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Heinrich Emil Brunner (December 23, 1889, Winterthur – April 6, 1966, Zurich) was a Swiss Protestant (Reformed) theologian. Along with Karl Barth (see Relationship with Karl Barth), he is commonly associated with neo-orthodoxy or the dialectical theology movement.

Biography[link]

Emil Brunner was born in Winterthur, near Zurich, Switzerland.

He studied at the universities of Zurich and Berlin, receiving his doctorate in theology from Zurich in 1913, with a dissertation on The Symbolic Element in Religious Knowledge. Brunner served as pastor from 1916 to 1924 in the mountain village of Obstalden in the Swiss Canton of Glarus. In 1919–1920 he spent a year in the United States studying at Union Theological Seminary in New York.

In 1921 Brunner published his Habilitationsschrift (a post-doctoral dissertation traditionally required in many countries in order to attain the position of a fully tenured professor) on Experience, Knowledge and Faith and in 1922 was appointed a Privatdozent at the University of Zurich. Soon after, another book followed: Mysticism and the Word (1924), which was a devastating critique of the liberal theology of Friedrich Schleiermacher. Brunner was rewarded for his literary efforts with his appointment in 1924 as Professor of Systematic and Practical Theology at the University of Zurich, a post which he held until his retirement in 1953. Following this appointment Brunner's reputation as a theologian continued to increase, particularly after the publication of two further important works in 1927, the first being The Philosophy of Religion from the Standpoint of Protestant Theology and second The Mediator.

After accepting various invitations to deliver lectures across Europe and the United States, in 1930 Brunner published God and Man and in 1932 The Divine Imperative. Brunner continued his theological output with Man in Revolt and Truth as Encounter in 1937. In the same year he was a substantial contributor to the World Conference on Church, Community, and State in Oxford, a position which was reflected in his continued involvement in the ecumenical movement. In 1937–1938 he returned to the United States for a year as a visiting professor at Princeton Theological Seminary.

Brunner's ecclesiastical positions varied at differing points in his career. Before the outbreak of the war Brunner returned to Europe with the young Scottish theologian Thomas Torrance who had studied under Karl Barth in Basel and who had been teaching at Auburn Theological Seminary, New York (and who would subsequently go on to distinguish himself as a professor at the University of Edinburgh). Following the war, Brunner delivered the prestigious Gifford Lectures at the University of St Andrews, Scotland in 1946–1947 on Christianity and Civilisation. In 1953 he retired from his post at the University of Zurich and took up a position of Visiting Professor at the recently founded International Christian University in Tokyo, Japan (1953–1955), but not before the publication of the first two volumes of his three volume magnum opus Dogmatics (volume one: The Christian Doctrine of God (1946), volume two: The Christian Doctrine of Creation and Redemption (1950), and volume three: The Christian Doctrine of the Church, Faith, and Consummation (1960)). While returning to Europe from Japan, Brunner suffered a cerebral haemorrhage and was physically impaired, weakening his ability to work. Though there were times when his condition would improve, he suffered further strokes, finally succumbing to death in 1966.

Brunner undoubtedly holds a place of prominence in Protestant theology in the 20th century and was one of the four or five leading systematicians.

Theology[link]

Brunner rejected liberal theology's (in particular European liberal theology's) portrait of Jesus as merely a highly-respected human being. Instead, Brunner insisted that Jesus was God incarnate and central to salvation.

Some^[who?] claim that Brunner also attempted to find a middle position within the ongoing Arminian and Calvinist debate, stating that Christ stood between God's sovereign approach to humankind and free human acceptance of God's gift of salvation. However, Brunner was a Protestant theologian from German-speaking Europe (a heritage which did not lay nearly as much weight on the Calvinist-Arminian controversy as Dutch- or English-speaking theology). Thus, it may be more accurate to describe his viewpoint as a melding together of Lutheran and Reformed perspectives of soteriology; the Lutheran accent in particular was dominant in Brunner's affirmation of single predestination over against both the double predestination of Calvin and the liberal insistence on universal salvation, a view he charged Barth with holding.

In any event, Brunner and his compatriots in the neo-orthodox movement rejected in toto Pelagian concepts of human cooperation with God in the act of salvation, which were prominent in other humanist conceptions of Christianity in the late 19th century. Instead, they embraced Augustine's views, especially as refracted through Martin Luther.

Although Brunner re-emphasized the centrality of Christ, evangelical and fundamentalist theologians, mainly those from America and Great Britain, have usually rejected Brunner's other teachings, including his dismissal of certain miraculous elements within the Scriptures and his questioning of the usefulness of the doctrine of the inspiration of the Bible. This is in accord with the treatment that conservatives have afforded others in the movement such as Barth and Paul Tillich; most conservatives have viewed neo-orthodox theology as simply a more moderate form of liberalism, rejecting its claims as a legitimate expression of the Protestant tradition.

Relationship with Karl Barth[link]

Long before Barth's name was known in the U.S., Brunner was considered to be the chief proponent of the new theology, at least in America (from the 1930s to early 1950s) since his books were translated into English much sooner than Barth's. He has been considered by many to be the minor partner in the uneasy relationship.^{[citation needed]} Brunner once acknowledged that the only theological genius of the 20th century was Barth.^{[citation needed]}

Selected Works by Brunner (in English)[link]

• The Divine Imperative (1st German edition 1932; English translation 1937 and 1941)
• Man in Revolt. A Christian Anthropology (1st German edition 1937; English translation 1939 and 1941)
• The Mediator, (The Lutterworth Press, Cambridge 2003)
• Dogmatics (German: 1946, 1950 and 1960; English translation 1949, 1952 and 1962)
• Revelation and Reason. The Christian Doctrine of Faith and Knowledge, (1st German edition 1941, English translation 1946)
• Christianity and Civilisation (1949)
• Dogmatics. Volume I: The Christian Doctrine of God, James Clarke & Co, Cambridge 2003
• Dogmatics. Volume II: The Christian Doctrine of Creation and Redemption, James Clarke & Co, Cambridge 2003
• Dogmatics. Volume III: The Christian Doctrine of the Church, Faith and the Consummation, James Clarke & Co, Cambridge 2003
• The Great Invitation Zurich Sermons, The Lutterworth Press, Cambridge 2003
• I Believe in the Living God. Sermons on the Apostles' Creed, The Lutterworth Press, Cambridge 2004
• Justice and Social Order, The Lutterworth Press, Cambridge 2003
• The Letter to the Romans, The Lutterworth Press, Cambridge 2003
• The Misunderstanding of the Church, The Lutterworth Press, Cambridge 2003
• Christianity and Civilisation. Gifford Lectures Delivered at the University of St Andrews, James Clarke & Co, Cambridge 2009

Selected works on Brunner[link]

• Politics and Protestant theology : an interpretation of Tillich, Barth, Bonhoeffer, and Brunner, René de Visme Williamson (2005), ISBN 0-9711919-0-5
• Emil Brunner, J. Edward Humphrey (1976) ISBN 978-0-87680-453-7

External links[link]

• Emil Brunner in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
• Friedrich Wilhelm Bautz (1975). Bautz, Friedrich Wilhelm. ed (in German). Brunner, Emil. Biographisch-Bibliographisches Kirchenlexikon (BBKL). 1. Hamm. cols. 769–770. ISBN 3-88309-013-1. http://www.bautz.de/bbkl/b/brunner_e.shtml. 

This article relies on references to primary sources or sources affiliated with the subject, rather than references from independent authors and third-party publications. Please add citations from reliable sources. (January 2011)

Alister Edgar McGrath
Born	(1953-01-23) 23 January 1953 (age 59) Belfast, Northern Ireland
Residence	UK
Nationality	British, Irish
Alma mater	Wadham College, Oxford
Religion	Anglican
Awards	Royal Society of Arts

Alister Edgar McGrath (born 23 January 1953) is an Irish Anglican priest, theologian, and Christian apologist, currently Professor of Theology, Ministry, and Education at Kings College London and Head of the Centre for Theology, Religion and Culture. He was previously Professor of Historical Theology at the University of Oxford, and was principal of Wycliffe Hall, Oxford until 2005.

McGrath is noted for his work in historical, systematic, and scientific theology, as well as his writings on apologetics and his opposition to antireligionism. He holds both a DPhil (in molecular biophysics) and an earned Doctor of Divinity degree from the University of Oxford.

Biography[link]

McGrath was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and grew up in Downpatrick, County Down, where he attended Down High School. In September 1966 he became a pupil at the Methodist College Belfast, where his studies focused on mathematics, physics and chemistry. He went up to Wadham College, Oxford in 1971 and gained first class honours in chemistry in 1975. He began research in molecular biophysics in the Oxford University Department of Biochemistry under the supervision of Professor Sir George Radda, FRS and was elected to an E.P.A. Cephalosporin Research Studentship at Linacre College, Oxford, for the academic year 1975-6, and to a Domus Senior Scholarship at Merton College, Oxford, for the period 1976-8. During these three years, he carried out scientific research while studying for the Oxford University Final Honour School of Theology. He was awarded an Oxford D.Phil. for his research in molecular biophysics (December 1977), and gained first class honours in Theology in June 1978.^[1]

McGrath then left Oxford to work at Cambridge University, where he also studied for ordination into the Church of England. In September 1980, he was ordained deacon, and began work as a curate at St Leonard's Parish Church, Wollaton, Nottingham, in the English East Midlands. He was ordained priest at Southwell Minster in September 1981. In 1983, he was appointed lecturer in Christian doctrine and ethics at Wycliffe Hall, Oxford, and a member of the Oxford University Faculty of Theology. McGrath spent the fall semester of 1990 as the Ezra Squire Tipple Visiting Professor of Historical Theology at the Divinity School of Drew University, Madison, New Jersey.^[1]

McGrath was elected University Research Lecturer in Theology at Oxford University in 1993 and also served as research professor of theology at Regent College, Vancouver, from 1993-1999. In 1995, he was elected Principal of Wycliffe Hall, and in 1999, was awarded a personal chair in theology by Oxford University, with the title "Professor of Historical Theology". He was awarded the Oxford degree of Doctor of Divinity in 2001 for his research in historical and systematic theology,^[1] and was a founding member of the International Society for Science and Religion.^[2] On 1 September 2008 McGrath took up the Chair of Theology, Ministry and Education in the Department of Education and Professional Studies at King's College London. He is married to Joanna Collicutt McGrath.

^[3] Mcgrath was included in "The 20 Most Brilliant Christian Professors" list. ^[4]

Views[link]

McGrath espouses evolutionary creation.^[5][6] McGrath was formerly an atheist.^[7][8] In 2004 McGrath suggested in The Twilight of Atheism that atheism was in decline. He has been highly critical of Richard Dawkins, calling him "embarrassingly ignorant of Christian theology". His book: The Dawkins Delusion? – a response to Dawkins's The God Delusion – was published by SPCK in February 2007, and the two had public debate on the topic, "Does religious belief damage the health of a society, or is it necessary to provide the moral and ethical foundations of a healthy society?"^[9]

McGrath has also debated with Daniel Dennett, at the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum (February 2007) in New Orleans.^[10] He was interviewed by Richard Dawkins about his book Dawkins' God and faith in general for the television documentary The Root of All Evil? McGrath's interview was not included in the final cut, but the unedited footage is available online.^[11] He states that he is not opposed to atheism itself, but rather the views of atheism held by people such as Dawkins.^[12]

Writings[link]

Among McGrath's more notable works are:

• Iustitia Dei: A History of the Christian Doctrine of Justification (1986) ISBN 0-521-62426-6
• Understanding the Trinity (1988) ISBN 0-310-29680-3
• Understanding Doctrine (1992) ISBN 0-310-47951-7
• Bridge-Building: Effective Christian Apologetics (1992) ISBN 0-85110-969-1
• Intellectuals Don't Need God and Other Modern Myths (1993) ISBN 0-310-59091-4
• A Life of John Calvin (1993) ISBN 0-631-18947-5
• A Passion for Truth: The Intellectual Coherence of Evangelicalism (1996) ISBN 0-8308-1866-9
• Science and Religion: An Introduction (1998) ISBN 0-631-20842-9
• Historical Theology: An Introduction to the History of Christian Thought (1998) ISBN 0-631-20844-5
• "I Believe": Exploring the Apostles' Creed (1998) ISBN 0-8308-1946-0
• T. F. Torrance: An Intellectual Biography (1999) ISBN 0-567-08683-6
• The Journey: A Pilgrim in the Lands of the Spirit (2000) ISBN 978-0-385-49588-2
• Christian Theology: An Introduction (2001) ISBN 0-631-22528-5 (often used as a seminary textbook)
• The Christian Theology Reader (2001) ISBN 0-631-20637-X (containing primary sources referred to in his Christian Theology)
• In the Beginning : The Story of the King James Bible and How It Changed a Nation, a Language,and a Culture (2001) ISBN 0-385-72216-8
• Glimpsing the Face of God: The Search for Meaning in the Universe (2001) ISBN 0-8028-3980-0
• The Reenchantment of Nature: The Denial of Religion and the Ecological Crisis (2002) ISBN 978-0-385-50059-3
• Knowing Christ (2002) ISBN 0-385-50316-4
• A Scientific Theology v. 3 (2003) ISBN 0-567-08349-7
• A brief history of Heaven (2003) ISBN 0-631-23354-7
• The Twilight of Atheism: The Rise and Fall of Disbelief in the Modern World (2004) ISBN 0-385-50061-0
• Dawkins' God: Genes, Memes, and the Meaning of Life (2005) ISBN 1-4051-2538-1 (A critique of scientist Richard Dawkins' attitude towards religion)
• Christianity’s Dangerous Idea: The Protestant Revolution from the Sixteenth to the Twenty-First Century (2007) ISBN 978-0-06-082213-2
• The Dawkins Delusion? (2007) ISBN 0-281-05927-6 A critical response to Dawkins' book The God Delusion
• The Open Secret: A New Vision for Natural Theology (2008) ISBN 978-1-4051-2691-5
• A Fine-Tuned Universe: The Quest for God in Science and Theology (2009) ISBN 0-664-23310-4
• Heresy: A History of Defending the Truth (2009) ISBN 978-0-06-082214-9
• Mere Theology: Christian Faith and the Discipleship of the Mind (2010) ISBN 0-281-06209-9
• Chosen Ones (Series: The Aedyn Chronicles Volume: 1) (2010) ISBN 0-310-71812-0
• Flight of the Outcasts (Series: The Aedyn Chronicles Volume: 2) (2011) ISBN 0-310-71813-9
• Darkness Shall Fall (Series: The Aedyn Chronicles Volume: 3) (2011) ISBN 978-0-310-71814-7

References[link]

Bibliography[link]

• Chung, S. W. (ed.). Alister E. McGrath and Evangelical Theology: A Dynamic Engagement. Carlisle: Paternoster, 2003. ISBN 978-0-8010-2639-3
• Keating, James F. "The Natural Sciences as an Ancilla Theologiae Nova: Alister E. McGrath's A Scientific Theology." The Thomist 69 (2005): 127-52.
• Myers, Benjamin. "Alister McGrath's Scientific Theology." Reformed Theological Review 64 (2005): 15-34.
• Shipway, Brad. "The Theological Application of Bhaskar's Stratified Reality: The Scientific Theology of A. E. McGrath." Journal of Critical Realism 3 (2004): 191-203.

External links[link]

• Alister McGrath homepage
• Open Forum with Alister McGrath - 'Is God a Delusion? Atheism and the Meaning of Life'
• Alister McGrath on The Hour (CBC television)
• Richard Dawkins Interviews Alister McGrath Video
• Alister McGrath talks to Nigel Bovey of The War Cry: Part 1; Part 2
• Christopher Hitchens debates (with) Alister McGrath
• Alister McGrath debates with Peter Atkins at Edinburgh University
• Alister McGrath debates Sue Blackmore at Bristol University on the motion that "belief in God is a dangerous delusion". 13 November 2007.
• Full texts of McGrath's 2009 Gifford Lectures on natural theology