Despite the many books John Polkinghorne has worked on over the year, his name outside of his industry is irellivant, people have no idea who this man actually is and the great thing he has accmpolished for both Science and Religion. I present you a somewhat of a ‘foreward’ to John Polkinghorne so that you can familarise yourself with such a great author, teacher and role model for many people in two respective industries.
Raising questions in 1979, Professor Polkinghorne resigned from his current chair in order to start working on his training to become an Anglican Priest. Although an odd move, it appears to have been an intelligent one; ever since he has become well known in the industry for the series of Science and Religious books he has produced and co-written with his new colleagues. Although run by one of his mathematical students at Trinity College, Nicholas Beale, there has been many interesting discussion on the website which Beale runs; topics surrounding science and religion where both Polkinghorne and Nickolas chime in on the questions and give their informative opinions. His good friend and colleagues Nickolas Beale was elected Freeman of the city in 1996 and is well known for his staunch support of Christianity.
John throughout his time has responded to many questions and issued raised by his following who seek his unbiased opinion and view point of the Science and Religion debate; this is thanks to his background and the path in which he has taken over the years of his career. John’s main dialogue covers most aspect of contemporary faith that are serious concern to everyday men and women, trying to answer and respond to the serious concerns of the eternal question of what it means to be human and what exactly the purpose is of our and the species existence preciously is.
These days, our own culture seems to have very little roomo for those who are deeply sacred, it is widley conidered that religion is out of date and no longer lives up the values in which is preaches due to the irellvent nature whcih they are presented in making it so; that it has no place in our current age of science. Many beliving that face is of supsticous nonsese that should of left us at our preschool days, very much like Santa Claus and the Toothfiary are treated like.
This is where John Polkinghorne’s arguments come in, which he argues that science and religion are not at conflict and are rather distant cousins that have some differences but many things about them intertwine and sees to exist; to complement each other rather than to debunk each other’s ideologies. Arguing that both are vital to the understanding of our place in the universe whom he shares the view with many other scientists, and believe that physics, conditions us to do more, rather than the convinced notion to be do less, receptive towards religious mysteries.