Editorial Matters: offence, faith and public speech

Christians have been in the headlines twice this winter, and the two stories sit awkwardly together. Protests against a stage production drew crowds complaining of blasphemy, while the same communities joined secular campaigners to oppose new offences of incitement to religious hatred. To onlookers it can look like a double standard: quick to take offence, slow to accept that others may be offended.

Two instincts, one question

The two reactions are not in fact contradictory, but the tension is real. A society that protects religious feeling and a society that protects robust debate are not the same society, and the church has a stake in both. What is needed is a settled account of why faith deserves a hearing and why it must not be shielded from argument.

Speaking and listening

The articles in this issue model that account in practice. A lecture on worship holds catholic instinct and charismatic experience together. A piece on preaching draws lessons from believers who face persecution. A study of atonement asks how judgement can be spoken of without distortion, and an essay on popular music argues for conversation rather than prohibition as the church's posture toward culture.