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 hist ...

, scientist, Christian apologist, 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 t ...

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 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 research university located in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of King George IV and the Duke of Wellington. In 1836, King's ...

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, O ...

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

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

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 ...

. 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 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 term ...

, a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

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 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 ...

. McGrath is noted for his work in historical theology, systematic theology, 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 u ...

, 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 and antireligionism 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 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,

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 531,665. It borders County Antrim to th ...

, where he attended Down High School. 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 Mathematics is an area of knowledge that includes the topics of numbers, formulas and related structures, shapes and the spaces in which they are contained, and quantities and their changes. These topics are represented in modern 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 ...

and

chemistry Chemistry is the scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the elements that make up matter to the compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions: their composition, structure, proper ...

. 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 ...

, 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 ( hu, György Károly Radda; born 9 June 1936) is a Hungarian - British chemist. In 1957, he attended Merton College, Oxford, to study chemistry, having set aside an earlier interest in literary criticism. His early wo ...

and was elected to an E.P.A. Cephalosporin Research Studentship at Linacre College, Oxford, 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 one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ...

, 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 , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

, 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 ...

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 Brit ...

. 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 A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''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 ...

at St Leonard's Parish Church, Wollaton,

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. 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 systematic theology, and was a founding member of the International Society for Science and Religion. 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 Gresham College, 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 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 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 Richard Dawkins (born 26 March 1941) is a British evolutionary biologist and author. He is an emeritus fellow of New College, Oxford and was Professor for Public Understanding of Science in the University of Oxford from 1995 to 2008. An ...

, 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, ethologist Richard Dawkins, a professorial fellow at New College, Oxford and, at the time of publication, the Charles Simonyi Chair for the Public Understanding of Science ...

'' – was published by

SPCK The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK) is a UK-based Christian charity. Founded in 1698 by Thomas Bray, it has worked for over 300 years to increase awareness of the Christian faith in the UK and across the world. The SPCK is th ...

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 (born March 28, 1942) is an American philosopher, writer, and cognitive scientist whose research centers on the philosophy of mind, philosophy of science, and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relat ...

, 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 research university in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll in 1789 as Georgetown College, the university has grown to comprise eleven undergraduate and graduate ...

. 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'', ''I ...

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 1 ...

on the topic 'Darwin and Humanity: Should We Rid the Mind of God?' In November that year, he debated with Susan Blackmore on the existence of God. 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. Prior to his presidency at Quest, he was a Visiting Tutor at Quest. He has also served as chair of the Department of Astronomy at Colum ...

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

about his book '' Dawkins' God'' and faith in general for the television documentary '' The Root of All Evil?'' 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 * ''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'' ( 0042015), 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,

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