Natural Theology explores the knowledge of God as it is observed through nature. This book sets forth a new approach to the study of natural theology, reestablishing its legitimacy as a distinct aspect of Christian theology.

“Alister McGrath’s The Open Secret provides nothing less than the foundations of a vigorous renewal of natural theology for our time. Theologians and others who have considered natural theology an exhausted topic will have second thoughts after reading this richly nuanced, scholarly, creative, and enjoyable book.”

John F. Haught, Georgetown University

“This is vintage McGrath: confident, capacious in scope, brisk in exposition, decisive in argument. No one is better placed to make a case for a revisionary theology of nature; this book is sure to command a wide audience and to generate profitable debate.”

John Webster, King’s College, Aberdeen

“An impressive case for a new and revitalized natural theology … A well-conceived, timely, and thought-provoking volume.”

Peter Harrison, Harris Manchester College, Oxford

Natural theology, in the view of many, is in crisis. In this long-awaited book, Alister McGrath sets out a new vision for natural theology, re-establishing its legitimacy and utility. Meeting traditional criticisms head-on, McGrath develops an intellectually rigorous vision of natural theology as a point of convergence between the Christian faith, the arts and literature, and the natural sciences, opening up important possibilities for dialogue. cross-fertilization, and enrichment. Natural theology, he argues, is about seeing nature in a Christian manner, and hence discerning its truth, beauty, and goodness.

This major book is certain to be a fundamental resource and stimulus for the growing interest in reclaiming a viable natural theology in the early twenty-first century.

Natural theology, in the view of many, is in crisis. In this long-awaited book, Alister McGrath sets out a new vision for natural theology, re-establishing its legitimacy and utility.

• A timely and innovative resource on natural theology: the exploration of knowledge of God as it is observed through nature
• Written by internationally regarded theologian and author of numerous bestselling books, Alister McGrath
• Develops an intellectually rigorous vision of natural theology as a point of convergence between the Christian faith, the arts and literature, and the natural sciences, opening up important possibilities for dialogue and cross-fertilization
• Treats natural theology as a cultural phenomenon, broader than Christianity itself yet always possessing a distinctively Christian embodiment
• Explores topics including beauty, goodness, truth, and the theological imagination; how investigating nature gives rise to both theological and scientific theories; the idea of a distinctively Christian approach to nature; and how natural theology can function as a bridge between Christianity and other faiths