The God of Hope and the End of the World

The key word of this book is in the title: hope. John Polkinghorne's treatment of the theme of the end of the world begins with science: the long-term future of the earth is not a promising one but on the other hand there is a pattern in the universe of evolving fruitfulness. Scientists react to this in different ways, many with a noble defiance, but the scope of the issue arguably leads beyond science to philosophy and theology. Polkinghorne passes rather rapidly through human intuitions and experiences to a consideration of the cultural context before moving on to insights from the Old and New Testaments – especially the Resurrection. The kernel of his approach lies in the third, theological part where he discusses the God of Hope, personhood and the soul, the new creation and eschatology. His approach to the soul is a neo-Thomist one as an information-bearing pattern that has no intrinsic immortality. However the God of Love is a faithful God who gives grounds for hope that this pattern will be sustained and recreated in a new form. Although Polkinghorne gives less weight to human experiences than I would, this is a profound meditation on a destiny beyond death.