Krista's Journal: March 10, 2005
This Week:
Quarks and Creation
Physicist and Anglican theologian John Polkinghorne applies the insights of quantum physics to religious mysteries and the evolution debate. He was awarded the Templeton Prize in 2002, and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his distinguished service to science, religion, learning, and medical ethics.
Speaking of Faith host Krista TippettOn the Complementary Nature of Science and Religion
I first heard John Polkinghorne?s voice on the BBC in the late 1980s, at a time when I lived in England. Late one night, he presented a riveting radio essay. It couldn?t have lasted more than five or ten minutes, but it had a tremendous, lasting effect on me.
Polkinghorne spoke about reason and faith, science and prayer ? subjects I was pondering deeply at that point, after a good decade in which I had dismissed religion and religious sentiments out of hand. He described connections between quantum physics and theology in inviting, commonsense terms. He applied chaos theory to make prayer sound intellectually intriguing. This week, I was able to talk with John Polkinghorne about the ideas he inspired in me 15 years ago and about many related questions I have accumulated since.
Just as I find myself speaking with him, of course, the centuries-old debate between science and religion ? in particular the flashpoint of evolution versus creation ? is taking on renewed energy in American culture. Ironically, at this same historical moment, a lively, deepening international dialogue between science and religion is reaching across the rift that developed after Charles Darwin published On the Origin of the Species in 1859. John Polkinghorne is a leading figure in that movement. Over the years, he points out, we?ve formed some myths and legends around the science/religion divide that do not necessarily square with the facts. We forget that many of history's greatest scientists ? Newton, Copernicus, even Galileo ? considered their work to be a religious endeavor. We forget how suspicious many scientists were of Darwin?s ideas, for generations, and how appreciatively some theologians have always received them.
Most striking, however, is how John Polkinghorne?s perspective simply transcends the parameters and arguments that drive our cultural controversies.
Read more of Krista's reflection.
Krista Recommends Reading:
Quarks, Chaos, and ChristianityQuarks, Chaos, and Christianity
by John C. Polkinghorne
This is a captivating, readable book ? arguably Polkinghorne?s most accessible work ? addressing many of the themes discussed in our interview.
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