> Rev Dr. John Polkinghorne KBE FRS, Cambridge University, England, is a
> Fellow of the Royal Society, a Fellow (and former President) of Queens'
> College,Cambridge. He was born 16th Oct 1930 in Weston-super-Mare,
> England, and was married to Ruth until she died in 2006. They have three
> children (Peter, Isobel and Michael). He was at school at Elmhurst
> Grammar School, Street, Somerset and his distinguished career as a
> Physicist began at Trinity College Cambridge where he studied under Dirac
> and Abdus Salaam and others. He received his MA in 1956, was elected a
> Fellow of Trinity in 1954, and gained his PhD in 1955. In 1956 he was
> appointed a Lecturer in Mathematical Physics at Edinburgh: returning to
> Cambridge as a Lecturer in 1958, promoted to Reader in 1965 and Professor
> in 1968. In 1974 he was elected FRS in and awarded an ScD by Cambridge.
> During this time he published many papers on theoretical elementary
> particle physics in learned journals, and 2 technical scientific books,
> The Analytic S-Matrix (CUP 1966, jointly with RJ Eden, PV Landshoff and DI
> Olive) and Models of High Energy Processes (CUP 1980).
>
> In 1979 he resigned his Professorship to train for the Anglican
> Priesthood, studying at Westcott House, He was ordained Deacon in 1981 and
> served as Curate in Cambridge (St Andrew's Chesterton 1981-82) and Bristol
> (St Michael and All Angels, Bedminster 1982-84) and was Vicar of Blean
> (near Canterbury) from 1984-86. He was appointed an Honorary Professor of
> Physics at the University of Kent in 1984. In 1986 he was appointed
> Fellow, Dean and Chaplain Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and in 1989 ("you could
> have knocked me over with a feather" was his comment) he was appointed
> President of Queens' College, from which he retired in 1996. He was
> appointed KBE (Knight Commander of the order of the British Empire) in
> 1997.
>
> He was Chairman of the Science, Medicine and Technology Committee of the
> Church of England's Board of Social Responsibility, of the Advisory
> Committee on Genetic Testing (96-99) and of the publications committee of
> SPCK. He chaired the joint working party on Cloning of the Human Genetics
> Advisory Commission and the Human Fertlisation and Embryology Authority
> He served on the General Synod (90-00) and the Doctrine Commission (89-95)
> of the Church of England, and on the Medical Ethics Committee of the
> British Medical Association (89-98)
>
> During the same period he has published a series of books exploring and
> developing aspects of the compatibility of religion and science. These
> began with The Way the World Is ("What I would like to have said to my
> scientific colleagues who couldn't understand why I was being ordained"),
> and continued in a trilogy published by the SPCK: One World, Science and
> Creation, and Science and Providence. He has continued to produce a superb
> series of books (See a full list of titles by John Polkinghorne).
>
> He was awarded the Templeton Prize for Science and Religion in 2002 and
> also in that year became the Founding President of the International
> Society for Science and Religion.
>
> He has Hon DDs from the Universities of Kent (1994) and Durham (1999),
> Hon DScs from the Universities of Exeter (1994) Leicester (1995) and
> Marquette (2003) and an hon D.Hum. (Hong Kong Baptist University, 2006).
> He is an Hon Fellow of St Chad's College, Durham (1999) and of St Edmund's
> College, Cambridge (2002) and Trinity Hall (1989)
>
> He was Canon Theologian of Liverpool Cathedral 1994-2005 and Six Preacher,
> Canterbury Cathedral 1996-7
>
> He was awarded a von Humboldt Foundation Award in 199?
>
> He was Chairman of the Commitee on the use of Foetal Material (1988-89),
> the Nuclear Physics Board (1978-79) of the Task Force to Review Services
> for Drug Misusers (1994-96) and of the Governors of the Perse School,
> Cambridge (1972-81).
>
> John Polkinghorne is a respected scientist who is not afraid to ask
> difficult questions about God's action in His creation. How can God act in
> a world governed by scientific law? Are miracles possible? What kinds of
> petitionary prayer can God reasonably be expected to answer? These are the
> unacknowledged doubts which lurk in the minds of many believing
> Christians. These are the kinds of questions clergy need to be able to
> answer with educated assurance.
>
> Dr.Polkinghorne believes that the universe is an "open" and "flexible"
> system, where patterns can be seen to exist, but where "the providential
> aspect cannot be ruled out." But, in fact, his own faith has little to do
> with physics. It stems, instead, from a more personal "encounter with
> Christ." When asked if his exacting scientific background makes him
> scornful of the vagaries of theology, he responds: "Far from it. Theology
> is much more difficult. Physics, at least at the undergraduate level, is a
> subject on which the dust has settled. In theology the dust never
> settles."
> John Polkinghorne was one of the founders of the Society of Ordained
> Scientists, a dispersed preaching Order of the Anglican Communion. The
> major mover in the foundation of the Society was Arthur Peacocke from
> Oxford. For those acquainted with the history of Anglicanism, the
> differences between John and Arthur are illustrative of the roles
> Cambridge and Oxford have played over the centuries. John compares their
> approaches in his book Scientists as Theologians.
>
> Source: http://tinyurl.com/5rpzbe
>
>
>
> Come and listen in to a radio station
> Where the mighty hosts of heaven sing
> Turn your radio on, turn your radio on
> If you want to feel those good vibrations
> Coming from the joy that His love can bring
> Turn you radio on, turn your radio on.
>
> Turn your radio on
> And listen to the music in the air Turn your radio on and glory share
> Turn your lights down low
> And listen to the Master's radio
> Get in touch with God, and turn your radio on.
>
> --- Instrumental ---
>
> Everybody has a radio receiver
> All you got to do is listen for the call
> Turn your radio on, turn your radio on
> If you listen in you will be a believer
> Leanin' on the truths that'll never fall
> Get in touch with God, turn the radio on.
>
> Turn your radio on
> And listen to the music in the air Turn your radio on and glory share
> Turn your lights down low
> And listen to the Master's radio
> Get in touch with God, turn your radio on.
>
> Turn your radio on
> And listen to the music in the air Turn your radio on and glory share
> Turn your lights down low
> And listen to the Master's radio
> Get in touch with God, turn your radio on.
>
> Turn your lights down low
> And listen to the Master's radio
> Get in touch with God, turn your radio on...
> --
> de gustibus non est disputandum. With emphasis on dumb.
>