Science and Providence: God’s Interaction with the World

by John Polkinghorne

Publisher:

Templeton Foundation Press

, 2005

Overview

Internationally renowned priest-scientist John C. Polkinghorne examines whether a personal, interacting God is a credible concept in today’s scientific age. Encouraging the belief that there is a compatibility between the insights of science and the insights of religion, this volume focuses on the viewpoint that the world is one in which both human beings and God have the freedom to act.

A modern understanding of the physical world is applied to questions of prayer and providence, such as: Do miracles happen? Can prayer change anything? Why does evil exist? Why does God allow suffering? Why does God need us to ask him?

God’s involvement in time is considered, from both a temporal and an eternal perspective. The roles of incarnation and sacrament are discussed in terms of whether or not they have a credible place in today’s worldview. And the Final Anthropic Principle (FAP) is presented, with its attempt at a physical eschatology, showing it to be an inadequate basis for hope. Real hope can reside only with God, Polkinghorne concludes.

In the Logos edition, this valuable volume is enhanced by amazing functionality. Scripture citations link directly to English translations, and important terms link to dictionaries, encyclopedias, and a wealth of other resources in your digital library. Perform powerful searches to find exactly what you’re looking for. Take the discussion with you using tablet and mobile apps. With Logos Bible Software, the most efficient and comprehensive research tools are in one place, so you get the most out of your study.

Key Features

• Speaks of God and creation in the light of contemporary understanding
• Discusses God’s involvement in time
• Encourages readers to be “sincere lovers of and earnest inquirers after truth”

Contents

• The Problem
• Embodiment and Action
• Providence
• Miracle
• Evil
• Prayer
• Time
• Incarnation and Sacrament
• Hope

Product Details

• Title: Science and Providence: God’s Interaction with the World
• Author: John Polkinghorne
• Publisher: SPCK
• Publication Date: 1989
• Pages: 140

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.