Polkinghorne, Belief in God in an Age of Science

A book review of John Polkinghorne, Belief in God in an Age of Science (Yale University Press, 1998).

After Coyne's the determinedly one-sided presentation of the relationship of science to religion (see the RPK review here), John Polkinghorne's Belief in God in an Age of Science comes as a breath of fresh air.  The author presents reasoned and carefully thought out arguments for his understanding of that issue.  As a theologically trained theoretical physicist and Anglican priest, he is an exception that  proves the general rule that scientists should stick to science and leave theology to the theologians.  That being said, this book is not an easy read especially when Polkinghorne discusses various scientific subjects.  His sentences can be long (60+ words between periods on occasion), and his penchant for ponderous prose sometimes obscures what easily could be stated more clearly.  Polkinghorne tends to use big words where shorter one will do just fine and is guilty of employing jargon at points.  Still, the effort is worth it for those who care about his subject.

Polkinghorne's perspective is that science and theology share a common universe and are "partners in a common quest for understanding" (p. xiv) that universe, which is best pursued by a "critical realist" philosophical approach to both.    While he does not provide a concise definition of "critical realism," he does state at one point,  "In a word, I am a realist.  Of course, such knowledge [of the physical world] is to a degree partial and corrigible.  Our attainment is verisimilitude not absolute truth.  Our method is the creative interpretation of experience, not rigorous deduction from it.  Thus, I am a critical realist." (p. 104)  Critical scientific realism for Polkinghorne rests on our human ability to know the world as it actually is while realizing that we cannot achieve absolute truth about reality.  He also writes, "It is the instinct of a scientist to encourage a trusting attitude towards those insights that afford a satisfying basis for understanding what is going on." (p. 110)  Polkinghorne embraces these same critical realist views in his theological perspective, and he believe that, "The search for truth through and through is ultimately the search for God." (p. 110)  He thus sees numerous parallels between theological reflection and scientific thinking, which encourage him in his view that the two are fundamentally partners in the quest for truth.

The idea that science and theology travel parallel paths to truth is central to the author's understanding of their relationship to each other.  He sees five similar "moments" that each takes in searching for the truth: (1) moments when there is a radical revision of thinking leading to new insights; (2) periods of confusion; (3) moments when a new synthesis and understandings are achieved; (4) a constant wrestling with unsolved problems; and (5) development of new theories that have unanticipated implications (see p. 29).  After demonstrating in some detail how these five moments apply to theological reflection, Polkinghorne states, "To many of us, and perhaps especially to those whose formation lies in the sciences, it seems that there is a considerable degree of counsily relationship between the two disciplines as each pursues its search for truth by means of the quest for motivated belief arising from their two very different domains of experience." (p. 46)

Rev. Dr. John Polkinghorne

In this context, one of Polkinghorne's chief aims in Belief in God in an Age of Science is to defend Christian belief in an age of science by showing that theology is equally as rational, ordered, disciplined, and ultimately fruitful way of studying reality as is science.  There is substantial room for dialogue, and the current tensions between faith and science are unnecessary.  In other words, throughout the book we hear echoes of the lessons learned from his own personal experience as both scientist and a man of faith, and we witness his deep personal concern that science not drown out spiritual concerns that are as real to him as the quantum world he studied as a scientist.  He affirms that theism "presents an adequately rich basis for understanding the world" and that "there is much more to the mind of God than science will ever discover."  That is, "Our moral intuitions are intimations of the perfective divine will, our aesthetic pleasures a sharing in the Creator's joy, our religious intuitions whispers of God's presence." (p. 19)

In his defense of faith and theology, Polkinghorne at times translates theological thought into scientific terms.  He, notably, describes the development of key theology concepts, such as the Christian understanding of the person of Jesus, as being an evolution in Christian thinking not unlike the way scientific understanding of particular phenomenon evolves (see p. 31).  One of the more powerful moments in the book is when the author wrestles with the relationship of God and time, rejecting the traditional theological view that God stands only beyond time.  He draws on insights from process theology to work on the idea that God bounded and not bounded by time (pp. 68-74)

Polkinghorne, in spite of his application of scientific thought to theology at points, is a largely orthodox man of faith who is attempting to chart a middle way (via media) between  the Enlightenment's "modern" penchant for absolutes and "postmodern" relativism.  It is from this middle ground, apparently, that he seeks to reach out in both directions—to skeptical scientists as a scientist of faith and to anti-science believers as a scientist of faith.  Because he has pursued careers in science and in the church, Polkinghorne's Belief in God in an Age of Science is much more successful than Francis S. Collin's The Language of God (see RPKR review here), which is lightweight when it comes to theological reflection.  Polkinghorne understands theological thought from the inside, as it were, which makes his book considerably more compelling—for those who share his general perspective on the relationship of science and religion.

Still, Polkinghorne's middle way is likely to suffer the usual treatment middle ways get, which is to be deplored by those on either end of the spectrum in question.  Thus, the arch-atheist Richard Dawkins confesses that he just does not understand how a scientist of Polkinghorne's quality wants to work in religious "stuff" that "never has added anything to the storehouse of human wisdom, and I don't see that it ever will." (See Dawkins' PBS interview here).  While I have not been able to locate any reviews of Polkinghorne's work by biblical literalists at the other end of the spectrum, it is impossible to think that they would be supportive of his views on such things as God being in some ways bounded by time.

For those, however, who are seeking an escape from  the evolution versus God wars Polkinghorne's Belief in God in an Age of Science provides a welcome reprieve.  His tone is temperate.  He gives almost no time to the warring factions and concentrates, instead, on making his positive case for the compatibility of scientific and theological thinking.  I thus strongly recommend this book to those who want to honestly explore the relationship of faith and science especially if you are willing to work through the heavy lifting of Polkinghorne's style, which isn't the easiest to read.  Unlike Coyne, Collins, or Dawkins, this is not a popular treatment.  It is not easily digested, but it is well worth the chew.