Newton himself gave up on science after writing his “Principia Mathematica”, he placed the planets in their right locations but gave up on figuring out what caused their movement, etc. – that was the domain of God. After which Newton completely abandoned science and turned to writing religious tracts, and other non-scientific endevours.

John Polkinghorne’s case sounds eerily familiar.

I like Anglican’s view: “God creates, science explains.” But isn’t there more to it than that? Religion is a quest for God, is not science also rooted there? We want to understand how the world works, not only to create technology and made life easier, but also to answer the ultimate questions we have been asking since our ancestors roamed the plains of Africa.

Who are we? Why are we here? And most importantly, what is this force that drives and connects us? Before we could answer those questions with science, however, we need to understand the basics, like “how can we get a steady food supply, free ourselves of disease, and secure shelter.” Once we know how to do that, we can devote ourselves to the ‘big’ questions.

It seems that somewhere along the way, science forgot that. But just because one cannot use science to find God today, does not mean that we will not be able to do it tomorrow.

“Ask and ye shall receive.”

“Come now, let us reason together,” says the LORD. – Isaiah 1:18

And also

“Look around in wonder, because I’m doing things right now you wouldn’t believe even if I told you…” – Habakkuk 1:5

I wasn’t raised to accept my God unquestionally or any of my other beliefs unquestionally. My reason and my science doesn’t contrast or attack my faith and my religion, but rather informs it. This belief you have of the antagonism between science and religion isn’t based in science.

“Humanity is abandoning religion, and gaining peace.”

And that isn’t a statement grounded in or provable by science either, but it is in fact a form of historcism. You have faith in your conviction that your great loves of Science and Reason will triumph over the darkness of ignorance and usher in a glorious age of peace, but this is conviction which is itself not grounded in Science and Reason so is itself evidence that overthows itself. For there is reason to hope that Reason will bring rationality and peace to man, if you yourself are so easily swayed away from it into the belief in a materialistic Eschaton. And indeed, there is no reason to believe from the evidence of history, which though itself is not a science ought to at least count for something, that societies that have abandoned religion (or more specifically, a belief in God) have replaced it with something better.