Humankind has always been fascinated by the glories of the universe ?both its microscopic detail and its vast extent. From time immemorial this fascination has led to questions about origins, purpose, and design. Glimpsing the Face of God takes as its starting point the observable order of the universe and the ways in which the natural sciences point to a discoverable God. In it Alister McGrath provides a guided tour to many forms of the search for meaning in the universe. In a highly accessible way McGrath refers to the great variety of searchers, from ancient Greece to the modern day, and explores their methods with great insight. Many widely accepted ideas are scrutinized, and dilemmas of certainty and doubt are addressed and explained.
Drawing on the great poets and philosophers, the history of science, and even the methods of the great detectives of fiction, the author helps readers to enter this world of human enquiry. Illustrated throughout with thought-provoking images, Glimpsing the Face of God ranges far and wide to unwrap the universal search for meaning. It plumbs the depths of the human condition and proposes a way of seeing beyond the finite to true fulfillment of the spirit.
Alister McGrath is professor of historical theology at Oxford University, principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford and director of the John Templeton Oxford Seminars on Science and Christianity. He is the author of more than forty books, including In the Beginning: The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language, and a Culture.
Table of Contents
1 |
Intimations of a Beyond |
6 |
2 |
Trying to Make Sense of Things |
14 |
3 |
The Big Picture and the Best Explanation |
25 |
4 |
The Quest for Wisdom |
34 |
5 |
The Great Narrative of Our Destiny |
46 |
6 |
Beyond the Wisdom of the Ancients |
58 |
7 |
A Window of Perception |
66 |
8 |
The Law of Nature |
78 |
9 |
The Great Anomaly |
88 |
10 |
Doctrine Rears Its Ugly Head |
98 |
11 |
The End of Our Journey |
110 |
12 |
The Moth and the Star |
117 |