Science and the Trinity: The Christian Encounter with Reality

Description: The book is based on a series of lectures given by Sir John Polkinghorne at Princeton Theological in 2003. Topics include natural theology, the theology of nature, evolution, Big Bang theory, the relationship between science and faith, how we should approach Scripture, the problem of evil, eschatology, end-time resurrection, and other key theological topics. The book is profound, but written in fairly simple language - considering the subjects being discussed. Some familiarity with theological and scientific terms would be helpful; otherwise, you will need a good dictionary at hand. If you know a little about science and theology, these 180 pages read quickly. For me, as a vegan and animal advocate, some parts (like page 152)are deeply disturbing. Here Sir John questions those who think God might want to preserve all the animals for eternity. Here I would like to quote the author: "I believe that every human that has ever lived will again live beyond their deaths, but should I also believe this to be true of every dinosaur? Even more problematically, what about every bacterium that has ever lived?" (page 152) I won't even comment on the fallacy of this comparison. Polkinghorne goes on to say that he thinks that representatives of each species will be preserved, but ... "On the other hand, I think it is unlikely that they will all be there. There is a human intuition ... that animals are indeed to be valued, but more in type than in token ... it is morally permissible, in circumstances of limited forage, to cull a herd of deer, preserving the group at the cost of the humane killing of some of its members. Such a policy could not be coutenanced in relation to a human population. I think it likely, therefore, that there will be horses in the world to come, but not every horse that has ever lived." An intriguing special case is presented by animals who are greatly loved pets. Have they acquired sufficient idiosyncratic significance to require this to be continued beyond death?"(page 152) These are loaded comments. Polkinghorne may be a universalist, but his remarks are so guarded that it is difficult to say for certain. Polkinghorne may have this all backwards, however. I think he could be over-estimating the number of human earthlings who will be saved and under-estimating the number of non-human earthlings who will see the new creation. Christopher Southgate, in his book, The Groaning of Creation, asserts that there may be universal salvation for the animals. This actually makes better sense - if humans have a more profoud understanding of the Moral Law, but freely choose to violate it. On the other hand, Polkinghorne often speaks as if there is limited space for resurrected creatures to live in. How odd! Two points can be made here: 1) The physical laws may be more different in the new cosmos than Polkinghorne realizes, and 2) Even with no change in the basic physics, there is plenty of room in this unive

John Polkinghorne is a fine author; the combination of his faith, his deep understanding of physics and his ability to explain the most complex ideas in terms that are relatively easy to follow (sometimes requiring a second read!) make him uniquely qualified for the challenge of showing how it can be intellectually sound to embrace the Christian faith. His willingness to quote sources with whom he clearly disagrees and to do so with integrity towards the opposing view adds tremendously to the depth of his reasoning. His comment on page 63 is typical: "The universe has proved to be astonishingly rationally transparent, and the human mind remarkably apt to the comprehension of its structure. We can penetrate the secrets of the subatomic realm of quarks and gluons, and we can make maps of cosmic curved spacetime, both regimes that have no practical impact upon us, and both exhibiting properties that are counterintuitive in relation to our ordinary habits of thought. Our understanding of the workings of the world greatly exceed (sic) anything that could simply be required for human survival." When I reflect on insights such as this (and the book is full of them) I find them so much more valuable than the confrontational approach of the materialists on one side and the Intelligent Design zealots on the other.

The task of theology and the task of science have many things in common, and many differences. In some sense, both seek the truth (albeit most often different in context and meaning), and while both make an appeal to reason as a methodology, they vary in their application of this. Author John Polkinghorne has a combined profession of cleric and theoretical physicist. Physics and theology are both often caterogised as 'big picture' enterprises - I recall the time that I got better grades from in a biblical studies course after talking with the professor Marti Steussy; once she realised that I had had science training in physics, and I realised she'd had science training in biochemistry, we understood each other much better with regard to biblical studies (big picture vs. constitutent parts/small things approaches). Polkinghorne also approaches things from a big picture perspective, albeit involving small things (the smallest of things, in fact, that science can discern). This book is derivative of lectures given at Princeton Theological Seminary in 2003. Polkinghorne's intention was to draw together science and religion in a dialogue, letting theological issues provide the framework. He covers different key areas in systematic theology (scripture, sacraments, doctrine of God, eschatology), and does so through an expressly trinitarian paradigm. 'I believe that a discussion of this kind has to be undertaken from the standpoint of a particular faith tradition,' Polkinghorne states, and starts with many assumptions of the Christian faith - of course, his audience at Princeton was also primarily Christian, as will be most of the readers of this volume. Polkinghorne admits that this particularist stance is somewhat at odds with the aims of science: 'Scientists love generality, and they are often wary of particularity.' But for theological reasoning, one must be inside the circle, rather than outside; however, the scandal of particularity must be admitted. This is not an 'in-depth' book in terms of attempting to provide a deep exposition of modern physics (many concepts are assumed to be familiar to the reader, if not completely understood). However, Polkinghorne avoids complex mathematical and technical terminology and constructions for the most part, so that the general non-scientist reader can follow the text readily. Polkinghorne does draw in elements of the history of science and theology and their often-troubled relationship, and shows something of the development of the way theological thinking since the Enlightenment. This is an interesting book for those who are interested in the ongoing science/religion debate. It does not address the more-hot-button issue of evolution as a primary theme, although it does come up in several of the essays; this is a more general coverage of science and theology, the way they relate to each other.

This may well be one of Polkinghorne's best. He assumes a knowledge of recent discoveries in phyiscs and doesn't really explain them. He does that elsewhere in books like Quarks, Chaos and Christianity, but he does refer to those facts in a determined attempt to develop a theology that is consonant with the physical facts known to scientists. He describes a new theology that sees God as both temporal and atemporal, a God who has created a developing universe in which He is active but which is also independent from Him. His view may not be satisfying to some but it is the grandest attempt I have read by a theologian to answer the questions that physics ask about the nature of the universe. He calls himself a "bottoms=up thinker"-- one who develops theory based on evidence. He does not claim to "prove" the existence of God only to show that it is the most satsifying explanation for the facts shown. His goal here really is not to persuade the unpersuaded to believe in God, rather is is addressed to those who, like him, are believers who nevertheless have many questions that have been undresolved for centuries-- Does God exist only outside of time? Why does God allow bad things to happen to good people. And so on. A great, but as usual, difficult, read for people of faith seeking greater understanding.