Books in the The Terry Lectures Series series

Why does the tension between science and religion continue? How have those tensions impacted the public debate about so-called 'intelligent design' as a scientific alternative to evolution? This title addresses the conflict from its philosophical roots to its manifestations within American culture.

John Polkinghorne is a major figure in todays debates over the compatibility of science and religion. Internationally known as both a theoretical physicist and a theologianthe only ordained member of the Royal SocietyPolkinghorne brings unique qualifications to his inquiry into the possibilities of believing in God in an age of science. In this thought-provoking book, the author focuses on the collegiality between science and theology, contending that these "e;intellectual cousins"e; are both concerned with interpreted experience and with the quest for truth about reality. He argues eloquently that scientific and theological inquiries are parallel.The book begins with a discussion of what belief in God can mean in our times. Polkinghorne explores a new natural theology and emphasizes the importance of moral and aesthetic experience and the human intuition of value and hope. In other chapters, he compares sciences struggle to understand the nature of light with Christian theologys struggle to understand the nature of Christ. He addresses the question, Does God act in the physical world? And he extends his ideas about the role of chaos theory, surveys the prospects for future dialogue between scientific and theological thinkers, and defends a critical realist understanding of the activities of both disciplines. Polkinghorne concludes with a consideration of the nature of mathematical truths and the links between the complementary realities of physical and mental experience.