John Polkinghorne (1930-2021)

By fobbaf

  • Who is John Polkinghorne?

    Who is John Polkinghorne?
    John Polkinghorne was a British Theoretical Physicist and priest. Born in 1930, Polkinghorne was one of three siblings. His sister died at birth; his brother died during World War II.

  • Euducation

    Euducation
    In 1974 Polkinghorne received another doctorate in theoretical elementary particle physics from Trinity College. (where Isaac Newton had lived and worked in the seventeenth century). During this time, Polkinghorne found interest in quantum physics. He never won a Nobel prize, but n 1974, he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society for his work in quantum physics.

  • Became a priest

    Became a priest
    At age 46, he astonished his colleagues by announcing a decision to pursue ordination as an Anglican priest; two years later, he resigned his chair at Cambridge to enter the seminary. Polkinghorne made this decision at the height of his scientific career. Using Polkinghorne's words, "Or, to put it more succinctly, "I simply felt that I had done my little bit for particle theory and the time had come to do something else." (ref)

  • Death

    Death
    John Polkinghorne died on 21 March 2021. His philosophy on natural phenomena was based on science and faith. 'Theology and science are "cousinly" disciplines in that both are open-minded searches for "motivated belief." (ref)

  • Reference

    Searching for Motivated Belief: Introducing John Polkinghorne https://biologos.org/articles/searching-for-motivated-belief-introducing-john-polkinghorne?gclid=CjwKCAjwtp2bBhAGEiwAOZZTuM8DtZaArpoP57s238evjeHfdbXPFrTcm7ew_Y0hl1N5lNbTAW-ybRoCsCEQAvD_BwE https://youtu.be/35Tp8UqdaEU