A couple of months ago, InterVarsity Press sent me a review copy of Alister McGrath’s new book, The Passionate Intellect: Christian Faith and the Discipleship of the Mind. I had been looking forward to reading it, but didn’t have a chance until last week, when a flu-like illness left me too tired to do much other than read.
First, a note on the format of the book: The Passionate Intellect is a collection of thematically-connected essays, based on various lectures and talks given by McGrath over the past couple of years. McGrath has divided them into two sections. The first, “The Purpose, Place and Relevance of Christian Theology,” includes essays on George Herbert, Martin Luther, and C. S. Lewis, as well as reflections on natural theology and apologetics. The second, “Engaging with Our Culture,” focuses more narrowly on two related contemporary debates — the conflicts (perceived or real) between science and religion, and the rise of “New Atheism” (Dawkins, Hitchens, et al.).
Perhaps it was the progress of my illness, but I found the second section much more engaging and interesting than the first. Then again, it might have been McGrath’s own engagement with science and atheism. The second section opens with an essay called “The Natural Sciences: Friends or Foes of Faith?,” in which McGrath briefly recounts his own journey from an atheist undergraduate majoring in molecular biology (McGrath has a PhD in that discipline) to a Christian theologian and apologist. As I am, McGrath is fascinated by “those things that are either too big or too odd for science to explain.” [Read more…] about Review: The Passionate Intellect