Editorial Matters: reading, worship and the unseen

Interpretation, liturgy and the reality of evil are the themes that hold this issue together, with a long review essay as its close.

Who reads the Bible

Evangelicals have sometimes spoken as though Scripture could be understood by the individual reader alone. The opening article argues that the church has a proper place in interpretation, and that the Bible's own shape invites a conversation among believers rather than a private transaction.

Worship and imagination

The Michael Vasey Memorial Lecture printed here asks what liturgical formation is for. Its answer is that worship should claim the heart as well as the mind, and that imagination and memory matter as much as technical competence.

The spiritual enemy

Our series on loving enemies continues with an article that takes the New Testament's language about Satan and demons with full seriousness, and then asks how love is possible when the opposition is spiritual and violent.

A long review

The issue ends with an extended review of a major book on the resurrection. The book is demanding, but its argument deserves the space, and the review is written for readers who want to follow the debate without buying the volume.