Cosmic ReligionSpirituality has a determining role in assessing the science,
which means that the spiritual intuitions are not produced by
the science, but rather, the tail wags the dog. Paul Davies put it
to me like this: ‘There is a lot of fl aky stuff in this area, where
people present quantum physics in a mystical light and then
draw all sorts of dubious “spiritual” conclusions. I am reluctant
to get involved because the fi eld is so vague.’
A middle way
We arrive, then, at the fi fth position. It can be thought of as
seeking to establish a middle way between the New Age read-
ings and the Platonism of Penrose, or quasi-Buddhism of Davies.
It’s been most clearly articulated by John Polkinghorne, an
Anglican priest who fi rst made his name in physics for his work
in the discovery of quarks.
He is quite clear that he fi nds contemporary physics remark-
ably resonant with spiritual imperatives. Part of the joy of
science for a believer is that its brute facts point beyond them-
selves: the sheer multiplicity of the stars and galaxies, say,
raises the possibility of a hugely fruitful creation. As early sci-
entists like Galileo and Newton concurred, God has written
two books, the Book of the Bible and the Book of Nature. Both
need to be read, and when done aright, apparent contradictions
dissolve since they have the same author. During his career,
Polkinghorne has also seen that many who are interested in
fundamental physics and the beginning and end of things in
cosmology are also interested in the big questions like God.
However, while both science and religion are looking for
truth, they are different kinds of activity. The wise observer is
therefore someone who does not confuse the two, who seeks a
middle way. Polkinghorne calls science and religion ‘intellectual
cousins’: the Big Bang is not the same as the doctrine of cre-
ation out of nothing, though there are analogical connections.
Alternatively, religion, unlike science, is transpersonal. Thus,
Polkinghorne confesses, he meets God primarily in religious