What's the Point of Theology?
Wisdom, Wellbeing and Wonder
What's the Point of Theology?
Wisdom, Wellbeing and Wonder
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Publisher: SPCK Publishing
ISBN: 9780281086894
Number of Pages: 176
Published: 19/05/2022
Width: 13.8 cm
Height: 21.6 cm
We may be aware that theology is the study of the nature of God and of religious belief. But why should that matter to us? What’s the point of theology?
In this wonderfully accessible book, renowned Christian theologian Alistair McGrath explores just why theology is so important and what it can bring to our lives.
Drawing on insights from his own experience of coming to Christianity from atheism, this exhilarating and enlightening volume reveals how theology offers a gateway to discovery: it helps us grow in wisdom; it contributes to our wellbeing; it sparks our innate sense of wonder. Above all, theology help us to grow in faith and love as we draw ever closer to the divine.
What’s the Point of Theology? is ideal for new and seasoned Christians who want to engage more deeply with their faith but are unsure if theology can help them. It also has much to offer those who are interested in spiritual matters and curious to find out more.
Stimulating and encouraging, What’s the Point of Theology? will open your eyes to all that theology can teach us and has to offer – a wiser understanding of what really matters, a richer vision of the good life, a deeper appreciation of the beauty of nature – as well strengthening your faith and relationship with God.
Part 1
THEOLOGY: SOME OPENING REFLECTIONS
1 Discovering theology: seeing things in a new way 7
Theology as a new way of seeing things 11
Imagining the new world of faith 15
Charles Taylor: imagining a new (but real) world 18
2 Theology as a ‘big picture’ 23
Christian doctrines: isolated or interconnected? 24
The big picture: weaving things together 26
Understanding theological disagreement 28
Finding the best ‘big picture’ 30
Dorothy L. Sayers on the Incarnation 33
Mapping the landscape of faith 36
3 Theology: five criticisms 40
Theology is vacuous nonsense, which isn’t worth studying 40
Theology is irrelevant for most ordinary Christians 43
Theology has no place in the life of the Church 46
Theology seems detached from the Bible 48
Theology is a Western invention 50
Part 2
WHY THEOLOGY MATTERS:WISDOM, WELLBEING AND WONDER
4 Wisdom: discovering the depths of faith 57
Karl Popper: the three worlds 57
Growing in wisdom: a New Testament foundation 59
The wisdom of the Christian past: an antidote to superficiality 64
Going deeper: mapping the Christian vision of salvation 69
Making connections: theology and a wider vision of life 74
Faith: being realistic about what we can know 77
The darkness of faith: coping with uncertainty 80
5 Wellbeing: discerning value and meaning 84
Theology and wellbeing: the neglected importance of meaning 86
Connectedness: discovering a coherent world 90
Faith: inhabiting a Christian vision of reality 91
The importance of the Incarnation 93
Transforming our existence: mapping the Incarnation 95
Mattering: Christianity and human value 98
The heart’s desire: finding fulfilment 103
6 Wonder: expanding our vision of life 107
Wh4y wonder matters 109
Attentiveness: seeing and respecting nature as God’s creation 111
The intellectual appeal of faith 115
Speaking about God: preserving the mystery 118
The failed quest for certainty: Tomáš Halík on faith and mystery 121
The Trinity: wrestling with mystery 122
Glimpsing glory: theology, worship and spirituality 126
7 Conclusion: why theology matters 130
On theological education 132
Theology and the life of faith 133
What’s the point of theology? 135
Taking things further 138
Questions for reflection 141
Notes 144
Alister McGrath invariably combines enormous scholarship with an accessible and engaging style. -- Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury Brilliant and lucid as ever, Alister McGrath makes a compelling case that because theology sustains the vision that is at the heart of Christian faith, the church needs its leaders to be not just efficient church-builders, but wise thinkers and teachers, schooled in the rich tradition of Christian theology. -- Graham Tomlin, Bishop of Kensington on 'What's the Point of Theology?' "The God Delusion" makes me embarrassed to be an atheist, and the McGraths show why. -- Michael Ruse, Professor of History and Philosophy of Science Program, Florida State University on 'The Dawkins Delusion?' (SPCK, 2007) Richard Dawkins' utopian vision of a world without religion is here deftly punctured by McGrath's informed discourse. His fellow Oxonian clearly demonstrates the gaps, inconsistencies and surprising lack of depth in Dawkins' arguments. -- Owen Gingerich, Professor Emeritus of Astronomy and History of Science, Harvard University on 'The Dawkins Delusion?' (SPCK, 2007) Addressing the conclusions of 'The God Delusion' point by point with the devastating insight of a molecular biologist turned theologian, Alison McGrath dismantles the argument that science should lead to atheism, and demonstrates instead that Dawkins has abandoned his much-cherished rationality to embrace an embittered manifest of dogmatic atheist fundamentalism. -- Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, USA on 'The Dawkins Delusion?' (SPCK, 2007) McGrath's lucid and unsentimental portrait . . . offers a new and at times shocking look into the complicated life of this complex figure, in a deeply researched biography. He shows with skill, sympathy, dispassion, and engaging prose that Lewis, like the rest of us, did the best he could with the hand he was dealt. -- Publishers Weekly, starred review of 'C. S. Lewis: A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet' (Hodder, 2013)
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