One World

The Interaction of Science and Theology

By: John C. Polkinghorne

Narrated by: James Robert Killavey

This title focuses on Polkinghorne's theory that science and religion are two aspects of the same world.

Both science and religion explore aspects of reality, providing "a basis for their mutual interaction as they present their different perspectives onto the one world of existent reality," Polkinghorne argues. In One World he develops his thesis through an examination of the nature of science, the nature of the physical world, the character of theology, and the modes of thought in science and theology. He identifies "points of interaction" and points of potential conflict between science and religion. Along the way, he discusses creation, determinism, prayer, miracles, and future life, and he explains his rejection of scientific reductionism and his defense of natural theology.

The book is published by Templeton Press.

©1986, Preface 2007 John Polkingshorne (P)2013 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"One World is a very satisfying treatment of the fundamental issues affecting a fruitful interaction between two disciplines often presumed at odds." ( Catholic Books Review)

One of the poorest narrators that I've ever heard

Is there anything you would change about this book?

Yes, get a different narrator.

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

The text was really okay, although it wasn't great so I gave it three stars. The author goes into a long discussion about why he wrote the book orginally in the 1980s and why he updated it in 2009. After skipping over that, he basically repeated a lot of 'tried and true' arguments why there is no real conflict between science and religion provided that you recognize that each sphere of knowledge has its own aspect of truth. Nothing original but certainly okay.

How did the narrator detract from the book?

He sounded like he was reading from the book without any inflection except, perhaps, surprise at finding the next word in the sentence. It was so bad that I turned it off after a couple of chapters and couldn't continue.

Do you think One World needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

Hopefully not.

Any additional comments?

If you decide to purchase the book, be prepared for tolerating the narrator and don't say you weren't warned.

Brain food

I read this years ago and enjoyed re-visiting it. I especially enjoyed the critique of Structural Reductionism Chapter 6. Don’t know what that is? No matter, you’ll learn here. Already fully conversant with the concept? You may enjoy the critique.

This book is primarily for laymen. Some scientific and theological background is helpful but not required.

The narrator is pretty bad, especially if you’ve ever listened to a talk by Polkinghorne himself. Oh, well. I’d like to see more of Polkinghorne’s books on audible, but with a better reader - British accent, please.

Interesting book; mediocre narration.

Any additional comments?

Polkinghorne writes well, and this is a good overview and an interesting take on the relationship between theology and science. Anyone with a philosophical bent will be left wanting more explanation and argument for the key assertions, but such argument would have turned it into a longer and more difficult book.

The narration was disappointing--a clipped and odd reading style that I found annoying. And I cringed every time the narrator read the words "nucleus" or "nuclear", since he mispronounced them. The narrator also did not make it easy to ascertain the difference between quotes and the main text, though that is a common problem in non-fiction texts.

diction was distracting

narrator had an almost liturgical tone that suggested every single sentence was axiomatic. I would have preferred a less 'formal' approach

Difficult stuff made easy

I have learned a lot from this great and knowledgeable author. A good summary of modern physics and theology.

Excellent book - much food for thought

What did you love best about One World?

Very different perspective from the usual science bashing of religion written by someone who is both a scientist and a priest. Throughout the book he shows how the methodologies of science and of theology are actually not opposed to each other. He also suggests some ways the two disciplines can help each each other to understand this world and, perhaps, the next.

Which character – as performed by James Robert Killavey – was your favorite?

Non-fiction so no characters but the reader did an excellent job of elucidating some complex ideas. Made them a lot easier to understand than just staring at the print.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No....deep stuff here...needs to be taken in small doses.

Any additional comments?

I wish I could get my son to listen to this. He's always "throwing" science at me when we discuss religion. Can't seem to understand that, years from now, some of what we take as "hard science" may be found to be completely in error.

Interesting subject matter, poor narration.

I eventually made it through the entire book; however, there were many times when I wanted to quit due to poor narration. If you're interested in reading this book, I would strongly recommend the print version, not the audio book. The narrator spoke in a halting fashion, pausing after every second or third word, which made it very difficult to figure out the intended phrasing. He also repeatedly mispronounced the word nucleus and the name Godel, among others.