The Interface of Science, Theology, and Religion: Essays in Honor of Alister E. McGrath
Ebook
In celebration of Alister E. McGrath's sixty-fifth birthday in 2018, this Festschrift aims to highlight him as a lauded scholar, who exemplifies an interface of science, theology, and religion. It comprises works by McGrath's theological allies and colleagues from diverse ecclesial homes including Graham Ward, Oliver Crisp, Tony Lane, Sung Wook Chung, Randall Zachman, Veli-Matti Karkkainen, Jonathan Wilson, Jeffrey P. Greenman, Robert Kolb, Sister Benedicta Ward, Michael Lloyd, Bethany Sollereder, and Patrick Franklin. Critical but appreciative is the posture with which these contributors engage the wide range of McGrath's own scholarly pursuits and publications. This volume, edited by Dennis Ngien, covers these themes that are central to the life and witness of the church: atonement, Christology, Trinity, eschatology, mission, Reformation, science, nature, culture, evangelism, and theodicy--there is much to ponder and reap here. Readers will join with the contributors and pay tribute to McGrath who has risen to a life of significance as a scientist turned theologian, professor, author, Christian apologist, and churchman.
“Alister McGrath is one of the most distinguished scholars of the theology of the Reformation in the world academic community, and this splendid volume is a fitting tribute to his achievements. The thoughtful, incisive work in this collection does full justice to the range of McGrath’s interests and, collectively, attests to the continued relevance of serious scholarship to the role of Christianity in today’s world.”
—Andrew Pettegree, University of St. Andrews
“Ngien has assembled a fine collection of well-known theologians and essayists whose contributions reflect the breadth of McGrath’s work to Christian theology over many years. This volume is a fitting tribute to McGrath’s influential contributions to the study of the Reformation, the spiritual life of Christian faith, the conversation between theology and science, and, of course, to evangelical theology generally. McGrath’s many students, readers, and admirers will find much to engage their intellects, encourage their thinking, and enliven their souls here.”
—Philip G. Ziegler, University of Aberdeen
“This collection is a fitting tribute to the depth and range of Alister McGrath’s life work. Written with verve and clarity, the essays explore some of the most challenging issues confronting Christian thinkers today, offering stimulating and often persuasive solutions. These issues include theodicy: why a good and omnipotent God permits evil to exist, especially natural evil—which is not the consequence of human freedom; the mystery of the holy Trinity, the Atonement, original sin and human freedom, Christology and ‘the last things’ (eschatology), among others. I have benefited greatly from reading these essays.”
—Ian Gentles, Tyndale University College & Seminary, Toronto
“Dennis Ngien has edited a most helpful volume. Leading contributors from a variety of ecclesial homes show us the impact and influence of McGrath’s work. Indeed, I am grateful for McGrath’s lucid contribution to Christian theology and to Ngien’s work in promoting its most salutary dimensions.”
—Christopher Holmes, University of Otago, New Zealand
“As one of the doyens of Christian theology in our era, Alister McGrath is a voice of faith and reason. In this compendium, diverse theological themes are addressed by respected scholars who write as if his faithful and influential voice is whispering in their ears. This is a readable, erudite, and highly Trinitarian work that honors the legacy of the Reformation and reveals the importance of the Christian imaginarium in our time. In essence this is a work of doxology that places God at the center of all things. A must-read for preachers today.”
—Andrew Stirling, Senior Minister, Timothy Eaton Memorial Church, Toronto; Fellow of Acadia Divinity College
“Alister McGrath’s scholarly output has been both prodigious and diverse. This volume fittingly pays tribute to McGrath’s broad scholarly interests through significant articles that represent a wide range of expertise. The contributions bring topics that McGrath has addressed into conversation with contemporary thought in an accessible way that reminds readers of the enduring significance of the questions being examined. This, in turn, appropriately highlights the legacy of McGrath as a scholar who has made a substantial contribution to Christian theological and scientific reflection.”
Brian Cooper, Mennonite Brethren Biblical Seminary, Langley
“I love festschrifts: the diversity of meaty essays in honor of a distinguished scholarly colleague has always seemed to me an ideal way to share scholarship. This festschrift for Alister McGrath is a notable example of this genre: rich theological studies that cover the wide spectrum of Dr. McGrath’s own scholarly pursuits and publications. It is indeed a fitting celebration of the literary corpus of a remarkable Evangelical scholar who is equally at home in the twin realms of theology and science.”
Michael A. G. Haykin, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
“A fitting tribute to the eclectic and penetrating thought of Alister McGrath, this collection of essays engages themes central to the heart and witness of the church. Atonement, Christology, eschatology, mission, reformation, science, theodicy—there is much to ponder here. But what stands out is how human these contributions are. The work of theology is not presented chiefly as a cognitive exercise, but rather as a product of discipleship. Good theology is evident where experience, imagination, and human desire are also caught up in the higher end of loving God and neighbor.”
—Stephen Andrews, Wycliffe College, University of Toronto
“Christianity offers a ‘public theology’ whereby Christians and non-Christians can enter into a meaningful dialogue. The holder of the Andreas Idreos Professorship in Science and Religion at the University of Oxford, Dr. Alister E. McGrath is the epitome of the interface of science, theology, and religion. Asian Christians and theologians will benefit greatly from Dr. McGrath’s works as they embark on such an interdisciplinary approach.”
—Peter Au, Canadian Chinese School of Theology
“This fine collection of essays covers the broad array of topics that Alister McGrath has engaged in his prolific career. Often building upon McGrath’s own work, this book makes significant contributions to several areas of contemporary and historical theology. Most importantly, the authors undertake their task with the same commitment to rigorous scholarship and faithful churchmanship that McGrath has demonstrated throughout his remarkable career.”
—James E. Pedlar, Tyndale University College & Seminary
“The Interface of Science, Theology, and Religion is a festschrift in honor of Alister McGrath, scientist, evangelical Anglican, historian of doctrine, systematician, popular apologist, and polymath. The essays mirror his wide range of thought, with a lineup of contributors as illustrious as McGrath himself. ‘Missional’ is a weary word nowadays, but in a way, via Interface, McGrath’s thus engaged with science and its culture, our understanding of nature, the imagination, apologetics, a global Christian awareness, spirituality, and the mysteries of the religions and of evil. Throughout we see how, for McGrath, theology is for ‘transformation by the renewing of our minds’ (Rom 12:2).”
—George Sumner, Wycliffe College, Episcopal Bishop of Dallas
“The festschrift reflects everything that we have come to know and appreciate of McGrath: the range of his scholarship, from Reformation studies to the relationship of science and theology, from theodicy to spirituality, etc. In a way, the choice of topics by these renowned contributors makes this collection an appropriate introduction to McGrath’s wide-ranging thought.”
—Simon Chan, editor of Asia Journal of Theology, formerly taught at Trinity Theological College, Singapore
“A superb collection of stellar essays in honor of Alister McGrath, a remarkable scholar whose work has shed light on the Christian story across many disciplines. A worthy tribute to a prolific theologian whose bountiful scholarship continues to bless the church.”
—Timothy George, Beeson Divinity School of Samford University, General Editor of the Reformation Commentary on Scripture
- Title: The Interface of Science, Theology, and Religion: Essays in Honor of Alister E. McGrath
- Authors: Dennis Ngien, Graham Tomlin
- Publisher: Pickwick Publications
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781532643361, 9781532643347, 9781532643354, 1532643365, 1532643349, 1532643357
- Resource ID: LLS:9781532643361
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2023-01-28T21:36:25Z
Dennis Ngien is the inaugural holder of the Alister E. McGrath Chair of Christian Thought and Spirituality and professor of Systematic Theology at Tyndale University College & Seminary, Toronto. Formerly Research Scholar at Blackfriars Hall, Oxford University, he is the author of several books including his most recent Fruit for the Soul: Luther on the Lament Psalms (2015), and Luther's Theology of the Cross: Christ in Luther's Sermons on John (Cascade, 2018).