Alister McGrath

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Alister E. McGrath
BornJanuary 23 1953 (1953-01-23) (age 56)
Belfast, Northern Ireland
ResidenceUK
NationalityBritish
FieldHistorical Theology
InstitutionsOxford University
Notable prizesRoyal Society of Arts

Alister E. McGrath (born January 23, 1953) is a Christian theologian, with a background in molecular biophysics, noted for his work on historical, systematic and scientific theology.

In his writing and public speaking, he promotes "scientific theology" and opposes atheism. McGrath was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and is currently Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Oxford. He was until 2005 Principal of Wycliffe Hall.

Contents

[edit] Biography

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2007)

McGrath 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 went up to Wadham College, Oxford 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 Professor Sir George Radda, FRS and 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.

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 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] McGrath has also debated with Daniel Dennett, at the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum (February 2007) in New Orleans.

He was interviewed by Richard Dawkins 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.[3]

In 2005 he resigned as Principal of Wycliffe Hall, whilst remaining President of the Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics which was based there. In June 2007 a private letter expressing his concerns about his successor was leaked[4].

[edit] Writings

Among McGrath's more notable works are:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Biography on official website
  2. ^ Audio Visual Resources. Ravi Zacharias International Ministries. Retrieved on 2007-04-07., includes sound recording of the Dawkins-McGrath debate
  3. ^ Unedited footage of McGrath's interview
  4. ^ Wycliffe Hall: three former principals write, Thinking Anglicans

[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.

[edit] External links

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