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HomeSpecial EventsKnighted Physicist/Priest to Offer Vaughn Science Lecture

Knighted Physicist/Priest to Offer Vaughn Science Lecture

Polkinghorne.jpgRev. Dr. John Polkinghorne, president emeritus of Queen’s College at Cambridge University in England and author of 15 books on the connections between physics and faith, will be offering two lectures on campus this week: Tues. Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. in Beaman Room A and on Wed., Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. in the Neely Dining Room.
Polkinghorne is a mathematical physicist and Anglican priest whose treatment of theology as a natural science invigorated the search for interface between science and religion and made him a leading figure in this emerging field. Dr. Polkinghorne resigned a prestigious position as Professor of Mathematical Physics at the University of Cambridge in 1979 to pursue theological studies, becoming a priest in 1982. His approach to the fundamentals of Christian orthodoxy creation, using the habits of a rigorous scientific mind, have brought him international recognition as a unique voice for understanding the Bible as well as evolving doctrine.
His best-known books include The Faith of a Physicist, based on Polkinghorne’s Gifford Lectures which defend the rationality of the Nicene Creed phrase by phrase; Belief in God in an Age of Science, which defends critical realism as the proper philosophical attitude in both science and theology; and his recent work Quantum Physics and Theology: An Unexpected Kinship. In 1997, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II for distinguished service to science, religion, learning and medical ethics.
On Tuesday, Polkinghorne will present “Interpreting Quantum Theory” for the Vaughn Science Lecture, which is designed to highlight science research and its ramifications for the general public as well as science majors. For Wednesday morning’s convocation, his topic will be “The Friendship of Science and Religion.”
For more information, visit http://www.polkinghorne.net/.

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