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Alister E. McGrath is Professor of Historical Theology at Oxford University and Gifford Lecturer at the University of Aberdeen for 2009. He is a world-renowned theologian, and is the author of numerous best-selling titles.?Unlike many working in the sciencetheology field, McGrath makes a real effort to address issues of biblical criticism, which gives his work some significant depth, as he incorporates an engagement with the Jesus of history and an application of this to contemporary understandings of natural theology.? ( <i>Reviews in Science and Religion</i>, May 2009) <p>"I tried out his NT approach in a Bible study on one of the 'miracles of creation' with a group of mainly young adults to see if his stratified view of the natural world would 'prove' to be more convincing in this context: it certainly helped." (<i>Science and Christian Belief</i>, April 2009)</p> <p>?McGrath seeks to develop a specifically Christian approach to natural theology, anchoring it in the Christ event, and interpreting natural theology as something that is both historically located in the life and death of Jesus of Nazareth and theologically interpreted by the church.? (<i>New Testament Abstracts</i>, January 2009)</p> <p>?As we have come to expect from McGrath, the book is historically well-researched, conversant with recent literature, theologically creative, and carefully argued. It will certainly reshape contemporary discussions of natural theology and natural law.? (<i>Religious Studies Review</i>, March 2009)</p> <p>"McGrath's book starts from distinctively Christian Trinitarian theology and then develops what the author sees as ways for Christian beliefs to create a means of seeing nature with a new sense of vision?with the purpose of understanding the connections between Christian belief and natural science. It is extremely well-researched and footnoted, with an extensive bibliography of sources cited. Summing Up: Recommended." (<i>CHOICE</i>)</p> <p>"The book is learned, covering a great deal of historical ground." (<i>First Things</i>)</p>
- A timely and innovative resource on natural theology: the exploration of knowledge of God as it is observed through nature
- Written by internationally regarded theologian and author of numerous bestselling books, Alister McGrath
- Develops an intellectually rigorous vision of natural theology as a point of convergence between the Christian faith, the arts and literature, and the natural sciences, opening up important possibilities for dialogue and cross-fertilization
- Treats natural theology as a cultural phenomenon, broader than Christianity itself yet always possessing a distinctively Christian embodiment
- Explores topics including beauty, goodness, truth, and the theological imagination; how investigating nature gives rise to both theological and scientific theories; the idea of a distinctively Christian approach to nature; and how natural theology can function as a bridge between Christianity and other faiths
Acknowledgments ix
1 Natural Theology: Introducing an Approach 1
“Nature” is an Indeterminate Concept 7
Natural Theology is an Empirical Discipline 10
A Christian Natural Theology Concerns the Christian God 12
A Natural Theology is Incarnational, Not Dualist 14
Resonance, Not Proof: Natural Theology and Empirical Fit 15
Beyond Sense-Making: The Good, the True, and the Beautiful 18
Part I The Human Quest for the Transcendent: The Context for Natural Theology 21
2 The Persistence of the Transcendent 23
Natural Theology and the Transcendent 28
The Triggers of Transcendent Experiences 33
The Transcendent and Religion 36
3 Thinking About the Transcendent: Three Recent Examples 41
Iris Murdoch: The Transcendent and the Sublime 46
Roy Bhaskar: The Intimation of Meta-Reality 50
John Dewey: The Curious Plausibility of the Transcendent 53
4 Accessing the Transcendent: Strategies and Practices 59
Ascending to the Transcendent from Nature 60
Seeing the Transcendent Through Nature 66
Withdrawing from Nature to Find the Transcendent Within Oneself 69
Discerning the Transcendent in Nature 73
5 Discernment and the Psychology of Perception 80
Perception is Brain-Based 84
Perception Involves Dynamic Mental Structures 86
Perception is Egocentric and Enactive 92
Perception Pays Attention to Significance 98
Perception Can Be Modulated by Motivation and Affect 102
Human Perception and Natural Theology 105
Conclusion to Part I 110
Part II The Foundations of Natural Theology: Ground-Clearing and Rediscovery 113
6 The Open Secret: The Ambiguity of Nature 115
The Mystery of the Kingdom: Jesus of Nazareth and the Natural Realm 117
The Levels of Nature: The Johannine “I am” Sayings 126
Gerard Manley Hopkins on “Seeing” Nature 133
7 A Dead End? Enlightenment Approaches to Natural Theology 140
The Enlightenment and its Natural Theologies: Historical Reflections 141
The Multiple Translations and Interpretations of the “Book of Nature” 147
The Flawed Psychological Assumptions of the Enlightenment 156
The Barth–Brunner Controversy (1934) and Human Perception 158
Enlightenment Styles of Natural Theology: Concluding Criticisms 165
8 A Christian Approach to Natural Theology 171
On “Seeing” Glory: The Prologue to John’s Gospel 172
A Biblical Example: The Call of Samuel 174
The Christian Tradition as a Framework for Natural Theology 177
Natural Theology and a Self-Disclosing God 179
Natural Theology and an Analogy Between God and the Creation 185
Natural Theology and the Image of God 190
Natural Theology and the Economy of Salvation 198
Natural Theology and the Incarnation 209
Conclusion to Part II 216
Part III Truth, Beauty, and Goodness: An Agenda for a Renewed Natural Theology 219
9 Truth, Beauty, and Goodness: Expanding the Vision for Natural Theology 221
10 Natural Theology and Truth 232
Resonance, Not Proof: Natural Theology and Sense-Making 233
The Big Picture, Not the Gaps: Natural Theology and Observation of the World 238
Natural Theology, Counterintuitive Thinking, and Anthropic Phenomena 240
Natural Theology and Mathematics: A “Natural” Way of Representing Reality 245
Truth, Natural Theology, and Other Religious Traditions 248
On Retrieving the Richness of Truth 252
Truth and a Natural Theology of the Imagination 255
11 Natural Theology and Beauty 261
Recovering the Place of Beauty in Natural Theology 262
The Neglect of Beauty: The “Deconversion” of John Ruskin 265
Hugh Miller on the Aesthetic Deficiencies of Sense-Making 268
John Ruskin and the Representation of Nature 271
The Beauty of Theoretical Representations of Nature 273
Beauty, Awe, and the Aesthetic Engagement with Nature 277
Aesthetics and the “Seeing” of Beauty 280
Beauty, Natural Theology, and Christian Apologetics 282
12 Natural Theology and Goodness 291
The Moral Vision of Reality 292
Natural Theology and Natural Law 294
The Eternal Return of Natural Law 297
The Moral Ambivalence of Nature 300
The Knowability of Goodness in Nature 306
The Discernment of Goodness: The Euthyphro Dilemma 310
Conclusion to Part III 312
13 Conclusion 314
Bibliography 316
Index 366
This major book is certain to be a fundamental resource and stimulus for the growing interest in reclaiming a viable natural theology in the early twenty-first century.
–John F. Haught, Georgetown University
"This is vintage McGrath: confident, capacious in scope, brisk in exposition, decisive in argument. Noone is better placed to make a case for a revisionary theology of nature; this book is sure to command a wide audience and to generate profitable debate."
–John Webster, King's College, Aberdeen
"For much of the twentieth century natural theology was regarded as intellectually moribund and theologically suspect. In this splendid new book, best-selling author and distinguished theologian Alister McGrath issues a vigorous challenge to the old prejudices. Building on the foundation of the classical triad of truth, beauty and goodness, he constructs an impressive case for a new and revitalized natural theology. This is a well-conceived, timely, and thought-provoking volume."
–Peter Harrison, Harris Manchester College, Oxford