Alister McGrath
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Alister E. McGrath (b. January 23, 1953) is a biochemist and Christian theologian born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and is currently Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Oxford and President of thw Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford.
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[edit] Biography
McGath was born in Belfast and grew up in Downpatrick, Co. Down, where he attended Down High School. In September 1966 he became a pupil at the Methodist College Belfast, where his studies focused on mathematics, physics and chemistry. He then attended the University of Oxford, where he gained first class honours in chemistry in 1975, and began research in molecular biophysics in the Oxford University Department of Biochemistry under the supervision of Professor Sir George Radda, FRS. He was elected to an E.P.A. Cephalosporin Research Studentship at Linacre College, Oxford, for the academic year 1975-6, and to a Domus Senior Scholarship at Merton College, Oxford, for the period 1976-8. During these three years, he carried out scientific research alongside studying for the Oxford University Final Honour School of Theology[1]. He was awarded an Oxford D.Phil. for his research in molecular biophysics (December 1977), and gained first class honors in Theology in June 1978.
McGrath then left Oxford to work at Cambridge University, where he also studied for ordination into the Church of England. In September 1980, he was ordained deacon, and began work as a curate at St Leonard's Parish Church, Wollaton, Nottingham, in the English East Midlands. 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 of 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 1993-1999. In 1995, he was elected Principal of Wycliffe Hall, and in 1999, was awarded a personal chair in theology by Oxford University, with the title "Professor of Historical Theology". He was awarded an Oxford Doctorate of Divinity in 2001 for his research on historical and systematic theology.
McGrath is a prolific writer. His work often refers both to the early Church Fathers and to contemporary evangelical stalwarts such as Thomas Torrance and J. I. Packer. McGrath seems to be a part of the paleo-orthodox movement, which encourages reflection upon the patristics and the influential members of the early church. His areas of expertise include doctrine, Church history, the interaction of science and faith, and evangelical spirituality.
He has been highly critical of Richard Dawkins, calling him "embarrassingly ignorant of Christian theology". His book: The Dawkins Delusion? – a response to Dawkins's The God Delusion – was published by SPCK in February 2007, and the two had public debate recently on the topic, "Does religious belief damage the health of a society, or is it necessary to provide the moral and ethical foundations of a healthy society?"[2]
[edit] Bibliography
Among McGrath's more notable works are:
- The Dawkins Delusion? (2007) ISBN 0-281-05927-6 A critical response to Dawkins' book The God Delusion
- Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life (2005) ISBN 1-4051-2538-1 A critique of scientist Richard Dawkins' critical attitude towards religion
- The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World (2004) ISBN 0-385-50061-0
- A Scientific Theology v. 3 (2003) ISBN 0-567-08349-7
- Knowing Christ (2002) ISBN 0-385-50316-4
- Christian Theology: An Introduction (2001) ISBN 0-631-22528-5 (often used as a seminary textbook)
- The Christian Theology Reader (2001) ISBN 0-631-20637-X (containing primary sources referred to in his Christian Theology)
- In the Beginning : The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language,and a Culture (2001) ISBN 0-385-72216-8
- Glimpsing the Face of God: The Search for Meaning in the Universe (2001) ISBN 0-8028-3980-0
- T. F. Torrance: An Intellectual Biography (1999) ISBN 0-567-08683-6
- Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought (1998) ISBN 0-631-20844-5
- Science and Religion: An Introduction (1998) ISBN 0-631-20842-9
- "I Believe": Exploring the Apostles' Creed (1998) ISBN 0-8308-1946-0
- A Passion for Truth: The Intellectual Coherence of Evangelicalism (1996) ISBN 0-8308-1866-9
- Intellectuals Don't Need God and Other Modern Myths (1993) ISBN 0-310-59091-4
- A Life of John Calvin (1993) ISBN 0-631-18947-5
- Understanding Doctrine (1992) ISBN 0-310-47951-7
- Bridge-Building: Effective Christian Apologetics (1992) ISBN 0-85110-969-1
- Understanding the Trinity (1988) ISBN 0-310-29680-3
- Iustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification (1986) ISBN 0-521-62426-6
[edit] References
- ^ Biography on official website
- ^ Audio Visual Resources. Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. Retrieved on April 7, 2007.
[edit] Bibliography
- Chung, S. W. (ed.). Alister E. McGrath and Evangelical Theology: A Dynamic Engagement. Carlisle: Paternoster, 2003.
- Keating, James F. "The Natural Sciences as an Ancilla Theologiae Nova: Alister E. McGrath's A Scientific Theology." The Thomist 69 (2005): 127-52.
- Myers, Benjamin. "Alister McGrath's Scientific Theology." Reformed Theological Review 64 (2005): 15-34.
- Shipway, Brad. "The Theological Application of Bhaskar's Stratified Reality: The Scientific Theology of A. E. McGrath." Journal of Critical Realism 3 (2004): 191-203.
