A Passion for Truth: The Intellectual Coherence of Evangelicalism

by Alister E. McGrath

Looks at the intellectual foundations of evangelicalism

Genres: Theology, Christian, Christianity

287 pages, Hardcover

First published March 31, 1996

About the author

Alister Edgar McGrath is a Northern Irish theologian, priest, intellectual historian, scientist, and Christian apologist. He currently holds the Andreas Idreos Professorship in Science and Religion in the Faculty of Theology and Religion at the University of Oxford, and is Professor of Divinity at Gresham College. He was previously Professor of Theology, Ministry, and Education at King's College London and Head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture, Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Oxford, and was principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, until 2005. He is an Anglican priest and is ordained within the Church of England.

Aside from being a faculty member at Oxford, McGrath has also taught at Cambridge University and is a Teaching Fellow at Regent College. McGrath holds three doctorates from the University of Oxford, a DPhil in Molecular Biophysics, a Doctor of Divinity in Theology and a Doctor of Letters in Intellectual History.

McGrath is noted for his work in historical theology, systematic theology, and the relationship between science and religion, as well as his writings on apologetics. He is also known for his opposition to New Atheism and antireligionism and his advocacy of theological critical realism. Among his best-known books are The Twilight of Atheism, The Dawkins Delusion?: Atheist Fundamentalism and the Denial of the Divine, Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life, and A Scientific Theology. He is also the author of a number of popular textbooks on theology.

Reviews

[Michael Berra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was ich an diesem Buch, das doch bereits vor fast 30 Jahren geschrieben wurde, spannend finde ist die Argumentation entlang der Linie Modere-Postmoderne. McGrath zeichnet ein positives und differenziertes Bild des Evangelikalismus - das könnte man sicherlich teils in Frage stellen oder müsste ergänzt werden. Nichtsdestotrotz ist gerade seine Kritik interessant: an diversen Punkten moniert er, haben Evangelikale den Zeitgeist der Moderne (& der Aufklärung, des Rationalismus) unkritisch und unbewusst adaptiert. Das was sie bekämpfen wollten hat sie hintenrum gebissen. McGrath kann Aspekten des Postmodernen Denkens an verschiedenen Stellen durchaus Positives abgewinnen, da es die Moderne/Aufklärung kritisch hinterfragt und teils damit auch dem genuin Christlichen in die Hand spielt. Das finde ich spannend!
Spannende Fragen für mich: wo haben aktuelle (postevangelikale) Strömungen nun (analog gewisser Evangelikalen) die Postmoderne zu stark und unkritisch adaptiert (Pendelschlag)? Wo ist trotzdem der aktuelle Konflikt und die Angst der konservativeren Evangelikalen vor der „Auflösung“ eine Angst vor der Auflösung ihrer Liaisons mit Moderne/Aufklärung/Rationalismus?
Auf jeden Fall leistet dieses Buch spannende Beiträge zu aktuellen Diskussionen - vielleicht noch mehr als vor 30 Jahren - und differenzierter und entspannter als viele der Beiträge heute.

[Mike Bright · Rating 5 out of 5]

Admittedly I am a fan of Alister McGrath, but this really was a good book. It is a fairly comprehensive definition of evangelicalism and comparison to competing philosophies. Dr. McGrath's writing is clear, even when dealing with deep and complex subjects. Even though I am already an evangelical, I think his arguments would be persuasive if I wasn't.

My one minor criticism is that he did not spend much time on weaknesses of evangelicalism. One that has troubled me for a number of years is the individualistic emphasis. My reading of Scripture and church history shows a much more community oriented approach to Christianity.

[Ronald Dom · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neste livro, McGrath defende a intelectualidade da fé cristã e a importância em mantermos nossas particularidades na adoração à Cristo, sob pena de cairmos no discurso pluralista moderno. A ideologia pós moderna e pluralista no final, deseja anular os preceitos principais do cristianismo, com um discurso disfarçado de tolerância, mas que na verdade, querem impor um ídolo transcendente que seja igual à todas as religiões.

[Patrick]

Very thought provoking academic book on evangelical theology and how it stacks up to other major world views today. I'm not sure I agreed with everything he says (McGrath seems a little more negative about some aspects of Calvinist tradition here than I would agree with), but over all very much worth reading. He does a good job explaining the deficiencies of both modernism, post-modernism and ideological pluralism. He also discusses some of the deficiencies of "post-liberalism", which I had actually never heard of before. It was a little confusing to me, because it seemed sort of like post-modernism-light and I didn't get really what the whole point of the movement is. I'm guessing that's a new movement that's trying to pave a way between theological liberalism and neo-orthodoxy, but being that I've never heard of anyone into that sort of thing, it didn't really mean much to me.

Anyway, still, a good book, and I recommend it for anyone who's interested in a really academic defense of the evangelical world view. (Evangelical in a broad sense, BTW, as the author himself is a mainline Anglican.)

[Jake Cannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an excellent foundation to any Christian intellectual. McGrath expertly displays his knowledge of not only Evangelicalism, but its supremacy and coherence over and against post-liberalism, post-modernism, and pluralism. His two pillars, the uniqueness of Jesus and the authority of Scripture, serve as the foundation of our coherance against the post-truth ideas of the 21st century. A great reminder for all Christians as to where our distinctivness and coherance comes from: Jesus Christ as revealed in Scripture.