Theology in Scotland is a journal of theology which is general in scope, but which is rooted in the Scottish theological tradition. Founded in 1994, the journal is published in print and online twice a year, in spring and autumn. The journal publishes articles and book reviews from authors from across the theological spectrum, and particularly welcomes submissions which focus on aspects of Scottish theology. To date, contributions have included: studies of the work of prominent Scottish theologians; responses to current issues in the Scottish church and nation; and aspects of Scottish church history. At the moment, journal issues are arranged thematically. It is our hope that the pages of Theology in Scotland will be a place for theological conversations that represent a faithful wrestling with contemporary challenges, rooted in tradition yet open to fresh insight; a space where voices from diverse contexts and convictions can engage deeply, critically, and constructively with the questions that shape our lives, our communities, and our witness in both Scotland and the world.
St Mary's College, University of St Andrews
Authors who publish in the journal grant to Theology in Scotland, St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews (“the Publisher”), the following: 1. An irrevocable non-exclusive right to reproduce, republish, transmit, sell, distribute, and otherwise use the Work in electronic and print editions of the Journal and in derivative works throughout the world, in all languages, and in all media now known or later developed. 2. An irrevocable non-exclusive right to create and store electronic archival copies of the Work, including the right to deposit the Work in open access digital repositories. 3. An irrevocable non-exclusive right to license others to reproduce, republish, transmit, and distribute the Work under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial [CC-BY-NC] 4.0 licence. Copyright in the Work remains with the author and the author retains the right to reuse the article (e.g., in institutional repositories, on their website or published in a book). Warranties The Author represents and warrants that the Work is the Author’s original work and that it does not violate or infringe the law or the rights of any third party and, specifically, that the Work contains no matter that is defamatory or that infringes any literary or proprietary rights, intellectual property rights, or any rights of privacy. It is the author's responsibility to obtain written permission to reproduce copyright-protected material in her/his article. The Author also warrants that he or she has the full power to make this agreement, and if the Work was prepared jointly, the Author agrees to inform the co-Authors of the terms of this Agreement and to obtain their signature to this Agreement or their written permission to sign on their behalf. The Author indemnifies the Publisher against any losses and other expenses, including reasonable attorney’s fees, after final judgment of any claim or action against any or all of these warranties.
“The Eclipse of Christianity: And Why It Matters” by Rupert Shortt
Review of Rupert Shortt, The Eclipse of Christianity: And Why It Matters (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2024), pp. xii + 356, ISBN 978-1399802741. £12.99
Copyright (c) 2025 Kofi Brown http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“Pagan Religions in 5 Minutes” edited by Suzanne Owen and Angela Puca
Review of Suzanne Owen and Angela Puca, eds., Pagan Religions in 5 Minutes (Sheffield; Bristol, CT: Equinox, 2024), pp. xi + 224, ISBN 978-1800505254. £22.95
Copyright (c) 2025 Kirsty Pattison http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“Science-engaged Theology” by John Perry and Joanna Leidenhag
Review of John Perry and Joanna Leidenhag, Science-engaged Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2023), pp. 79, ISBN‎ 978-1009094054. £18.00; available online at https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009091350
Copyright (c) 2025 Emma McGowan http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“The Courage to Speak: Sex, Sexuality and the Church” by Alasdair Black
Review of Alasdair Black, The Courage to Speak: Sex, Sexuality and the Church (Stirling: Extremis Publishing, 2025), pp. xi + 218, ISBN 978-1739484583. £13.00
Copyright (c) 2025 Alistair J. Cuthbert http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“Scottish Religious Poetry: From the Sixth Century to the Present: An Anthology; second edition” edited by Linden Bicket, Emma Dymock and Alison Jack
Review of Linden Bicket, Emma Dymock and Alison Jack, eds., Scottish Religious Poetry: From the Sixth Century to the Present: An Anthology, 2nd edn. (Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press, 2024), pp. xxv + 326 pages, ISBN 978-1800830479. £25.00
Copyright (c) 2025 Emily Hay http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Hope in the ashes: A military chaplain’s reflection on remembrance, sacrifice, and resurrection
This reflective piece explores the vocation of military chaplaincy through a personal encounter at Reichswald Forest Cemetery in Germany during Remembrance Sunday. Called at short notice to lead the service, the author recounts a profound moment of connection with the grave of Rev. James William Kenny, a fellow chaplain who died ministering amidst the chaos of war. The experience becomes a lens through which themes of sacrifice, remembrance, and resurrection are examined. Drawing on pastoral experiences, the reflection considers the moral and spiritual weight borne by those in uniform, especially chaplains who walk unarmed into places of suffering. The essay engages with John 15:13 as a theological anchor, affirming that remembrance is not merely historical but eschatological – a witness to the enduring hope of Christ’s resurrection. In remembering the fallen, the chaplain is also remembered, called anew to faithful presence and ministry. This piece contributes to pastoral theology by articulating the cost and calling of ecclesial service in military contexts, and by affirming the enduring witness of those who have laid down their lives in faith.
Copyright (c) 2025 David T. Young http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
‘To share a great God’s pain’: Bertrand Brasnett (1893–1988) and the consolation of sorrow
This article explores a resource for the consolation of enduring suffering. Bertrand Brasnett, writing in the 1920s and 30s, redefined God’s eschatological bliss as an undefeated will to love humanity, even if that love were rejected thus causing eternal divine anguish and sorrow, inviting the disciple to follow Christ by participating in this loving pain in union with God. The paper explores how Brasnett’s views were unusual amongst the extensive theology of suffering after World War I. Today, his theology can offer a pathway for pastoral care through linking Brasnett with the theology of tragedy that grew after the Second World War. Relating enduring wounds of love to a divine reality enables the sufferer to participate in God’s work in a way that brings consolation.
Copyright (c) 2025 Alison Peden http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Dialogical responses to suffering in a traumatised world: An experiment in epistolary theology
Engaging with themes from the 2024 Church of Scotland Chalmers Lectures, as well as the authors’ forthcoming co-authored book (provisionally titled Defiant Hope: Theological Conversations in a Traumatised World), this article takes the form of an epistolary conversation about the problem of suffering and the reality of ongoing trauma. This dialogical format has deep roots within the Christian tradition and early Christian communities. It is used here because the problems under discussion resist resolution by solitary monologue. Similarly, the work of trauma theology involves communal, rather than singular, response. Our exchange critiques the limitations of traditional theodicies, which often conflate suffering with evil, thereby risking misplaced blame on those who suffer. It also warns against pastoral responses that inadvertently normalise or sustain oppressive systems, advocating instead for transformative theological practices that unmask systemic complicity, foster communal resistance, and reimagine Christian responses to suffering beyond resignation or passive endurance.
Copyright (c) 2025 Katie Cross, John Swinton http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Social Death: Comparisons between the plight of the Gerasene demoniac and those with dementia who are isolated from their communities
This article seeks to draw comparisons between the social death and extreme isolation of the Gerasene demoniac, with the social death and social isolation experienced by those with dementia who are taken into care homes and other such environments. Arguably, whether the Gerasene was possessed by demons or not, his isolation and removal from society hastened and worsened his condition. Parallels can be drawn with the worsening of dementia when the person concerned does not receive meaningful contact with others. An exploration of both conditions is detailed below, and care-focussed solutions are offered to those who wish to maintain contact with those in their community who have a diagnosis of dementia. The underpinning care given to both the Gerasene and those with dementia derives from the compassion and love God has shown to us. It is then argued that our duty as the beloved children of God is to share this love with others, in this particular case, those with dementia.
Copyright (c) 2025 Michael Newlands http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Beyond theodicies: Responding to suffering and the stubborn persistence of theological complexity
Theodicies are often criticised for making concrete suffering into an abstract exercise in theological conjecture. The common response is that complex theodicies are not as important as responding to suffering. This paper, however, contends that responding to suffering still presents theological complexities, as illustrated by James Cone’s rebuttal of Reinhold Niebuhr’s Christian Realism. At the heart of the debate is a recurrent theme throughout theological history that considers the extent to which human action can overcome rather than just ameliorate suffering. This article argues that the persistence of sin and the irruption of God into creation are helpful reminders about the limitation of human action and the necessity of God for overcoming suffering.
Copyright (c) 2025 Graham Meiklejohn http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
‘How much evil he has done to your saints?’: Ananias, Saul, and a Christian approach to the Contact Hypothesis in the Scottish refugee context
This article offers an exegetical and theological reading of Ananias’ involvement in Saul’s restoration (Acts 9:10–19) through the lens of the Contact Hypothesis. In this pericope, Ananias’ response balances an honest acknowledgement of the effects of Saul’s violence on his community with a courageous commitment to risky, personal contact. The paper argues that the Ananias-Saul narrative can provide both a theological perspective on, and a corrective to, the Contact Hypothesis, developing a praxis-based model for responding to the effects of violence and to its perpetrators. Case studies are drawn from the author’s experience in an integration sports project in Glasgow that facilitated contact among refugees, asylum seekers, and communities on either side of the city’s sectarian divide.
Copyright (c) 2025 Paul Wilson http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
‘For the creation waits with eager longing ...’: Panpsychism and the problem of evil
This paper was originally delivered as the fourth D. W. D. Shaw memorial Lecture at the University of Glasgow on 12th May 2025. In honour of Professor Shaw’s combined vocation as a churchman and an academic, this paper opens with a short homiletic reflection on Romans 8:17–25, wherein Saint Paul seeks to comfort the persecuted church in Rome by placing their suffering in solidarity, not only with Christ’s and his own experience, but also with the wider creation. In section two, it turns to one of Professor Shaw’s academic interests; namely Process theology and the panpsychist view of consciousness held by this movement. Panpsychism is the view that every creature or created thing is conscious to at least some degree. I provide a brief outline of this view and discuss biblical passages where nature is depicted as praising God or lamenting human sin. Section three explores how panpsychism might seem to make the problem of evil and suffering worse for Christians. Finally, section four then returns to Romans 8, and I suggest that rather than an intellectual theodicy that attempts to justify why God permits evil, panpsychism can be part of the church’s therapeutic or pastoral response to suffering.
Copyright (c) 2025 Joanna Leidenhag http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
This issue of Theology in Scotland examines theological perspectives on suffering and its relationship to evil and consider how Christian communities can respond both in meaningful and creative ways. The work in this issue engages directly with the lived realities of evil and suffering, without evading them or abstracting God's presence within them. Instead, it reminds us that theology, whether shaped in churches, classrooms, or everyday life, can, at its best, offer meaningful insight in the face of relentless hardship. Just as past theologians wrestled with the brokenness of the world, we too must stay engaged with the pressing issues of our time.
Copyright (c) 2025 Katie Cross http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“Mission, Race, and Empire: The Episcopal Church in Global Context” by Jennifer C. Snow
Review of Jennifer C. Snow, Mission, Race, and Empire: The Episcopal Church in Global Context (New York: Oxford University Press, 2024), pp. viii + 360, ISBN 978-0197598948. £25.99
Copyright (c) 2025 Christopher West http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“From a Mountain in Tibet: A Monk’s Journey” by Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche
Review of Lama Yeshe Losal Rinpoche, From a Mountain in Tibet: A Monk’s Journey (London: Penguin, 2023), pp. 272, ISBN: 978-0241988954. £10.99
Copyright (c) 2025 Frances Hume http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“From the Marrow Men to the Moderates: Scottish Theology 1700–1800” by Donald Macleod
Review of Donald Macleod, From the Marrow Men to the Moderates: Scottish Theology 1700–1800 (Fearn: Christian Focus, 2023), pp. xv + 355, ISBN 978-1527110489. £24.99
Copyright (c) 2025 Philip D. Foster http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“The Barlinnie Special Unit: Art, Punishment and Innovation” edited by Kirstin Anderson
Review of Kirstin Anderson, ed., The Barlinnie Special Unit: Art, Punishment and Innovation (Sherfield-on-Loddon: Waterside Press, 2024), pp. xxii + 294, ISBN 978-1914603464. £25.00
Copyright (c) 2025 Alastair McIntosh http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“Reformed Humanism: Essays on Christian Doctrine, Philosophy and Church” by David Fergusson
Review of David Fergusson, Reformed Humanism: Essays on Christian Doctrine, Philosophy and Church (London: T&T Clark, 2024), pp. x + 291, hardback 978-0567712745 £85.00; paperback 978-0567712783 (Dec 2025) £28.99.
Copyright (c) 2025 Gordon Graham http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
On why we need to be trauma-informed in churches
Laura Gilmour considers the word ‘submission’ through the lens of the trauma of domestic abuse in the context of undergoing a ministerial recognition process. Using quilting art as embodied theological reflection, Gilmour’s piece contrasts surface self-presentation with deeper, hidden realities within the self, revealing how submission and survival are interwoven in the experience of the one who has lived through domestic violence. Her work highlights the power of deliberately slow, creative practices in the remaking of one’s self – especially for those whose voices have been silenced.
Copyright (c) 2025 Laura Gilmour http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
‘I asked the songthrush about the soul …’
In a wide-ranging conversation Pat Bennett and Pádraig Ó Tuama look at how imaginative, non-dogmatic approaches to the sacred text – similar to how we engage with poetry or art – can open up deeper, more embodied, and more surprising encounters with the divine. Ó Tuama advocates reading the Bible not as a singular message to decode, but as a multifaceted, ‘wild’, participatory narrative that invites questions and emotional response. The text here does not only speak to us, but also reads our lives in return. Some may find this openness to multiple meanings unsettling, seeking a more definitive interpretive framework, yet Ó Tuama and Bennett offer an invitation to rediscover a deep, creative, curious attentiveness to the text as a pathway for encountering God anew in both Scripture and daily life.
Copyright (c) 2025 Pat Bennett, Pádraig Ó Tuama http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
In this personal inquiry on the intertwining impulses of the religious and artistic spirits, Kate Hennessy, a writer and artist, reflects on the power of visual art and artmaking to help us move beyond the limitations of religious language. She explores how art can provide a visual dialogue imbued with spirit and transcendence that help us to understand what it is to be human in a relationship with God. Hennessy draws upon diverse influences, from the Paleolithic artists to Brice Marden, Anne Truitt and Mark Rothko, to provoke thought on perceiving art and artmaking, whether overtly religious or not, as a form of prayer, a practice of devotion and an ongoing expression of this human desire to live in full participation with life and with God.
Copyright (c) 2025 Kate Hennessey http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Linguistic diversity within the Church: A theological defence
This article argues that linguistic diversity is vital for the health of the Church. Although multilingualism has been crucial to human history, linguistic imperialism has become characteristic of the modern age. The article contends that Christians should defend the right of linguistic minorities to worship in their accustomed (usually native) languages, since linguistic diversity is tied to the health and identity of faith communities. The article uses a case study, the decline of Gaelic in Scottish Presbyterian churches, to show how linguistic imperialism can harm faith communities.
Copyright (c) 2025 Martin George Holmes http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
To restore a light unto the nations: Israel, Palestine, Scotland and the charter of the land
This paper extends but retains its original form as a verbal delivery to a conference, ‘Land, Nature, Justice’, convened by the solidarity group ‘Highland-Palestine’, at which the author shared a platform with the Palestinian natural historian, Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh of Bethlehem University. It compares the historical loss of biodiversity and culture (including linguistic) in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland with biblical prophetic exposition from the Holy Land. It treasures how, ranging from Gaelic bardic laments of the Highland Clearances to modern Scottish land reform, a biblically-inspired indigenous liberation theology has widened the aperture of imagination and strengthened political legitimacy. And it asks whether, in discipleship to the Jewish ethos of tikkun olam, the same theology might minister as ‘a light to the nations’ in such as Gaza too.
This issue of Theology in Scotland explores how language shapes, challenges, and sometimes constrains faith, especially within the historical and contemporary Scottish context.
Copyright (c) 2025 Lina Toth http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
The post-modern condition of Scottish society
This paper was originally published in The Future of the Kirk: The proceedings of the conference held at the University of Aberdeen on 16 September 1996, ed. D. A. S. Fergusson and D. W. D. Shaw; Theology in Scotland Occasional Paper no. 2 (St Andrews: St Mary’s College, 1997), 11–20. The paper examines (1) what we mean by the term 'post-modern' and how we should interpret it and the major changes which are such a feature of the world we live in; (2) how and why Scotland was neglected as an object of analytical study (especially by sociologists); and (3) what the post-modern condition of Scotland might look like.
Copyright (c) 2024 David McCrone http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“Catholic Social Teaching in Practice: Exploring Practical Wisdom and the Virtues Tradition” by Andrew M. Yuengert
Review of Andrew M. Yuengert, Catholic Social Teaching in Practice: Exploring Practical Wisdom and the Virtues Tradition (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2003), ‎xvii + 334, ISBN 978-1009261470. £85
Copyright (c) 2024 Liam Waldron http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“The Defeat of Satan: Karl Barth’s Three-Agent Account of Salvation” by Declan Kelly
Review of Declan Kelly, The Defeat of Satan: Karl Barth’s Three-Agent Account of Salvation, Explorations in Reformed Theology 3 (London: T&T Clark, 2022), pp. ix + 162, ISBN 978-0567698810. £28.99
Copyright (c) 2024 Tin Tsz Fung http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“The Ethics of Generating Posthumans: Philosophical and Theological Reflections on Bringing New Persons into Existence” edited by Calum MacKellar and Trevor Stammers
Review of Calum MacKellar and Trevor Stammers, eds., The Ethics of Generating Posthumans: Philosophical and Theological Reflections on Bringing New Persons into Existence (London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2022), pp. x + 234, ISBN 978-1350216587. £28.99
Copyright (c) 2024 Levi Checketts http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“James Clerk Maxwell: Faith, Church, and Physics” by Bruce Ritchie
Review of Bruce Ritchie, James Clerk Maxwell: Faith, Church, and Physics (Haddington: Handsel Press, 2024), pp. xxii + 474, ISBN‎ 978-1912052851. £15.00
Copyright (c) 2024 George M. Coghill http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“Philosophies of Liturgy: Explorations of Embodied Religious Practice” edited by J. Aaron Simmons, Bruce Ellis Benson and Neal DeRoo
Review of J. Aaron Simmons, Bruce Ellis Benson and Neal DeRoo, eds., Philosophies of Liturgy: Explorations of Embodied Religious Practice (London: Bloomsbury, 2023), pp. xvi + 309, ISBN 978-1350349308. £39.99
Copyright (c) 2024 Joanna Leidenhag http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0