Of course, nobody would deny the importance of human beings for theological thinking, but the time span of history that theologians think about is a few thousand years of human culture rather than the fifteen billion years of the history of the universe. John Polkinghorne beingbillionculture share on social
Nevertheless, all of us who work in quantum physics believe in the reality of a quantum world, and the reality of quantum entities like protons and electrons. John Polkinghorne electronentityphysic Change image and share on social
The physical fabric of the world had to be such as to enable that ten billion year preliminary evolution to produce the raw materials of life. Without it there would not have been the chemical materials to allow life to evolve here on earth. John Polkinghorne billionchemicalearth share on social
People, and especially theologians, should try to familiarize themselves with scientific ideas. Of course, science is technical in many respects, but there are some very good books that try to set out some of the conceptual structure of science. John Polkinghorne bookconceptualfamiliarize share on social
Evolution, of course, is not something that simply applies to life here on earth; it applies to the whole universe. John Polkinghorne applyearthevolution Change image and share on social
I very much enjoyed my career in science. I didn't leave science because I was disillusioned, but felt I'd done my bit for it after about twenty-five years. John Polkinghorne bitecareerdisillusion Change image and share on social
I was very much on the mathematical side, where you probably do your best work before you're forty-five. Having passed that significant date, I thought I would do something else. John Polkinghorne datefortymathematical Change image and share on social
I also think we need to maintain distinctions - the doctrine of creation is different from a scientific cosmology, and we should resist the temptation, which sometimes scientists give in to, to try to assimilate the concepts of theology to the concepts of science. John Polkinghorne assimilateconceptcosmology share on social
I think it's very important to maintain the classical Christian distinction between the Creator and creation. John Polkinghorne christianclassicalcreation Change image and share on social
Whitehead reacted strongly against the idea of God as a cosmic tyrant, one who brings about everything. John Polkinghorne bringcosmicgod Change image and share on social