Testing Scripture: A Scientist Explores the Bible

by John Polkinghorne

Publisher:

Brazos Press

, 2011

Scientist and theologian John Polkinghorne is one of the world's leading authorities on issues of science and faith. In this compelling work, he provides a fresh, honest look at key themes of the Bible from an analytical and rational perspective, offering a series of insights that have helped him in his own engagement with the Bible. Polkinghorne tackles the questions a modern Western thinker might bring to the Bible, including issues of Scripture and authority, contradiction and ambiguity, and the creation and fall. He also addresses theological challenges of the Old Testament, the Gospels, and the writings of Paul. "I have written this little book in the hope that it will be helpful to those who are seeking a careful and thoughtful engagement with the Bible in their quest for a truthful understanding of the ways of God and the nature of spiritual reality," writes Polkinghorne. His nuanced approach will be appreciated by any reader with an open and inquiring mind who is interested in the intersection between science and Scripture.

From the Back Cover

As a theoretical physicist and Anglican priest, John Polkinghorne is uniquely positioned to be one of the world's leading authorities on issues of science and faith. In this compelling work, Polkinghorne brings the analytical and rational perspective of a scientist to bear on the study of Scripture, providing a fresh, honest look at key themes of the Bible.

"John Polkinghorne is one of the most important Christian thinkers alive, respected for his contributions to science, theology, and their interface. In Testing Scripture he shows how a thoughtful believer can respect the insights and authority of Scripture without getting mired in the quicksand of biblical literalism. I highly recommend this accessible and informed survey."--Karl Giberson, author or coauthor of seven books, including Quantum Leap: How John Polkinghorne Found God in Science and Religion

"In the clear and candid prose his readers appreciate, John Polkinghorne takes bottom-up thinking from his scientific background and applies it as a priest to the Bible. The result is a level-headed and winsome argument for the high value of Scripture. Along the way, Polkinghorne addresses pressing issues facing Christian interpreters of the Bible today."--Thomas Jay Oord, professor of theology and philosophy, Northwest Nazarene University; editor of The Polkinghorne Reader

Contents

Introduction
1. Scripture
2. Development
3. Creation and Fall
4. Ambiguity
5. Israel's Bible
6. The Gospels
7. Cross and Resurrection
8. The Pauline writings
9. Other New Testament writings
10. Profundity
Further Reading
Index

Product Details

• Title : Testing Scripture: A Scientist Explores the Bible
• Author: Polkinghorne, John
• Publisher: Brazos Press
• Publication Date: 2011
• ISBN: 9781441237408

About John Polkinghorne

Rev Dr. John Polkinghorne (1930-2021) was a distinguished physicist who spent recent decades studying and writing about the relationship between science and faith. His physics career began at Cambridge where he studied under the legendary quantum pioneer P.A.M. Dirac and others, and he worked for 25 years in the field of theoretical elementary particle physics as a professor at Cambridge. He resigned his professorship in 1979 and became an Anglican priest, and since then has become a leading spokesman for the faith among serious scientists. He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1974, and was appointed KBE (Knight Commander of the order of the British Empire) in 1997.