Alister E. McGrath Quotes
Within each of us exists the image of God, however disfigured and corrupted by sin it may presently be. God is able to recover this image through grace as we are conformed to Christ.
The Christian faith allows us to see further and deeper, to appreciate that nature is studded with signs, radiant with reminders, and emblazoned with symbols of God, our creator and redeemer.
A failure to understand something does not mean it is irrational. It may simply mean that it lies on the far side of our limited abilities to take things in and make complete sense of them.
Christianity israrely understood by those outside its bounds. In fact, this is probably one of the greatest tasks confronting the apologist–to rescue Christianity from misunderstandings.
Suffering does not call into question the "big picture" of the Christian faith. It reminds us that we do not see the whole picture, and are thus unable to fit all of the pieces neatly into place.
Our present world contains clues...to another world-a world which we can begin to experience now, but will only know in all its fullness at the end of things.
Rational argument does not create belief, but it maintains a climate in which belief may flourish.
Our desires cannot be, and were never meant to be, satisfied by earthly pleasures alone.
The true believer is not someone who disengages from this world in order to focus on heaven, but rather the one who tries to make this world more like heaven.
All the important things in life lie beyond reason... and that's just the way things are.
Deep down within all of us is a longing to work out what life is all about and what we're meant to be doing.
At Oxford University, the certainties of my atheist faith (and atheism is a faith) began to crumble
We live in a world of competing narratives. In the end, we have to decide for ourselves which is right. And having made that decision, we then need to inhabit the story we trust.
The idea of ‘calling' was fundamentally redefined: no longer was it about being called to serve God by leaving the world; it was now about serving God in the world
Puzzles lead to logical answers; mysteries often force us to stretch language to its limits in an attempt to describe a reality that is just too great to take in properly.
To reenchant nature is not merely to gain a new perspective for its integrity and well-being; it is to throw open the doors to a deeper level of existence.
Surely the better way is to pursue a generous orthodoxy, seeing disagreements in the context of the greater agreements which bind us together.
One of the best introductions to the history and ideas of Calvinism, packed with insight and wisdom.
Hope is a settled state of mind, in which we see the world in its true light, and look forward to our final homecoming in heaven.
If there is no ultimate reality, it's pointless to think about how we might get there.
We must not think that religious concerns swamped all other social activities. They simply provided a focal point for them.
When the old poets made some virtue their theme, they were not teaching but adoring.
The reading of literature opens our eyes, offering us new perspectives on things that we can evaluate and adopt.
Clergy had a vested interest in retaining the old, ways, which made few demands of them as teachers, as spiritual guides, or as moral examples or agents.
A god that can be reduced to what reason can cope with is not a God that can be worshiped.
Christianity tells a big story. It allows us to see our own story in a new way.
To its critics, the study of theology distracts from real life. But, at its best, theology inspires and informs precisely the committed and caring ministry.
Though argument does not create conviction, the lack of it destroys belief.
Lewis at his best is about trying on ways of looking at the world.
Lewis is like a gateway, making the riches of Deep Church more accessible.
Lewis is a rare example of someone who liked to think about life's great questions because they were forced on him by his own experience.
Lewis had experienced more trauma than most of his modern readers ever will.
Lewis created a new kind of marriage between theological reflection and poetic imagination.
Lewis wanted us to understand that the inner world is shaped by stories.
Human logic may be rationally adequate, but it is also existentially deficient. Faith declares that there is more than this - not contradicting, but transcending reason.
For Christian writers, religious faith is not a rebellion against reason, but a revolt against the imprisonment of humanity within the cold walls of a rationalist dogmatism.