Just as gendered, cultural, and geographical perspectives have illuminated and advanced theological thought, the contributions of twentieth-century science have much to offer theology. In his latest book, physicist-theologian John Polkinghorne, renowned as one of the world's foremost thinkers on science and religion, offers a lucid argument for developing the intersection of the two fields as another form of contextual theology. Countering recent assertions by new atheists that religious belief is irrational and even dangerous, Polkinghorne explores ways that theology can be open to and informed by science. He describes recent scientific discourse on such subjects as epistemology, objectivity, uncertainty, and rationality and considers the religious importance of the evolution in these areas of scientific thought. Then, evaluating such topics as relativity, space and time, and evolutionary theory, he uses a scientific style of inquiry as a foundation on which to build a model of Christian belief structure. Science and theology share in the great human quest for truth and understanding, says Polkinghorne, and he illustrates how their interaction can be fruitful for both.

This reader brings together carefully selected material from a wide range of authors on the relationships between science, religion and theology. It samples the recent literature on the challenges to religion posed by both modern physics and evolutionary biology as well as exploring the relationship between scientific and theological approaches. Topics include models of interaction between science and religion, historical reflections on the "conflict thesis", scientific and theological methods, creation and modern cosmology, uncertainty and chaos, creationism and evolutionary theory, the anthropic principle and design, and the challenge of reductionism. Contributors include Ian Barbour, Michael Behe, Richard Dawkins, John Habgood, Mary Hesse, T. H. Huxley, Alister McGrath, Arthur Peacocke, John Polkinghorne, Michael Ruse, Keith Ward and Fraser Watts.

How do science and theology interact? What can be gained by exploring Christian theology using the insights of the natural sciences? Can a synergy be found? Is there a defensible natural theology within the scope and framework of a revealed God?

divdivIn this captivating book, one of the most highly regarded scientist-theologians of our time explores aspects of the interaction of science and theology. John Polkinghorne defends the place of theology in the university (it is part of the human search for truth) and discusses the role of revelation in religion (it is a record of experience and not the communication of unchallengeable propositions). Throughout his thought-provoking conversation, Polkinghorne speaks with an honesty and openness that derives from his many years of experience in scientific research. A central concern of Polkinghorne’s collection of writings is to reconcile what science can say about the processes of the universe with theology’s belief in a God active within creation. The author examines two related concepts in depth. The first is the divine self-limitation involved in creation that leads to an important reappraisal of the traditional claim that God does not act as a cause among causes. The other is the nature of time and God’s involvement with it, an issue that Polkinghorne shows can link metascience and theological understandings. In the final section of the book, the author reviews three centuries of the science and theology debate and assesses the work of major contemporary contributors to the discussion: Wolfhart Pannenberg, Thomas Torrance, and Paul Davies. He also considers why the science-theology discussion has for several centuries been a particular preoccupation of the English. /DIV/DIV

Both science and religion explore aspects of reality, providing "a basis for their mutual interaction as they present their different perspectives onto the one world of existent reality," Polkinghorne argues. In One World he develops his thesis through an examination of the nature of science, the nature of the physical world, the character of theology, and the modes of thought in science and theology. He identifies "points of interaction" and points of potential conflict between science and religion. Along the way, he discusses creation, determinism, prayer, miracles, and future life, and he explains his rejection of scientific reductionism and his defense of natural theology.

The last sixty years have witnessed a virtual explosion of interest in how modern science and traditional Christianity intersect. This new rapprochement with science has irrevocably altered how Christians think of God, providing a foundation from which we cannot retreat, but from which we also cannot move forward until we examine the presumptions on which it is based. For the first time, Richard J. Coleman interprets in a clear and meaningful way the themes and practitioners that make this rapprochement different, and what it has achieved. But this book is more than description - it is an inquiry into whether Christian theology has lost its authentic voice by its singular focus on accommodating modern science.

If we wish to understand ourselves and the world in relation to God, what contribution to our understanding should we expect from a Christian tradition with its roots in the Bible, and what should we expect from the natural sciences? Neil Messer sets out five types of answer to that question. The responses range from the view that the Christian tradition has nothing to contribute, through various forms of dialogue, to the claim that science is irrelevant to theological understanding. This classification scheme is illustrated and tested by extended explorations of three topics in the science and theology field: how to think about God's action in the world, how to make theological sense of the suffering and destruction involved in the evolution of life, and how theology should respond to the scientific study of religion. The classification offers a way to understand and evaluate these debates, and the discussion of specific examples demonstrates the strengths and weaknesses of each type of approach. The book concludes with suggestions for how readers might use this scheme to guide their own work on science and theology. For students and researchers in science and theology, this book offers three things: a tool for understanding specific debates in science and theology, critical surveys of some of the most important debates in the field, and a concise guide to ways of setting up encounters of theology with science.