Enriching Our Vision of Reality ─ Theology and the natural sciences in dialogue

“Enriching our Vision of Reality is elegant, erudite, and animated by a constant enthusiasm for its subject. There is everything here—science, theology, philosophy, biography, even some poetry—all enlisted to help us to see the world as it is, both more clearly and with greater delight.” —Reverend Doctor Andrew Davison, Starbridge Lecturer in theology and natural sciences, University of Cambridge, and fellow in theology at Corpus Christi College

“It’s a pleasure to read an introduction to science and Christian belief that is both erudite and accessible. McGrath’s new book is rich with personal examples, biographies of famous scientists and theologians, and effective refutations of their detractors. This invitation to move forward from a bifurcated to an expansive view of reality is recommended for all who seek an ‘integrated understanding’ of science and Christian faith.” —Philip Clayton, editor of The Oxford Handbook of Religion and Science

In this exceptional volume, leading theologian Alister McGrath writes for scientists with an interest in theology, and Christians and theologians who are aware of the importance of the natural sciences. A scene-setting chapter explores the importance of the human quest for intelligibility. The focus then moves to three leading figures who have stimulated discussion about the relationship between science and theology in recent years: Charles Coulson, an Oxford professor of theoretical chemistry who was also a prominent Methodist lay preacher; Thomas F. Torrance, perhaps the finest British theologian of the twentieth-century; and John Polkinghorne, a theoretical physicist and theologian.

The final section of the book features six “parallel conversations” between science and theology, which lay the groundwork for the kind of enriched vision of reality the author hopes to encourage. Here, we are inspired to enjoy individual aspects of nature while seeking to interpret them in the light of deeper revelations about our gloriously strange universe.

Alister McGrath is the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford University, and director of the Ian Ramsey Centre for Science and Religion. He holds Oxford doctorates in both the natural sciences and Christian theology. McGrath has written extensively on the interaction of science and Christian theology, and is the author of many books, including the international bestseller, The Dawkins Delusion? Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine (SPCK, 2007), and the market-leading textbook Christian Theology: An Introduction (Wiley, 2016). McGrath also serves as the Gresham Professor of Divinity, a public professorship in the City of London, established in 1597, that promotes the public engagement of theology with the leading issues of the day.
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