“IN the common quest for knowledge, science and religion are friends, not foes.” These are the words of the theoretical physicist, theologian and Anglican priest, John Polkinghorne. He adds: “Some people may find this surprising, for there’s a feeling throughout our society that religious belief is outmoded, or downright impossible, in a scientific age. I don’t agree. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that if people in this so-called ‘scientific age’ knew a bit more about science than many of them actually do, they’d find it easier to share my views.” John Polkinghorne is better qualified than me to express this opinion, but, for what it is worth, I agree with him wholeheartedly.
There are too many people who have read just enough science to be dangerously unaware of what they don’t know. The airport bookshops abound with quick reads about the genesis of the universe, the origins of life and the nature of consciousness and there is enough in these books to leave people thinking that it’s only a matter time before every question under the sun will be answered. God seems to have been left in the slow lane, no longer a player in the real world.