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Born in Weston-super-Mare, United Kingdom The Rev. John Charlton Polkinghorne is an English theoretical physicist, theologian, writer, and Anglican priest. He was professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge, he became an ordained Anglican priest. He served as the president of Queens' College, Cambridge from 1968 to 1979.
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Earned his bachelors degree in Mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge
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Earned his Masters degree in Mathematics from Trinity College, Cambridge
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Earned his Doctorate degree in quantum field theoy from Trinity College, Cambridge
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Earned his second Doctorate degree in Theoretical Elementary Particle Physics from Trinity College, Cambridge
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Was named a Fellow of the Royal Society, the scientific academy to which Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, and Stephen Hawking have also all been admitted.
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Became an ordained Anglican priest Polkinghorne has stated during numerous interviews that science and religion should not be at odds. But they should be working together to interpret and understand the way the world is.
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Polkinghorne was a founding member of the Society of Ordained Scientists and served as president of the society.
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President of Queens’ College, Cambridge from 1988 until 1996
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Knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for his distinguished service to science, religion, learning, and medical ethics.
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In an interview Polkinghorne states something similar with the context of music. The description he presented was a scientist with give you all of scientific description for music, the vibrations in the air, and how they travel, etc. Very legitimate statements, but it misses the mystery, the beauty of the music. The same goes with science and religion, science can explain all the facts, but misses the some of the humanity, some things just can’t be explained by science.
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Received the Templeton Prize for progress toward research or discoveries about spiritual realities.
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In Polkinghorne’s book Physics and Theology, he talks about his thoughts on how physics and theology should complement each other. Physics should answer the questions, but theology should bring those discoveries to a boarder and deeper context.
