The Great Mystery: Science, God and the Human Quest for Meaning - Hardcover

Alister McGrath is the Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion at Oxford University, and Fellow of Harris Manchester College, Oxford. After initial academic work in the natural sciences, Alister turned to the study of theology and intellectual history, while also engaging in broader cultural debates about the rationality and relevance of the Christian faith. He is the author of many academic and theological works, as well as the bestsellingThe Dawkins Delusionand his acclaimedC. S. Lewis - A Life.

Arguably Britain's best popular theologian * Tribune Magazine * The new book exhibits all the strengths of McGrath at his best... Many of us who read widely in contemporary theology can only be grateful at the clarity of his writing and the pains he takes to make his argument clear. * Church of England Newspaper * An impressive yet accessible book... McGrath presents useful tools to equip thinking Christians, but he also writes with non-Christians in mind. * Christianity Magazine * Alister McGrath in The Great Mystery asks the questions (with his usual rigour and clarity) that philosophers tend to avoid these days: 'What is the point of life?' and 'What is wrong with us?' He, too, is concerned to explore the meaning that lies behind the facts in a world drowning in information from the sciences, calling for a fundamental rethinking of who we are. * Church Times * The book comes alive in the third and final part that deals with the future and humanity's struggle with the conflict of good and evil in its nature... a worthwhile book. * Methodist Recorder * In this personal, scholarly yet gripping account of the human search for meaning, Alister McGrath reveals this eirenic question to be as vital in our own times as in previous ages. In the spirit of Chesterton, Thoreau and C S Lewis, and in dialogue with Augustine, Pico, Murdoch, and his neighbourhood nemesis Dawkins, McGrath takes his breathless readers first to a high balcony-view of the science, religion and philosophy of purpose, but then leads us back down to the road where we must make our own journeys, the richer for our reading. * Tom McLeish, Professor of Physics at Durham University and Chair of the Royal Society's education committee * This is a book characterised by a deep sense of humility before the mystery of life and the limitations of human knowledge. It is also one that is generously open to the views of those with whom he disagrees. At the same time he shows, often with a telling example, how Christianity not only gives us a glimpse of the bigger picture, but offers a framework of meaning enabling us to cope with our journey from birth to death . Whilst Drawing on his vast learning in both science and philosophy Alister McGrath still manages to convey his argument with great clarity and accessibility. It is a book that will challenge all dogmatists, whether scientific or religious, and which will greatly encourage those who are tentative and searching. * Lord Harries of Pentregarth *