The Foundations of Dialogue in Science and Religion

In this new book, Alister McGrath explores the relationship between religion and the natural sciences, focusing specifically on Christianity as a case study. The book explores the way in which religions and the natural sciences differ from each other, yet converge on matters of considerable interest in a number of areas. The Foundations of Dialogue in Science and Religion develops the agenda set out by Thomas F. Torrance in his 1969 work Theological Science. Like Torrance, McGrath sees the need to examine the relation between Christian theology and the natural sciences at the level of method – that is to say, the way in which reality is apprehended, investigated, and represented. The study starts from three major points of investigation: the inexplicability of the world, the way in which our reflection on the nature of things is controled or modulated by the way things are and the way in which the external world is represented. This book will be of great interest to those researching and studying in the areas of science and religion, Christian theology and history and the philosophy of science.

Acknowledgements. 1. Starting All Over Again. 2. The Quest for Order. 3. The Investigation of the World. 4. The Reality of the World. 5. The Representation of the World. In Place of a Conclusion: Beyond Conflict. Notes. Bibliography. Index.

Alister McGrath is Principal at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford. As well as being one of the most prominent theological educationalists, Alister McGrath holds a first degree in chemistry and a D. Phil in molecular biology.

"McGrath...provides a detailed examination of the relationship between natural sciences and religion, specifically Christianity" Publishers Weekly, New York