A Brief Summary of Question of Truth
‘John Polkinghorne Questions of Truth‘ is a book by John Polkinghorne and Nicholas Beale and it offers responses to 51 questions that revolve around the topic of science and religion individually as well as how they do and could possibly link with one another.
The book was first launched in America at the Annual meeting of American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago and then in the UK at the Royal Society discussion which was chaired by Onora O’Neill – in the same week it was also featured on the latest edition of Today Programme.
Questions of Truth was first written and published due to a website AMA (ask me anything) event which seeded questions on the topic of Science and Religion and was originally a way for users to communicate with Polkinghorne and his ideas
The AMA consisted of 7 main questions which then later turned into topics discussed within the book; each question follows a response from both Beale and Polkinghorne, sometimes as a single answer or responded by the writers individually. These questions and answers take up approximately a 3rd of the book.
Here are the 7 topics which are discussed extensively within the book;
- Leading questions
- The Concept and Existence of God:
- The Universe
- Evolution
- Evil
- Human Being
- Religion
John Polkinghorne Questions of Truth: Review
A former student of John’s, Nicholas Beale, runs a website on behalf of his mentor, on which the topics of religion and science and the possibility of them interlinking can be posted and discussed. This is which the “Questions of Truth” is based on, the very answers Beale and Polkinghorne had given on this website; though worth noting is the fact that the majority of answers are from Beale himself, rather than Polkinghorne who’s knowledge is certainly more valuable than his former student.
The topics which have been spoken about, as previously stated are questions around creation, the existence of evil, evolution and intelligent design. As well as other common questions these sorts of books love to ask such as “How does the death of Jesus save the world?” and “Why believe Jesus rose from the dead?”
Focusing on the questions that ask how science and religion may be intertwined, purely because the interest that is attached to Polkinghorne is that he is a physicist who gave up the world of science to become part of the Chruch of England as a vicar, which makes people believe is a man with all the answers to this very topic.
If you haven’t read this book already and are looking into purchasing a copy, let me sum it up in as few words as I possibly can for you:
This book, rather than answering any questions you have, plays on the classic of “we don’t know the truth so lets say ‘so and so’ has done it” meaning they really have no idea and offer solutions from both sides of Science and Religion; allowing you to either pick for yourself from the ‘facts’ in which they present to you or never think twice about it due to the openness in which the questions leave you.
On the other hand, the book really does make you think, which necessarily isn’t a bad thing, you can form your own opinion based on what the pair are delivering you, and this will be a common trend as with any scientific crossed with religion book. Fact is we don’t really know anything and a lot of it is speculative; the book doesn’t hide that fact and rightly so.
Purchase Questions of Truth
There are many places on the web in which you can buy a paperback version of John Polkinghorne’s Question of Truth, a good and cheap example being pcusastore if you’re a USA resident. Fortunately, if you’re outside of the USA and are living in the UK you will be able to purchase Questions of Truth from bookdepository at a competitive price.
However, if you’re still unsure if you want to purchase such a fascinating book, and our review didn’t quite convince you yet, then Science News has a great article about Questions of Truth. Giving their honest opinion on how the book reads and the information you will gain from reading; which you can view for free once you become a subscriber.
Alternatively, if you’re lacking any form of budget, and you still haven’t made your mind up then you are able to go read a few pages of the book online for completely free. If this is the case then head on over to Wiley Online Libary to read both the long and short version of the Question of Truth.