Alister Edgar McGrath (; born 1953) is a Northern Irish theologian,

Anglican priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

intellectual historian Intellectual history (also the history of ideas) is the study of the history of human thought and of intellectuals, people who conceptualize, discuss, write about, and concern themselves with ideas. The investigative premise of intellectual histo ...

, scientist,

Christian apologist Christian apologetics ( grc, ἀπολογία, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics has taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in ...

, and

public intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and reflection about the reality of society, and who proposes solutions for the normative problems of society. Coming from the world of culture, either as a creator or ...

. He currently holds the Andreas Idreos Professorship in Science and Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion, and is a fellow of

Harris Manchester College Harris Manchester College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It was founded in Warrington in 1757 as a college for Unitarian students and moved to Oxford in 1893. It became a full college of th ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, and is Professor of Divinity at

Gresham College Gresham College is an institution of higher learning located at Barnard's Inn Hall off Holborn in Central London, England. It does not enroll students or award degrees. It was founded in 1596 under the will of Sir Thomas Gresham, and hosts ove ...

.'Gresham College Press Release, 08/04/15'
(accessed 8 April 2015) He was previously Professor of Theology, Ministry, and Education at King's College London and Head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture, Professor of Historical Theology at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, and was principal of

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Wycliffe Hall is a Church of England theological college and a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was master of Balliol College, Oxf ...

, until 2005. Aside from being a faculty member at Oxford, McGrath has also taught at

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

and is a Teaching Fellow at

Regent College Regent College is an interdenominational evangelical Christian College of Christian studies, and an affiliated college of the University of British Columbia, located next to the university's campus in the University Endowment Lands west of V ...

. McGrath holds three doctorates from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

: a doctoral degree in molecular biophysics, a Doctor of Divinity degree in theology, and a

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

degree in intellectual history. McGrath is noted for his work in

historical theology Historical theology is the study of the history of Christian doctrine. Stanley Grenz, Grenz, Guretzki and Nordling describe it as, "The division of the theological discipline that seeks to understand and delineate how the church interpreted Scri ...

systematic theology Systematic theology, or systematics, is a discipline of Christian theology that formulates an orderly, rational, and coherent account of the doctrines of the Christian faith. It addresses issues such as what the Bible teaches about certain topic ...

, and the

relationship between science and religion The relationship between religion and science involves discussions that interconnect the study of the natural world, history, philosophy, and theology. Even though the ancient and medieval worlds did not have conceptions resembling the modern ...

, as well as his writings on

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics an ...

. He is also known for his opposition to

New Atheism The term ''New Atheism'' was coined by the journalist Gary Wolf in 2006 to describe the positions promoted by some atheists of the twenty-first century. New Atheism advocates the view that superstition, religion and irrationalism should not si ...

and

antireligion Antireligion is opposition to religion. It involves opposition to organized religion, religious practices or religious institutions. The term ''antireligion'' has also been used to describe opposition to specific forms of supernatural worship ...

ism and his advocacy of theological critical realism. Among his best-known books are '' The Twilight of Atheism'', '' The Dawkins Delusion?'', '' Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life'', and '' A Scientific Theology''. He is also the author of a number of popular textbooks on theology.

Biography

McGrath was born on 23 January 1953 in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

, Northern Ireland, and grew up in

Downpatrick Downpatrick () is a town in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the Lecale peninsula, about south of Belfast. In the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the Dál Fiatach, the main ruling dynasty of Ulaid. Its cathedral is said to be the b ...

, County Down, where he attended

Down High School Down High School is a controlled co-educational grammar school located in Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. The school has students from the ages of eleven to eighteen in the senior school — of which there are approximately 970 pup ...

. In September 1966 he became a pupil at the

Methodist College Belfast God with us , established = 1865 , type = Voluntary grammar , religion = Interdenominational , principal = Jenny Lendrum , chair_label = Chairwoman , chair = Revd. Dr Janet Unsworth , founder ...

, where his studies focused on mathematics,

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

and chemistry. He went up to

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, in 1971 and gained first-class honours in chemistry in 1975. He began research in molecular biophysics in the Oxford University Department of Biochemistry under the supervision of George Radda and was elected to an E.P.A. Cephalosporin Research Studentship at

Linacre College, Oxford Linacre College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the UK whose members comprise approximately 50 fellows and 550 postgraduate students. Linacre is a diverse college in terms of both the international composition of its me ...

, for the academic year 1975–1976, and to a Domus Senior Scholarship at Merton College, Oxford, for the period 1976–1978. During these three years, he carried out scientific research while studying for the Oxford University Final Honour School of Theology. He was awarded an Oxford

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

degree for his research in molecular

biophysics Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations. ...

(December 1977), and gained first-class honours in theology in June 1978. Reflecting on his time as an undergraduate at Wadham, McGrath has written, "I was discovering that Christianity was far more intellectually robust than I had ever imagined. I had some major rethinking to do, and by the end of November

971 Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...

my decision was made: I turned my back on one faith and embraced another." McGrath then left Oxford to work at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, where he also studied for

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform v ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

. In September 1980, he was ordained

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

and began ministry as a curate at St Leonard's Parish Church,

Wollaton Wollaton is a suburb and former parish in the western part of Nottingham, England. Wollaton has two Wards in the City of Nottingham (''Wollaton East and Lenton Abbey'' and ''Wollaton West'') with a total population as at the 2011 census of 24,69 ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

, in the English East Midlands. He was ordained priest at Southwell Minster in September 1981. In 1983, he was appointed lecturer in Christian

doctrine Doctrine (from la, doctrina, meaning "teaching, instruction") is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a belief syste ...

and ethics at

, and a member of the Oxford University Faculty of Theology. He was awarded a BD by Oxford in 1983, for research in historical theology. He spent the fall semester of 1990 as the Ezra Squire Tipple Visiting Professor of Historical Theology at the Divinity School of

Drew University Drew University is a private university in Madison, New Jersey. Drew has been nicknamed the "University in the Forest" because of its wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three sch ...

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a borough in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 16,937. Located along the Morris & Essex Lines, it is noted for Madison's historic railroad station becoming on ...

. McGrath was elected University Research Lecturer in Theology at Oxford University in 1993 and also served as research professor of theology at

, Vancouver, from 1993 to 1999. In 1995, he was elected Principal of Wycliffe Hall and in 1999, was awarded a personal chair in theology by the University of Oxford with the title "Professor of Historical Theology". He was awarded the Oxford degree of DD in 2001 for his research in historical and

, and was a founding member of the

International Society for Science and Religion The International Society for Science and Religion (ISSR) is a learned society established in 2001 for the purpose of the promotion of education through the support of inter-disciplinary learning and research in the fields of science and religion c ...

. On 1 September 2008 McGrath took up the Chair of Theology, Ministry and Education in the Department of Education and Professional Studies at King's College London. In 2010 McGrath was included in "The 20 Most Brilliant Christian Professors" list. In 2013 he was awarded his third doctorate from Oxford University, a

DLitt Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...

, Division of Humanities, for research into science and religion, and natural theology. He is married to Joanna Collicutt McGrath and they have two adult children. In 2014, McGrath was appointed the 32nd Professor of Divinity at

, a position dating back to 1597. In this position he is to deliver a series of free public lectures on ''Science, Faith, and God: The Big Questions'', in which he hopes to present "a coherent exploration of how Christian theology can engage with concerns and debates within modern culture, focussing on one of its leading elements – the natural sciences."

Views

A former atheist, McGrath accepts and promotes

evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...

. In 2004 McGrath suggested in '' The Twilight of Atheism'' that atheism was in decline. 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 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?" McGrath has also debated with Daniel Dennett, at the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum in New Orleans in February 2007, as well as

Christopher Hitchens Christopher Eric Hitchens (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was a British-American author and journalist who wrote or edited over 30 books (including five essay collections) on culture, politics, and literature. Born and educated in England, ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

. In March 2007, McGrath debated with

Peter Atkins Peter William Atkins (born 10 August 1940) is an English chemist and a Fellow of Lincoln College at the University of Oxford. He retired in 2007. He is a prolific writer of popular chemistry textbooks, including ''Physical Chemistry'', ''Ino ...

at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

on the topic 'Darwin and Humanity: Should We Rid the Mind of God?' In November that year, he debated with

Susan Blackmore Susan Jane Blackmore (born 29 July 1951) is a British writer, lecturer, sceptic, broadcaster, and a Visiting Professor at the University of Plymouth. Her fields of research include memetics, parapsychology, consciousness, and she is best known ...

on the

existence of God The existence of God (or more generally, the existence of deities) is a subject of debate in theology, philosophy of religion and popular culture. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God or deities can be categorize ...

. McGrath has debated with David Helfand at the

Veritas Forum The Veritas Forum is a non-profit organization which works with Christian students on college campuses to host forums centered on the exploration of truth and its relevancy in human life, through the questions of philosophy, religion, science, an ...

on whether belief in God is a delusion. In 2011, he debated with

Stephen Law Stephen Law (born 1960) is an English philosopher. He is currently Director of the Certificate in Higher and Education and Director of Philosophy at The Department of Continuing Education, University of Oxford. Law was previously Reader in Ph ...

on the topic 'Why Won't God Go Away?' He was interviewed by Richard Dawkins about his book '' Dawkins' God'' and faith in general for the television documentary ''

The Root of All Evil? ''The Root of All Evil?'', later retitled ''The God Delusion'', is a television documentary written and presented by Richard Dawkins in which he argues that humanity would be better off without religion or belief in God. The documentary was ...

'' McGrath's interview was not included in the final cut, but the unedited footage is available online.

Writings

The author of more than 50 books,Alister McGrath, ''A Theory of Everything That Matters: A Brief Guide to Einstein, Relativity, and His Surprising Thoughts on God'', Tyndale House Publishers (2019), p. 217 among McGrath's more notable works are: * * * * * * ''A Life of John Calvin'' (1993) * ''A Passion for Truth: The Intellectual Coherence of Evangelicalism'' (1996) * * ''Science and Religion: An Introduction'' (1998) * ''Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought'' (1998) * ''I Believe: Exploring the Apostles' Creed'' (1998) * ''T. F. Torrance: An Intellectual Biography'' (1999) * ''The Journey: A Pilgrim in the Lands of the Spirit'' (2000) * ''Christian Theology: An Introduction'' (2001) (often used as a seminary textbook) * ''The Christian Theology Reader'' (2001) (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) * ''Glimpsing the Face of God: The Search for Meaning in the Universe'' (2001) * ''The Reenchantment of Nature: The Denial of Religion and the Ecological Crisis'' (2002) * ''Knowing Christ'' (2002) * '' A Scientific Theology v. 3'' (2003) * ''A Brief History of Heaven'' (2003) * ''The Intellectual Origins of the European Reformation'' (2003) * '' The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World'' (2004) * ''Christianity's Dangerous Idea: The Protestant Revolution from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-First Century'' (2007) * '' The Dawkins Delusion? Atheist Fundamentalism and the denial of the divine'' (2007) (A critical response to Dawkins' book '' The God Delusion'') * ''The Open Secret: A New Vision for Natural Theology'' (2008) * ''A Fine-Tuned Universe: The Quest for God in Science and Theology'' (2009) * ''Heresy: A History of Defending the Truth'' (2009) * ''Mere Theology: Christian Faith and the Discipleship of the Mind'' (2010) * ''Chosen Ones (Series: The Aedyn Chronicles Volume: 1)'' (2010) * ''Surprised by Meaning: Science, Faith, and How We Make Sense of Things'' (2011) * ''Why God Won't Go Away: Engaging with the New Atheism'' (2011) * ''Flight of the Outcasts (Series: The Aedyn Chronicles Volume: 2)'' (2011) * ''Darkness Shall Fall (Series: The Aedyn Chronicles Volume: 3)'' (2011) * ''Reformation Thought: An Introduction'' (2012) * ''Darwinism and the Divine: Evolutionary Thought and Natural Theology'' (Oxford: Blackwell-Wiley, 2011). The 2009 Hulsean Lectures at the University of Cambridge * ''The Intellectual World of C. S. Lewis'' (2013) * ''C. S. Lewis- A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet'' (2013) * '' Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life'' (

004 004, 0O4, O04, OO4 may refer to: * 004, fictional British 00 Agent * 0O4, Corning Municipal Airport (California) * O04, the Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation * Abdul Haq Wasiq, Guantanamo detainee 004 * Junkers Jumo 004 turbojet engine * Lauda Ai ...

2015), 2nd ed., Wiley. , pbk. (A critique of scientist Richard Dawkins' attitude towards religion) * ''The Big Question: Why We Can’t Stop Talking About Science, Faith, and God'' (2015), St. Martin's Press, * ''Enriching Our Vision of Reality: Theology and Natural Sciences in Dialogue'' (2016), Templeton Press, * ''The Landscape of Faith: An Explorer's Guide to Christian Creeds'' (2018), SPCK, * ''Mere Discipleship: Growing in Wisdom and Hope'' (2018), Baker Books, * ''Narrative Apologetics: Sharing the Relevance, Joy, and Wonder of the Christian Faith'' (2019), Baker Books, * ''Richard Dawkins, C.S. Lewis and the Meaning of Life'' (2019), SPCK, * ''A Theory of Everything (That Matters): A Brief Guide to Einstein, Relativity, and His Surprising Thoughts on God'' (2019), Tyndale, * ''J.I. Packer: His Life and Thought'' (2020), InterVarsity Press,

References

External links

*
Alister McGrath homepage

* ttp://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=1589 Alister McGrath on The Hour (CBC television)br>Richard Dawkins Interviews Alister McGrath Video
*Alister McGrath lecture
God and the Good: Einstein and Religion
Filmed at The University of Sheffield
Prokhorov Centre interview with McGrath
*Alister McGrath talks to Nigel Bovey of The War Cry
Part 1Part 2Christopher Hitchens debates (with) Alister McGrathAlister McGrath debates with Peter Atkins at Edinburgh UniversityAlister_McGrath_debates__Sue_Blackmore
_at_Bristol_University_on_the_motion_that_"belief_in_God_is_a_dangerous_delusion"._13_November_2007..html" ;"title="Sue Blackmore">Alister McGrath debates Sue Blackmore
at Bristol University on the motion that "belief in God is a dangerous delusion". 13 November 2007.">Sue Blackmore">Alister McGrath debates Sue Blackmore
at Bristol University on the motion that "belief in God is a dangerous delusion". 13 November 2007.
Full texts of McGrath's 2009 Gifford Lectures on natural theology
{{DEFAULTSORT:McGrath, Alister 1953 births 20th-century Anglican theologians 21st-century Anglican theologians Academics of King's College London Alumni of Linacre College, Oxford Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Anglican priests from Northern Ireland Calvinist and Reformed ministers Christian apologists Converts to Anglicanism from atheism or agnosticism Critics of atheism Evangelical Anglican clergy Evangelical Anglican theologians Living people People educated at Down High School People educated at Methodist College Belfast People from Downpatrick Principals of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Professors of Gresham College Systematic theologians Theistic evolutionists Writers about religion and science

Biography

Views

Writings

References

Further reading

External links