Reviews

In his sixth book on the relationship of science and theology, Polkinghorne revisits some of the issues raised in his earlier works (including, most notably, Belief in God in an Age of Science). Noting that a university's very existence presupposes the essential unity of knowledge, Polkinghorne begins by maintaining that theology's appeal to revelation is not so much an appeal to some unquestionable authority as it is a recourse to illuminating experience, which is analogous to science's recourse to observation and experiment. He divides his book into three parts. The first part reassesses the relationship between the God who is considered immanent in human and cosmic history and the traditional characterization of God as uncaused cause. The second part examines the nature of time and God's relation with it. The third part synopsizes three centuries of the theology-science conversation, and evaluates the work of some of the major contemporary contributors to this discussion. This specialized book may not appeal to general readers, but it should be a welcome addition to university or seminary libraries.ÄDavid I. Fulton, Coll. of Saint Elizabeth, Morristown, NJ Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.