Belief in God in an Age of Science

Belief in God in an Age of Science, by the renowned theoretical physicist and theologian John Polkinghorne (a fellow of Queen's College, Cambridge), collects a series of lectures exploring the compatibility of science and theology. Polkinghorne's most interesting argument is that the two disciplines, which he calls "intellectual cousins," exhibit "a common concern with the attainment of understanding through the search for motivated belief." He describes this common concern by comparing the scientific investigation into the nature of light that led to the quantum theory with the theological investigation of the nature of Christ's being that led to the Chalcedonian Creed. Polkinghorne's prose is lucid throughout, and his broadminded rigor persuades readers that "if reality is generously and adequately construed, then knowledge will be seen to be one; if rationality is generously and adequately construed, then science and theology will be seen as partners in a common quest for understanding." --Michael Joseph Gross