"What makes you think this is the case?"

The San Diego North County Times published an interview with physicist, John Polkinghorne who is known for explaining  the existence of the quark. The interview by Dean Nelson is of interest to this blog because Polkinghorne is comfortable with both theology and science. Here is an excerpt from the concluding question in that interview.

Q: ...can scientific thinking actually help one's religious thinking?

A: It helps in this sense ... if a scientist is considering a deep question, whether inside science or outside of science, instead of asking "Is this reasonable," as if you knew beforehand what path the rationality would have to take, they ask a different question that is more open and more demanding ... As in my scientific beliefs, my Christian beliefs can be defended when I answer the question, "What makes you think this is the case?"

Posted in Faith-and-values on Friday, November 12, 2010 12:00 am

Earlier in the interview   Polkinghorne  noted that  Physicists use language that includes "Mind of God" when they write for the general public about science. That note reminded me that Christian Science recognizes 7 synonyms for God. One of the 7 is Mind. Because it is a synonym or proper name, Mind is capitalized. 

When referring to mind governed by material law, mind is not capitalized and does not relate to what omniscient God knows. Instead it relates to the physical, limited or material. That mind is corporeal-sense dependent and is explained by ever-changing or seemingly progressive theories. It lacks the qualities of  the infinite, eternal and constant.

The difference between Mind and mind is the difference between Science and science. Reaching the limits of the material propels earnest scientific thought into the fetterless and spiritual. That is where man in the image and likeness of his Creator can find satisfaction. 

Father, where Thine own children are, I love to be. -Mary Baker Eddy