Keeping in mind that this is a book about John Polkinghorne rather than by him, it is a wonderful read. It describes Polkinghorne's career in theoretical physics, his switch to the priesthood, his career as an Anglican priest, his re-entry into academia, and his "retirement." Although this book was not written by Polkinghorne, it is filled with enough Polkinghorne quotations from the numerous interviews that the authors had with him and from his previous books that it almost feels like it was written by him. It touches on many of the ideas that Polkinghorne has discussed in his own 35 books.
In Chapter 1 (Intellectual Suicide), the authors describe the New Atheists' case via the writings of Stephen Weinberg, Richard Dawkins, Stephen Hawking, Carl Sagan, and E. O. Wilson, intermingled with Polkinghorne's responses.
Chapter 2 (Room for Reality) describes his youth, education, and career as a theoretical particle physicist and his decision to switch to theology at age 49.
Chapter 3 (Droplets of Grace) covers prayer and Polkinghorne's prayer life, largely in the context of the illness and death of his wife of 51 years. It including a discussion of whether prayer can change things.
Chapter 4 (Regime change) tells of his experiences and feelings as the vicar of the only church in a small village near Canterbury and his attitude toward being able to celebrate the Eucharist. This chapter also covers miracles and the topic of science and the resurrection. Polkinghorne argues that scientists hold on to perplexing paradoxes all the time (particle vs. wave nature of light, quantum physics) and argues that "We live in a subtle world and both science and theology need to be subtle in their accounts of it."
Chapter 5 (Here and There) includes a discussion of the Anthropic Principle and what it shows and what it doesn't show.
Chapter 6 (Law and order) deals with medical ethic issues that Polkinghorne helped the UK to address. It also touches on the problems resulting from taking the Bible too literalistically versus accepting an evolving understanding of the Scriptures.
Chapter 7 (Life after Life) deals with what constitutes human identity, particularly that which continues after physical death and mentions his personal opinion that "God's offer of love and mercy is withdrawn at death. We still have a free will after death. We're still human beings."
Chapter 8 (In Particular) includes a very nice discussion of the possible role of science in interfaith dialogue by beginning with how each faith understands how the discoveries of modern science relate to their traditional theological understandings. It also includes speculation about the possibility of life elsewhere in the universe and its implications.
The book leads up to Polkinghorne's three conclusions regarding the grand questions that religions ponder:
1. Belief in God is rational. Such a belief might be incorrect, but it is not a delusion.
2. No real conflict exists between science and Christianity, though there are unanswered questions about how they relate.
3. Most objects in the universe are not just machines set in motion after the Big Bang and running on their own. We live in a world of true becoming, where the future is not just an inevitable consequence of the past.
Overall, this book is an enjoyable, easy-to-read introduction to or refresher on Polkinghorne. The six pages of end notes include references to many of his books for anyone who wishes to further pursue his take on science and religion. Unfortunately, the publisher's word processor left something to be desired: lines of words are run together frequently. Hopefully that can be fixed in future printings.
