The Faith of a Physicist: Reflections of a Bottom-Up Thinker

by John C. Polkinghorne

Is it possible to think like a scientist and yet have the faith of a Christian? Although many Westerners might say no, there are also many critically minded individuals who entertain what John Polkinghorne calls a "wistful wariness" toward religion--they feel unable to accept religion on rational grounds yet cannot dismiss it completely. Polkinghorne, both a particle physicist and Anglican priest, here explores just what rational grounds there could be for Christian beliefs, maintaining that the quest for motivated understanding is a concern shared by scientists and religious thinkers alike. Anyone who assumes that religion is based on unquestioning certainties, or that it need not take into account empirical knowledge, will be challenged by Polkinghorne's bottom-up examination of Christian beliefs about events ranging from creation to the resurrection.

The author organizes his inquiry around the Nicene Creed, an early statement that continues to summarize Christian beliefs. He applies to each of its tenets the question, "What is the evidence that makes you think this might be true?" The evidence Polkinghorne weighs includes the Hebrew and Christian scriptures--their historical contexts and the possible motivations for their having been written--scientific theories, and human self-consciousness as revealed in literary, philosophical, and psychological works.

He begins with the words, "We believe," and presents understandings of the nature of humanity, showing, for example, that Cartesian theory, evolution, and natural selection do not tell the entire story of what humans are about, especially in light of many sources that attest to our spirituality. Moving through the Creed, Polkinghorne considers the concept of divinity and God as creator in discussions that cover the Theory of Everything, the Big Bang Theory, and the possibility of divine presence within reality so that God is not simply an outside observer. Chapters on Jesus analyze the different ways events are described in the Gospels and the way motivation for belief is conveyed--for example, how do these writings explain why a young man killed in public disgrace could inspire a following, when other major world religious leaders lived to become highly revered elders in their communities?

"Faith seeking understanding" is, according to Polkinghorne, like the scientific quest. Both are journeys of intellectual discovery in which those who survey experience from an initially chosen point of view must be open to correction in the light of further experience. "Religion," he writes, "has long known that ultimately every human image of God proves to be an inadequate idol." The Faith of a Physicist, based on the prestigious 1993 Gifford Lectures, delivers a powerful message to scientists and theologians, theists and atheists alike.

Genres: Science, Religion, Theology, Faith, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Christianity

222 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

John Charlton Polkinghorne is an English theoretical physicist, theologian, writer and Anglican priest. A prominent and leading voice explaining the relationship between science and religion, he was professor of Mathematical physics at the University of Cambridge from 1968 to 1979, when he resigned his chair to study for the priesthood, becoming an ordained Anglican priest in 1982. He served as the president of Queens' College, Cambridge from 1988 until 1996.

Reviews

[Blair Hodges · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Every atom of carbon in every living being was once inside a star, from whose dead ashes we have all arisen" (72).

Just finished this book for an upcoming course on cosmology and Christology. It's a great read. Polkinghorne's true value lies in explaining and demonstrating a particular method of thought, more than in the particular conclusions he reaches. This is important because any overview of the relationship between scientific thought and theology has an invisible expiration date. While this book is still relatively fresh, it will still be worth reading down the road when new scientific views emerge because it enacts as much as it instructs.

[Anna]

This book was so Scientific Inquiry w Dr. Reeves (and in fact he wrote our quantum theory book!). Polkinghorne, a priest and particle physicist, uses the Nicene Creed as a framework to explore different aspects of Christianity. He emphasizes the philosophical similarities of science and religion as quests into "the great ocean of truth lying undiscovered before us" and also as fields where often "understanding outruns explanation." I found his discussion of temporality, the physical world, and the Holy Spirit particularly interesting! This was dense, like reading a long academic paper, and honestly it will take some serious quote farming before my thoughts fully cohere. But I found it a challenging and enjoyable read that provides a unique rationale/perspective in which the Christian and scientific understandings of the world clarify, rather than contradict, one another.

[Scott Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Polkinghorne is a respected professor of physics at Cambridge University who became an Anglican priest. The President Emeritus of Queen’s College, he is well-known for his understanding of common terrain between science and religion. This book contains the text of the 1993-94 Gifford Lectures and describes his theological belief system. This belief system roughly aligns with Christian orthodoxy. This text explains how he studiously came to these beliefs as he explains why he eschewed other beliefs.

This book is more of a Credo (Latin for “I believe”) and less of an exploration of science. He does discuss a few points of science in detail, but the main logical thread proceeds as an examination of his confessional faith, in line with Christianity’s Nicene Creed. True to his scientific demeanor, his is not a blind faith; rather, he rigorously explains, in a bottom-up fashion, how he came to embrace this viewpoint.

Many theological expositions are top-down and explain the universe from a series of principles or from a specific narrative. Of course, such pre-packaged (and pompous) propositions are automatically suspect for those of us rigorously educated in the sciences, which reflexively doubt authority. Instead, Polkinghorne examines how and why orthodox beliefs came to be historically and how and why he came to embrace them personally. He is primarily concerned with matters of truth and knowledge, not with evangelization or popular appeal.

As one with a bottom-up view of the world, I appreciate his words. I almost became a pastor, too, but shied away from the broad, all-encompassing systems of faith that I found in seminaries. I do not embrace doubt as a formal method; rather, I embrace it as a reflexive necessity, like breathing. Scientific views of Christianity resonate deeply with me, and like Polkinghorne, I appreciate knowledge-based approaches to religious faiths rather than experience-laden ones.

This book has obvious value to Christians who lean scientific and scientists who lean Christian. Because it takes a more confessional form, I’m not sure it has great value to religious people who aren’t Christian. Further, I’m not sure it can have much appeal for Christians who don’t appreciate good science – that is, most of the Christian fold. There’s not a lot here that’ll preach to the public more than a “See, scientists can be Christian, too!” Like the rest of Polkinghorne’s work, this writing represents a sensitive mind and a compassionate heart that seeks truth. It might not convince many on either side of the religion-science conversations, but it finds a meandering middle where Polkinghorne built his career.

[Bruce · Rating 5 out of 5]

John Polkinghorne has a distinguished career in particle physics, and went from that to being a distinguished theologian and priest. He presents a marvelous case for the marriage of science and faith, or better said, for the reasons we need both. I've read most of his books. You can't go wrong with any of them.

[Chris G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great exposition on faith and science from theoretical physicist-turned-Catholic priest. The phrase that comes to mind when I try to summarize this book is “Theology described by and for a physicist” (and really extended to any “bottom-up thinkers” as he calls them, people who start with observations of phenomena and build up to a theory). I appreciate the structuring of his lecture around the Nicene Creed, where he gives interesting insights incorporating both his Christian faith and his experience and knowledge of physics. It is a book that is dense with insights — I found myself re-reading various parts and jotting down notes to parse through his thoughts as he additionally brings a wealth of knowledge of philosophy and history to the table. One may not agree with all of Polkinghorne’s conclusions, but he also tends to preface these saying he’s presenting more of an opinion or preference. Nonetheless, there is much to take away from the methods and approach that Polkinghorne uses in the dialog between faith and science, and also in showing an example of what it can be like to be a committed faithful Christian who is well-versed and experienced in science.

[Jordan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the compilation of Polkinghorne's 1993-94 Gifford Lectures. Phenomenal.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had never read Polkinghorne before, so I wanted to see what he was all about. I think John is a great ambassador for Christ-- a respected physicist and a devoted Christian. I think his writings can be helpful to non-Christians who fear that embracing the Gospel is in compatible with modern scientific thinking.

I like the idea of how Polkinghorne structured his book around the Nicene creed, but I didn't find a lot of his content particularly inspiring. But I'm probably not his targeted audience either.

Insightful:
p6 "Revelation is not the presentation of unchallengeable dogmas for reception by the unquestioning faithful. Rather, it is the record of those transparent events or persons in which the divine will and presence have been most clearly discernible."

"The Nicene Creed is not a demand for intellectual surrender to a set of non-negotiable propositions; instead it represents the summary of insights and experience garnered from founding centuries of the Church's history."

p15 Turning away from the divine presence has consequences that warp culture and social structures. Additionally, it could conceivably lead to selection pressures that warp humans on a biological level, too.

p80 A challenge for theology: One is trying to steer a path between the unrelaxing grip of a Cosmic Tyrant and the impotence of indifference of a Deistic Spectator.
p81 Reconciling sovereignty with free will: "God remains omnipotent in the sense that he can do whatever he wills, but it is not in accordance with his will and nature to insist on total control."
p83 The problem of evil: "God no more expressly wills the growth of a cancer than he expressly will the act of a murderer, but he allows both to happen. He is not the puppet master of either men or matter."

p88 More than half of the Nicene Creed is dedicated to Jesus of Nazareth. Christianity is historically oriented, and the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus is central to that historical concern.
Almost all of what we know about Jesus is contained in the writings of the New Testament. Outside of that, we only know that he existed and that he was executed.
p106 "The most certain thing about Jesus is that he was crucified during the procuratorship of Pontius Pilate." Roman historian Tacitus refers to it in the early 2nd century.

p105 Gnostic Gospels: "The most striking difference between the canonical gospels and the Gospel of Thomas is that the latter shows no concern with the death of Jesus. In contrast, Mark devotes 6 of his 16 chapters to the last week of Jesus' life."

[Katherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book gives a clear look at faith from a scientific point of view. It highlights some of the assumptions made within the scientific community, assumptions that have been broadly accepted as reality. Polkinghorne has helped me think more clearly about the scientific endeavor and the pursuit of faith.

[Sam Beethoven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better (and, in some chapters, a bit more technical) than I expected. I came with an Apologia-Pro-Vita-Sua-style intellectual memoir in view, but got something more like Barth’s commentary on the Apostle’s Creed - only, written by a physicist. The early, philosophically heavier chapters (knowledge, humanity, God, creation), were especially good.

[Anna]

Reading this again because I don't think I understood it the first time.

[Scott Sperling · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the most profound books that I have ever read. Full of extremely deep thoughts (as reflected by the numerous highlighted passages), and much food-for-thought.

[Larry Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

essential for understanding science and faith