John C. Polkinghorne, internationally renowned priest-scientist,
addresses fundamental questions about how scientific and theological
worldviews relate to each other in this, the second volume (originally
published in 1988) of his trilogy, which also included Science and Providence and One World.
Dr. Polkinghorne illustrates how a scientifically minded person
approaches the task of theological inquiry, postulating that there
exists a close analogy between theory and experiment in science and
belief and understanding in theology. He offers a fresh perspective on
such questions as: Are we witnessing today a revival a natural
theology—the search for God through the exercise of reason and the study
of nature? How do the insights of modern physics into the interlacing
of order and disorder relate to the Christian doctrine of Creation? What
is the relationship between mind and matter?
Polkinghorne states that the "remarkable insights that science
affords us into the intelligible workings of the world cry out for an
explanation more profound than that which it itself can provide.
Religion, if it is to take seriously its claim that the world is the
creation of God, must be humble enough to learn from science what that
world is actually like. The dialogue between them can only be mutually
enriching."