Alister Edgar McGrath (; born 1953) is an 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 deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

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 hist ...

, scientist,

Christian apologist Christian apologetics (, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics have taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in the early church and Pa ...

, and

public intellectual An intellectual is a person who engages in critical thinking, research, and Human self-reflection, reflection about the nature of reality, especially the nature of society and proposed solutions for its normative problems. Coming from the wor ...

. 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 (HMC) is a constituent college 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 the un ...

at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, 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 that does not accept students or award degrees. It was founded in 1597 under the Will (law), will of Sir Thomas Gresham, ...

.'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 King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

and head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture, professor of historical theology at the

, and was principal of

Wycliffe Hall, Oxford Wycliffe Hall () is a permanent private hall of the University of Oxford affiliated with the Church of England, specialising in philosophy, theology, and religion. It is named after the Bible translator and reformer John Wycliffe, who was mas ...

, 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, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

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 Va ...

. McGrath holds three doctorates from the

: a doctoral degree in

molecular biophysics Molecular biophysics is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary area of research that combines concepts in physics, chemistry, engineering, mathematics and biology. It seeks to understand biomolecular systems and explain biological function in ter ...

, a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

degree in theology, and a

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

degree in

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

. McGrath is noted for his work in

historical theology Historical theology is the study of the history of Christian doctrine. Alister McGrath defines historical theology as 'the branch of theological inquiry which aims to explore the historical development of Christian doctrines, and identify the fa ...

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 topics ...

, 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 ) 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 and recommended their f ...

. He is also known for his opposition to

New Atheism New Atheism is a perspective shared by some atheist academics, writers, scientists, and philosophers of the 20th and 21st centuries, intolerant of superstition, religion, and irrationalism. New Atheists advocate the antitheist view that the v ...

and

antireligion Antireligion is opposition to religion or traditional religious beliefs and practices. It involves opposition to organized religion, religious practices or religious institutions. The term ''antireligion'' has also been used to describe oppos ...

and his advocacy of

theological critical realism In theology, critical realism is an epistemological position adopted by a community of scientists turned theologians. They are influenced by the scientist turned philosopher Michael Polanyi. Polanyi's ideas were taken up enthusiastically by T.& ...

. 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 ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, 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. Down Cathedral, Its cathedral is sai ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, 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 953 students (2024/25 ...

. In September 1966 he became a pupil at the

Methodist College Belfast Methodist College Belfast (MCB), locally known as Methody, is a co-educational voluntary grammar school in Belfast, located at the foot of the Malone Road, Northern Ireland. It was founded in 1865 by the Methodist Church in Ireland and is one of e ...

, where his studies focused on

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

physics Physics is the scientific study of matter, its Elementary particle, 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 whi ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a physical science within the natural sciences that studies the chemical elements that make up matter and chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules a ...

. He went up to

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

, 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 Sir George Charles Radda (; 9 June 1936 – 13 September 2024) was a Hungarian-British chemist. Biography Radda was born in Hungary on 9 June 1936. In 1957, he attended Merton College, Oxford, to study chemistry and worked on electrophilic ...

and was elected to an E.P.A. Cephalosporin Research Studentship at

Linacre College, Oxford Linacre College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The college was founded in 1962 and is named after Thomas Linacre (1460–1524), founder of the Royal College of Ph ...

, for the academic year 1975–1976, and to a Domus Senior Scholarship at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

, 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, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

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 of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) attacks the Bulgarian frontier, perso ...

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 university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

, where he also studied for

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

. 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 denominations, such as the Cathol ...

and began ministry as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are as ...

at St Leonard's Parish Church,

Wollaton Wollaton is a suburb and former civil parish in the western part of Nottingham, in the Nottingham district, in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire, England. Wollaton has two wards in the City of Nottingham (''Wollaton East & Lenton Abbey'' ...

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

, in the English East Midlands. He was ordained priest at

Southwell Minster Southwell Minster_(church), Minster, strictly since 1884 Southwell Cathedral, and formally the Cathedral and Parish Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is a Church of England cathedral in Southwell, Nottinghamshire, England. The cathedral is the s ...

in September 1981. In 1983, he was appointed lecturer in Christian

doctrine Doctrine (from , meaning 'teaching, instruction') is a codification (law), codification of beliefs or a body of teacher, teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the essence of teachings in a given branch of knowledge or in a ...

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, United States. It has a wooded campus. As of fall 2020, more than 2,200 students were pursuing degrees at the university's three schools. While affiliated with the Methodism, Me ...

Madison, New Jersey Madison is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Morris County, New Jersey, Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 16,937, an increase of 1,092 (+6.9%) from the 2010 United ...

. 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 2009, he delivered the

Gifford Lectures The Gifford Lectures () are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford at the four ancient universities of Scotland: St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Their purpose is to "pro ...

on ''A Fine-Tuned Universe: The Quest for God in Science and Theology'' at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

. 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 '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

, 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 delivered a series of free public lectures on ''Science, Faith, and God: The Big Questions'', in which he aimed to present "a coherent exploration of how Christian theology can engage with concerns and debates within modern culture, focusing on one of its leading elements – the natural sciences."

Views

A former

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, McGrath accepts and promotes

evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

. In 2004 McGrath suggested in '' The Twilight of Atheism'' that atheism was in decline. He has been highly critical of

Richard Dawkins Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biology, evolutionary biologist, zoologist, science communicator and author. He is an Oxford fellow, emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford, and was Simonyi Professor for the Publ ...

, calling him "embarrassingly ignorant of Christian theology". His book, '' The Dawkins Delusion?'' – a response to Dawkins's ''

The God Delusion ''The God Delusion'' is a 2006 book by British evolutionary biologist and ethologist Richard Dawkins. In ''The God Delusion'', Dawkins contends that a supernatural creator, God, almost certainly does not exist, and that belief in a personal ...

'' – 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 Daniel Clement Dennett III (March 28, 1942 – April 19, 2024) was an American philosopher and cognitive scientist. His research centered on the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of science, and the philosophy of biology, particularly as those ...

, 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 and American author and journalist. He was the author of Christopher Hitchens bibliography, 18 books on faith, religion, culture, politics, and literature. He was born ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

. 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 (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

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 f ...

on the

existence of God The existence of God is a subject of debate in the philosophy of religion and theology. A wide variety of arguments for and against the existence of God (with the same or similar arguments also generally being used when talking about the exis ...

. McGrath has debated with

David Helfand David J. Helfand is a U.S. astronomer who served as president of Quest University Canada from 2008 to 2015. He has also served as chair of the Department of Astronomy at Columbia University and co-director of the Columbia Astrophysics Laboratory ...

at the

Veritas Forum The Veritas Forum is a non-profit organization that 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, and ...

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 of Higher Education and Director of Philosophy at The Department of Continuing Education, University of Oxford. Law was previously Reader in Philos ...

on the topic 'Why Won't God Go Away?' He was interviewed by

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 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 * ''Mere apologetics: how to help seekers and skeptics find faith'' (Baker Books, 2012) * ''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 * La ...

2015), 2nd ed., Wiley. , pbk. (A critique of scientist

' 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, * ''A Cloud of Witnesses: 10 Great Christian Thinkers'' (2005), Wipf and Stock Publishers,

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 2
*
Alister McGrath debates with Peter Atkins at Edinburgh University
* Sue Blackmore at Bristol University on the motion tha
Alister McGrath debates "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 New Atheism British 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 Academics of Gresham College Systematic theologians Theistic evolutionists Writers about religion and science Christian clergy from County Down Reformation historians Science activists

Biography

Views

Writings

References

Further reading

External links