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.
Alister E. McGrathThe hallmark of intelligence is not whether one believes in God or not, but the quality of the processes that underlie oneโs beliefs.
Alister E. McGrathDeep down within all of us is a longing to work out what life is all about and what we're meant to be doing.
Alister E. McGrathIf there is no ultimate reality, it's pointless to think about how we might get there.
Alister E. McGrathAt Oxford University, the certainties of my atheist faith (and atheism is a faith) began to crumble
Alister E. McGrathWithin 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. Just as the figure of David lay hidden within the marble, discernible only to the eye of its creator, so the image of God (however tarnished by sin) lies within us, see and known by God Himself. Yet God loves us while we are still sinners. He doesn't have to wait until we stop sinning. Acceptance of His love is a major step along the road that leads to our liberation from the tyranny of sin.
Alister E. McGrath