Understanding Doctrine

by Alister E. McGrath

"Christianity is not, and never has been, about finding the right combination of words! It is about encountering the living and loving God." From this truth many people have drawn the wrong conclusion that doctrine is irrelevant, except (maybe) for theologians. Yet every time we talk about God, Jesus, or the Bible we end up making doctrinal statements. If our faith is to be coherent and if we want to grow in our faith, we cannot avoid thinking about doctrine. In this highly readable and much-needed book, Alister McGrath explains what doctrine is, why it is important, and what its limitations are. He then briefly examines three key doctrines to illustrate his the Incarnation, the Atonement, and the Trinity.

Genres: Theology

182 pages, Paperback

Published April 13, 1992

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

[Markevans · Rating 5 out of 5]

In an age when studying "doctrine" sounds about as fun as eating nails, Alistair helps us to see that doctrine is really foundational and necessary (although it can be tedious). The single best take-away I got from this book is to recognize that everyone needs both a subjective and objective encounter with God. His great analogy is about crossing the Atlantic on a ship - the ocean is vast and the experience is overwhelming. Then to look at a map of the Atlantic seems so trivial compared to the experience. But he reminds us that without the map we would be lost and we would elevate our experience over and above everyone else. So it is with doctrine - we need to experience God. But we also need doctrine as a map to guide, interpret, and direct our experience. The other big take-away is that when we rightly understanding our key doctrines it is actually a source of great unity with Christians world-wide and in other traditions. We must remember that when we are tempted to think of doctrine as merely another source of factionalism in the church.

[Jeff Noble]

Understanding Doctrine by Alister E. McGrath (?)

[Rina Heisz]

great..