2009 Gifford Lectures

I’ve just seen that the 2009 Gifford Lectures are available online.

They were delivered this year by Alister McGrath under the title of ‘A Fine-Tuned Universe: Science, Theology and the Quest for Meaning’.

The synopsis says that the lectures explore ‘the human quest for meaning in the universe, especially in the light of its apparent “fine-tuning” to permit the origination of life. Why do we long to make sense of things? Do we possess some kind of “homing instinct” for heaven?’

The individual lectures are available as pdfs here:

Lecture 1 – Introduction: Yearning to Make Sense of Things

Lecture 2 – Why We Still Need Natural Theology

Lecture 3 – The Mystery of the Constants of Nature

Lecture 4 – The Enigmas of Evolutionary Biology

Lecture 5 – Natural Theology and the Quest for Meaning

Lecture 6 – Conclusion: Clues to the Meaning of the Universe?