself is better than a puppet theatre with a Cosmic Tyrant. I think that these two defences are opposite sides of the same coin, that our nature is inextricably linked with that of the physical world which has given us birth. [41]

On creationism

Following the resignation of Michael Reiss, the director of education at the Royal Society—who had controversially argued that school pupils who believed in creationism should be used by science teachers to start discussions, rather than be rejected per se [42] —Polkinghorne argued in The Times that "As a Christian believer I am, of course, a creationist in the proper sense of the term, for I believe that the mind and the purpose of a divine Creator lie behind the fruitful history and remarkable order of the universe which science explores. But I am certainly not a creationist in that curious North American sense, which implies interpreting Genesis 1 in a flat-footed literal way and supposing that evolution is wrong." [43]

Critical reception

Nancy Frankenberry, Professor of Religion at Dartmouth College, has described Polkinghorne as the finest British theologian/scientist of our time, citing his work on the possible relationship between chaos theory and natural theology. [44] Owen Gingerich, an astronomer and former Harvard professor, has called him a leading voice on the relationship between science and religion. [45]

The British philosopher Simon Blackburn has criticized Polkinghorne for using primitive thinking and rhetorical devices instead of engaging in philosophy. When Polkinghorne argues that the minute adjustments of cosmological constants for life points towards an explanation beyond the scientific realm, Blackburn argues that this relies on a natural preference for explanation in terms of agency.[ citation needed ] Blackburn writes that he finished Polkinghorne's books in "despair at humanity's capacity for self-deception." [46] Against this, Freeman Dyson called Polkinghorne's arguments on theology and natural science "polished and logically coherent." [47] The novelist Simon Ings, writing in the New Scientist , said Polkinghorne's argument for the proposition that God is real is cogent and his evidence elegant. [48]

Richard Dawkins, formerly Professor for Public Understanding of Science at Oxford, writes that the same three names of British scientists who are also sincerely religious crop up with the "likable familiarity of senior partners in a firm of Dickensian lawyers": Arthur Peacocke, Russell Stannard, and John Polkinghorne, all of whom have either won the Templeton Prize or are on its board of trustees. Dawkins writes that he is not so much bewildered by their belief in a cosmic lawgiver, but by their beliefs in the minutiae of Christianity, such as the resurrection and forgiveness of sins, and that such scientists, in Britain and in the US, are the subject of bemused bafflement among their peers. [49] Polkinghorne responded that "debating with Dawkins is hopeless, because there's no give and take. He doesn't give you an inch. He just says no when you say yes." [22] Nicholas Beale writes in Questions of Truth , which he co-authored with Polkinghorne, that he hopes Dawkins will be a bit less baffled once he reads it. [50]

A. C. Grayling criticized the Royal Society for allowing its premises to be used in connection with the launch of Questions of Truth, describing it as a scandal, and suggesting that Polkinghorne had exploited his fellowship there to publicize a "weak, casuistical and tendentious pamphlet." After implying that the book's publisher, Westminster John Knox, was a self-publisher, Grayling went on to write that Polkinghorne and others were eager to see the credibility accorded to scientific research extended to religious perspectives through association. [51]

In contrast to Grayling, science historian Edward B. Davis praises Questions of Truth, saying the book provides "the kind of technical information... that scientifically trained readers will appreciate—yet they can be read profitably by anyone interested in science and Christianity." Davis concludes, "It hasn't been easy to steer a middle course between fundamentalism and modernism, particularly on issues involving science. Polkinghorne has done that very successfully for a generation, and for this he ought to be both appreciated and emulated." [52]

Published works

Polkinghorne wrote 34 books, translated into 18 languages; 26 concern science and religion, often for a popular audience.

Science and religion
  • The Polkinghorne Reader Archived 7 February 2017 at the Wayback Machine  : Science, Faith, and the Search for Meaning (Edited by Thomas Jay Oord) (SPCK and Templeton Foundation Press, 2010) ISBN   1-59947-315-1 and ISBN   978-0-281-06053-5
  • The Way the World Is: The Christian Perspective of a Scientist (1984 – revised 1992) ISBN   0-281-04597-6
  • One World (SPCK/Princeton University Press 1987; Templeton Foundation Press, 2007) ISBN   978-1-59947-111-2
  • Science and Creation (SPCK/New Science Library, 1989; Templeton Foundation Press, 2006) ISBN   978-1-59947-100-6
  • Science and Providence (SPCK/New Science Library, 1989; Templeton Foundation Press, 2006) ISBN   978-1-932031-92-8
  • Reason and Reality: Relationship Between Science and Theology (SPCK/Trinity Press International 1991) ISBN   978-0-281-04487-0
  • Quarks, Chaos and Christianity (1994; Second edition SPCK/Crossroad 2005) ISBN   0-281-04779-0
  • The Faith of a Physicist – published in the UK as Science and Christian Belief (1994) ISBN   0-691-03620-9
  • Serious Talk: Science and Religion in Dialogue (Trinity Press International/SCM Press, 1996) ISBN   978-1-56338-109-6
  • Scientists as Theologians (1996) ISBN   0-281-04945-9
  • Beyond Science: The wider human context (CUP 1996) ISBN   978-0-521-57212-5
  • Searching for Truth (Bible Reading Fellowship/Crossroad, 1996)
  • Belief in God in an Age of Science (Yale University Press, 1998) ISBN   0-300-08003-4
  • Science and Theology (SPCK/Fortress 1998) ISBN   0-8006-3153-6
  • The End of the World and the Ends of God (Trinity Press International, 2000) with Michael Welker
  • Traffic in Truth: Exchanges Between Sciences and Theology (Canterbury Press/Fortress, 2000) ISBN   978-0-8006-3579-4
  • Faith, Science and Understanding (2000) SPCK/Yale University Press ISBN   0-300-08372-6
  • The Work of Love: Creation as Kenosis editor, with contributors including Ian Barbour, Sarah Coakley, George Ellis, Jurgen Moltmann and Keith Ward (SPCK/Eerdmans 2001) ISBN   0-281-05372-3 / ISBN   0-8028-4885-0
  • The God of Hope and the End of the World (Yale University Press, 2002) ISBN   0-300-09211-3
  • The Archbishop's School of Christianity and Science (York Courses, 2003) ISBN   0954054385
  • 'Science and Christian Faith' (Conversation on CD with Canon John Young. York Courses)
  • Living with Hope (SPCK/Westminster John Knox Press, 2003)
  • Science and the Trinity: The Christian Encounter With Reality (2004) ISBN   0-300-10445-6 (a particularly accessible summary of his thought)
  • Exploring Reality: The Intertwining of Science & Religion (SPCK 2005) ISBN   0-300-11014-6
  • Quantum Physics & Theology: An Unexpected Kinship (SPCK 2007) ISBN   978-0-281-05767-2
  • From Physicist to Priest, an Autobiography SPCK 2007 ISBN   978-0-281-05915-7
  • Theology in the Context of Science SPCK 2008 ISBN   978-0-281-05916-4
  • Questions of Truth: Fiftyone Responses to Questions about God, Science and Belief, with Nicholas Beale; foreword by Antony Hewish (Westminster John Knox 2009) ISBN   978-0-664-23351-8
  • Reason and Reality: The Relationship Between Science and Theology (2011) SPCK ISBN   978-0-281-06400-7
  • Science and Religion in Quest of Truth (2011) SPCK ISBN   978-0-281-06412-0
  • 'Hawking, Dawkins and GOD' (2012) (Conversation on CD with Canon John Young. York Courses)
  • What Can We Hope For? (Sam&Sam, 2019) with Patrick Miles ISBN   978-1-9999676-1-1
Science
Chapters

See also

References

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 Polkinghorne, John (15 December 1986). "Gell-Mann Opened My Eyes". The Scientist. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  2. Losch 2009, p. 91.
  3. Losch 2018, p. 98.
  4. Losch 2009, p. 103.
  5. 1 2 Williams, Stephen (2018). "John Polkinghorne on the Doctrine of Creation". Carl F. H. Henry Center for Theological Understanding. Deerfield, Illinois: Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  6. Losch 2009, p. 92; Polkinghorne 1994, p. 47.
  7. Watkins 2012, p. 217.
  8. Hefner 2001, p. 234.
  9. 1 2 3 "DAMTP Theses". Cambridge, England: University of Cambridge. Archived from the original on 4 January 2013. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  10. Daily Telegraph , Issue no 51,581 dated Friday 19 March 2021 p. 29 (Obituaries) "The Reverend Canon John Polkinghorne- Theoretical physicist who advanced the understanding of quantum theory before becoming a clergyman".
  11. Metaxas 2011, p. 361.
  12. 1 2 3 "Participants: John Charlton Polkinghorne". The Humble Approach Initiative. West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania: John Templeton Foundation. 2005. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2010.
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 O'Connor, John J.; Robertson, Edmund F. (2008). "John Charlton Polkinghorne". MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive. St Andrews, Scotland: University of St Andrews. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  14. Macfarlane, Alan. "John Polkinghorne interview". University of Cambridge. University of Cambridge. Retrieved 2 September 2025.
  15. Polkinghorne, John (2007). From Physicist to Priest An Autobiography. SPCK. ISBN   9780281059157, 0281059152.{{cite book}}: Check |isbn= value: invalid character (help)
  16. Polkinghorne 2007a, pp. 9–11, 23–29, 34.
  17. Knight 2012, p. 622.
  18. Polkinghorne 2007a, pp. 40–50.
  19. Margenau & Varghese 1992, p. 86.
  20. Taylor, J. C.; Wilkinson, D. A. (2022). "John Charlton Polkinghorne KBE. 16 October 1930—9 March 2021". Biographical Memoirs of Fellows of the Royal Society. 72: 293–309. doi: 10.1098/rsbm.2021.0044 . S2CID   247599441.
  21. Polkinghorne 2007a, p. 9.
  22. 1 2 3 4 Reisz, Matthew (19 February 2009). "On the Side of the Angels". Times Higher Education. London. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  23. Third Way. December 2005. p. 34.
  24. "College Announcement". Queens' College, Cambridge. 10 March 2021. Retrieved 10 March 2021.
  25. For basic biodata see Who's Who 2006.
  26. "Presidents". Cambridge, England: International Society for Science & Religion. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  27. "Diary of Events" (PDF). Hong Kong Baptist University. November 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2007.
  28. "Staff". Cambridge, England: Psychology and Religion Research Group. Archived from the original on 26 December 2011. Retrieved 25 March 2010.
  29. "Revd Dr John Polkinghorne KBE FRS". St Edmund's College. Cambridge, England: University of Cambridge. Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 10 September 2018.
  30. For example, Polkinhorne, John. Exploring Reality: the Intertwining of Science and Religion. p. ix.
  31. Polkinghorne 2007b, pp. 15–22.
  32. Polkinghorne 1994, p. 21.
  33. 1 2 Sharpe 2003.
  34. Polkinghorne 2007a, p. 107.
  35. This and (unless noted otherwise) all subsequent quotations are from Polkinghorne 1994 , ch. 3
  36. Polkinghorne 1998, pp. 71–83.
  37. Polkinghorne 1998, p. 72.
  38. Polkinghorne 1994, p. 76.
  39. Polkinghorne 1998, p. 75.
  40. Polkinghorne 1998, pp. 81–82.
  41. Polkinghorne 2003, p. 14.
  42. "'Creationism' Biologist Quits Job". BBC News. 16 September 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  43. Polkinghorne, John (19 September 2008). "Shining a Light Where Science and Theology Meet". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 1 September 2011. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  44. Frankenberry 2008, p. 340.
  45. "Science and the Trinity: Reviews". New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  46. Blackburn, Simon (1 August 2002). "An Unbeautiful Mind". The New Republic. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  47. Dyson, Freeman (1998). "Is God in the Lab?" . The New York Review of Books. Vol. 45, no. 9. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  48. Ings, Simon (1998). "God Only Knows". New Scientist. Vol. 159, no. 2141. Archived from the original on 12 March 2008. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  49. Dawkins 2006, p. 99.
  50. Polkinghorne & Beale 2009, p. 29.
  51. Grayling, A. C. (2009). "Review of Questions of Truth: God, Science and Belief, by John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale". New Humanist. Vol. 124, no. 2. London: Rationalist Association. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  52. Davis, Edward B. (17 July 2009). "The Motivated Belief of John Polkinghorne". First Things. New York: Institute on Religion and Public Life. Retrieved 5 January 2020.

Bibliography

Further reading

John Polkinghorne
Johnpolkinghorne.jpg
Polkinghorne in 2007
President of Queens' College, Cambridge
In office
1988–1996
Awards
Ecclesiastical career
ReligionChristianity (Anglican)
Church Church of England
Ordained
  • 1981 (deacon)
  • 1982 (priest)
Offices held
Academic background
Alma mater Trinity College, Cambridge
Thesis Contributions to Quantum Field Theory (1955)
Doctoral advisor
Influences
Academic offices
Preceded by President of Queens' College, Cambridge
1988–1996
Succeeded by
Preceded by Gifford Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh
1993–1994
Succeeded by
Preceded by
Terry Lecturer
1996–1997
Succeeded by
Professional and academic associations
New office President of the International
Society for Science and Religion

2002–2004
Succeeded by
Awards
Preceded by Templeton Prize
2002
Succeeded by