Polkinghorne visits Achiltibuie

Britain’s normally cocksure atheist-in-chief, Richard Dawkins, conceded in his book The God Delusion that he was baffled by John Polkinghorne – ‘a good scientist who is sincerely religious.’ The Reverend Dr Polkinghorne, KBE, FRS, worked for a quarter of a century at the cutting edge of theoretical physics, where he played an important part in the discovery of quarks, one of the basic constituents of matter. In his fifties, he embarked on a new career and studied for the priesthood. Later in life, he became president of Queens’ College, Cambridge, founding president of the International Society for Science and Religion, and a member of the BMA ethics committee and the Human Genetics Commission.

Polkinghorne’s great endeavour is to show that science and religion are by no means mutually exclusive. He argues that the uncertainty principle (which is fundamental to quantum mechanics) proves compellingly that standard concepts of causation cannot adequately explain the world. One of his most startling accounts concerns “unseen reality” – a concept that applies as much to particle physics as to religion. Though the reality of quarks has been convincingly established, nobody has ever seen one in isolation in the laboratory. Their very nature prevents this, just as the nature of God makes Him invisible.

John Polkinghorne will travel all the way from Cambridge to Achiltibuie to give a talk on “Science and Religion” in the community hall on 20 November at 19.30. This promises to be a unique event. It is not often that one has the chance to listen to one of the leading scientists of the second half of the 20th century, who became one of the most remarkable thinkers of our time. Everybody is most welcome to attend – so be there and see whether you’ll be as baffled as Richard Dawkins!