Emily Parker spoke with author Alister McGrath about his latest book, 'The Great Mystery.'

Alister: I think many philosophers feel embarrassed about asking really personal, intimate questions like, 'why are we here?' 'Can we make a difference?' 'What is meaning all about?' They prefer to talk about things like, 'what do we find meaningful?'

I find that very sad, because if you go back to ancient Greece they were asking these really big questions like, 'who are we?' 'Why are we here?' 'How do we live the good life?' I'm so sorry that philosophy has in a way, lost the plot on that one. Happily, however, there are lots of other people who are answering the very big questions.

If you are a Christian you know that Christianity is all about meaning and value. It's enormously important to people who feel that their faith gives them a really good and satisfying answer to these deep questions. But whether you're a Christian or not, these questions really do matter.

Emily: You also mention that there is a rise in the popularity of studying psychology. Do you think that that makes a difference to the type of questions we ask today?

Alister: One of the reasons people are drawn to psychology, is that psychologists are very open about questions like 'what is the meaning of life?' Why do we find these questions so important? I think people are drawn not necessarily because psychology is able to answer those questions, but because psychologists are able to say yes these really are important questions; you're right to ask them and let's see if we can find some answers.

Emily: Do you think that we've still got a way to go, to be able to see that science and religion can work together?

Alister: I think they can work together. I realise many people will think science and religion are locked in some kind of mortal combat, but it's not like that.

It seems to me that there's a big picture of life and maybe science fills in part of that big picture, but it's only part and it leaves out so much. We need more than science is able to give and for me faith is able to fill in some really important gaps.

Science is very good at telling us how things work, but you and I need more than that; we need to know what they mean as well. There's room for both here and sure, science and religion can be in competition, but they don't need to be.

Emily: Do you feel like you've got to a point where you've answered a question like 'what is the meaning of life?' and found a place of satisfaction?

Alister: I've found my way to a place where I feel very comfortable. I feel that it makes sense. It really helps me to understand myself. It gives me a good sense of what life is all about.

I think all of us are trying to find our way to that kind of place, where we feel that we may not be able to answer all of life's questions, but we've got a good enough answer to let us live with dignity and integrity.

Emily: How does your faith help answer questions about things like the meaning of life?

Alister McGrath (Photo: Chris Andrews)

Alister: Faith gives us a big picture of life, or a framework that really helps us to make sense of things. By that I mean it answers questions like, 'who am I really?' 'Can I make a difference?' 'What's the point of me being here?' And, 'do I really matter to anybody?'