Name: Alister McGrath
Why You Should Know Him: McGrath is one of Great Britain’s most prolific and influential evagelical theologians.
Position: Director of the newly established Oxford Centre for Evangelism and Apologetics
Previous: McGrath studied for ordination into the Church of England at Westcott House, Cambridge and was ordained a deacon in 1980. He began work as a curate at St Leonard's Parish Church, Wollaton, Nottingham and in 1981 was ordained priest at Southwell Minster. In 1983, he was appointed lecturer in Christian doctrine and ethics at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and a member of the Oxford University Faculty of Theology. McGrath spent the fall semester of 1990 as the Ezra Squire Tipple Visiting Professor of Historical Theology at the Divinity School, Drew University, Madison, New Jersey.
McGrath was elected University Research Lecturer in Theology at Oxford University in 1993, and also served as research professor of theology at Regent College, Vancouver, from 1993-9. In 1995, he was elected Principal of Wycliffe Hall, and in 1999, was awarded a personal chair in theology at Oxford University, with the title of "Professor of Historical Theology".
Education:
AB, Chemistry, Oxford University (1975)
Ph.D, Molecular Biology Oxford University (1977)
Ph.D, Theology, Oxford University (1978)
DD, Historical and Systematic Theology, Oxford University (2001)
Books: The Intellectual Origins of the European Reformation (1987); A Life of John Calvin: A Study in Shaping of Western Culture (1993); Iustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification (1998); Christian Spirituality: An Introduction (1999); The Unknown God: Searching for Spiritual Fulfilment (1999); The Journey: A Pilgrim in the Lands of the Spirit (2000); Christian Theology: An Introduction (2001); The Christian Theology Reader (2001); In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible (2001); Glimpsing the Face of God: The Search for Meaning in the Universe (2002); The Science Of God: An Introduction To Scientific Theology (2003); The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World (2004)
Assessment: McGrath is a towering intellect and one of the leading theologians in modern evangelicalism. His writings span from widely used textbooks on historical theology to biographies of Christian thinkers such as J.I. Packer and Thomas F. Torrance. Although he is generally esteemed for his research in historical theology, McGrath’s magnum opus is a three volume series on “scientific theology.”
His background in the natural sciences led him to develop an approach to theology that drew upon the working assumptions and methods of the natural sciences. The work argues for a direct engagement between Christian theology and the natural sciences without the need for surrogates or intermediaries, such as the ‘process thought’ that has crept into American theological thought.
His latest book, The Twilight of Atheism, explores the question of why atheism seems to have lost its way in the closing decade of the twentieth century, and has become so unappealing in the first years of the twenty-first century.
(This post is #21 in the "Know Your Evangelicals" series. Coming next: Bill Hybels)
1
Joe,
Any books by him that you would recommend?
Dan
posted on 10.14.2004 5:08 PM2
Hey Dan,
"A Passion for Truth" is a good defense of evangelical theology. And "Evangelicalism and The Future of Christianity" makes a good case for why evangelicalism is going to play a significant role in the future of the church. I'm reading "Twilight" right now and so far its also pretty good.
I'd like to tackle his series on scientific theology but I hear its fairly rigorous and in-depth. "The Science of God", though, is suppossed to be a general distillation of those books so I'll probably try that one.
posted on 10.14.2004 7:10 PM3
Joe,
Your timing is regrettable. I saw "Twilight" at the library two nights ago in the "new book" section, but didn't pick it up. I'll see if it's there next time.
4
Joe,
I knocked you for LaHaye, so I must give you full credit for posting on McGrath. The elitist cliché that believing Christians are anti-intellectual troglodytes is tired and intellectually bankrupt, but it always helps to promote serious thinkers like McGrath (and Robert George--Robert P. that is).
Mark
posted on 10.14.2004 10:22 PM5
I knocked you for LaHaye, so I must give you full credit for posting on McGrath. The elitist cliché that believing Christians are anti-intellectual troglodytes is tired and intellectually bankrupt, but it always helps to promote serious thinkers like McGrath (and Robert George--Robert P. that is).
I seem to find that the Reformed branch of Christianity has the strongest intellectual tradition, ironically enough. The problem always came with having a cohesive intellectual community, where the entire Church would partake in the intellectual discourse. Sadly, that seems to have ceased since the end of the 19th century.
posted on 10.15.2004 1:54 AM6
I had the privilege of studying under Dr. McGrath this summer at the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities' Oxford Summer Program in Christianity and Culture. As intellectually intimidating as someone like him can be, I found him to be incredibly personable and sincerely concerned for our small group of students, even though he carried an incredibly busy schedule.
Dr. McGrath has a gift for "rewording" truths and concepts in ways that his readers can understand; "In other words" seems to be one of his favorite and most well-used expressions. Of his writings which I can personally recommend, my favorites are Christian Theology: An Introduction and Reformation Thought. His essay in The Futures of Evangelicalism (to be released in the U.S. in November) is particularly compelling.
posted on 10.16.2004 12:59 AM7
I enthusiastically recommend Twilight of Atheism. Great overview of the Western intellectual climate which hatched atheism in the 18th & 19th centuries, and how the growth of Christianity in the third world, alongside state atheism in Germany and the USSR, have sounded the death knell of the athiest belief system.
posted on 10.16.2004 11:28 AM8
Re: JP Moreland
I’m rather surprised at the personal animosity expressed by Mr. Dharma and Mr. Allen. I’ve come to know JP. Moreland from having him as an instructor in 3 philosophy classes and one lab, and I have not found him to be narcissistic, abusive, or arrogant. He frequently made jokes at his own expense, exhibited great concern for individual students, and readily noted when he was not knowledgeable in a particular field. He does, however, argue for what he believes in and, like many philosophers, he is not particularly amused when someone strongly opposes him in his area of expertise without showing a working knowledge of the issues, or when they resort to ad hominem attacks or intimdation rather than sound reasoning. It appears to me that the statements of Mr. Dharma and Mr. Allen fall into the later category. Rather than offering cogent dissenting arguments on the specifics of JP Moreland's philosophical views, they attack his character. Something, by the way, I never saw JP Moreland do.