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
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“Ordinary Saints” by Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin
Review of Niamh Ní Mhaoileoin, Ordinary Saints (London: Bonier Books; Manilla Press, 2025), pp. 368, ISBN 978-1786584250. £9.99
Copyright (c) 2026 Ruth M. Dunster http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“Animal Rights and the Hebrew Bible” by Saul M. Olyan
Review of Saul M. Olyan, Animal Rights and the Hebrew Bible (New York: Oxford University Press, 2023) pp. 160, ISBN 978-0197609385. £65.55
Copyright (c) 2026 Edmund Jessop http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“Refiguring the Sacred: Conversations with Paul Ricoeur” edited by Joseph A. Edelheit, James F. Moore and Mark I. Wallace
Review of Joseph A. Edelheit, James F. Moore and Mark I. Wallace (eds.) Refiguring the Sacred: Conversations with Paul Ricoeur (Lanham, MD: Lexington Books, 2024), ix + 221, ISBN 978-1666919097. £85.00
Copyright (c) 2026 Robert A. Gillies http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“Words Are Not Enough: Paratexts, Manuscripts, and the Real New Testament” by Garrick V. Allen
Review of Garrick V. Allen, Words Are Not Enough: Paratexts, Manuscripts, and the Real New Testament (Grand Rapids MI: Eerdmans, 2024), pp. xviii + 198, ISBN 978-0802883353. £19.99
Copyright (c) 2026 H. A. G. Houghton http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
A literary reinstatement of indigenous Gaelic cosmology
This extended review makes the case that Angus Peter Campbell’s new novel, Donald and His Seven Cows, is a profound literary restoration of indigenous Gaelic cosmology, blending Catholic piety, Hebridean folklore, and mythic imagination to critique the dislocations of modernity. Through the quiet life of an elderly crofter whose daily mile-long circuit to graze his seven cows becomes a spiritual, communal, and cosmological journey, Campbell reanimates traditions often dismissed by ‘Celtosceptic’ scholars, showing how faerie lore, ancestral memory, and the land itself form an integrated worldview. It moves fluidly between realism and the imaginal realm, evoking lost communal rhythms and the deep structures of Gaelic spiritual imagination. Ultimately, the book stands as a significant contemporary expression of a living tradition, insisting that such ways of seeing remain vital and capable of re‑embedding modern lives. Reviewed work: Angus Peter Campbell, Donald and His Seven Cows (Edinburgh: Luath Press, 2025)
Copyright (c) 2026 Alastair McIntosh http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Faith need not rest on literal or factual truth alone; there are emotional and psychological truths that speak more powerfully through poetic and creative form. “Michaelmas Fragments” weaves found poetry and narrative prose drawn from personal journals to explore the complex realities of being both a survivor of suicidal crisis and an Anglican priest, ordained on the Feast of St Michael and All Angels. Through evocative juxtapositions – sacrament and hunger, vocation and despair, hope and fruitfulness – the piece invites readers to encounter the tensions at the heart of faith and survival.
Copyright (c) 2026 Christopher N. West http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Weathering the storm: Reflecting on the usefulness of psychotherapy in troubled times
The idea of writing this reflective piece emerged from a period of thoughtful discussion within the Guntrip Trust, as to how its resources might continue to be used in appropriate and effective ways. Harry Guntrip (1901–1975) was a Congregational minister in Leeds who went on to become one of the leading British psychoanalytic practitioners and thinkers of the twentieth century. In challenging and testing times, people often ask deep, existential questions about what is happening, sometimes even fearing for the future. The psychological effects of trauma, loss, and even change can be considerable. This article, drawing on the author’s personal experience of psychotherapy, will reference Guntrip’s work and explore how psychoanalytic thinking may be useful in troubled times, outlining the resources that the Guntrip Trust continues to offer ministers.
Copyright (c) 2026 Iain J. M. Telfer http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
A conversation on faith and mental health: Breath, presence, and the imago Dei
This conversational essay explores the interplay between breath, presence, disability, and the imago Dei through a dialogue between biblical scholar Kate Bowen‑Evans and psychotherapist Mark Bowen. Drawing on lived experience of disability, therapeutic practice, and theological reflection, the authors examine how attentive breathing cultivates embodied presence, expands internal space for difficult emotions, and fosters self‑compassion. Their discussion reframes the body – not as a site of deficit but as a locus of sensation, insight, and divine presence – challenging medicalised narratives that diminish disabled experience. Through scriptural motifs of ruach and pneuma and the relational vision of the imago Dei, they argue that mindful presence to one’s own embodied experience deepens connection to others, creation, and God. The conversation ultimately proposes breath‑work as both a therapeutic and theological practice that affirms inherent worth, nurtures wellbeing, and reveals the interconnectedness at the heart of Christian theology.
Copyright (c) 2026 Kate Bowen-Evans, Mark Bowen http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
A cross-cultural reading of Romans 12:1–2: A theological reflection on mental illnesses incurred from my PhD studies in Scotland
My PhD programme in Scotland started in 2019, after completing master’s degrees in South Africa and the USA. Here, I was almost immediately medically diagnosed with anxiety, then with dyslexia through the University Disability Office, and in 2021 I started medical treatment to help overcome Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and depression. The support I received from my medical practice, disability office, and university faculty allowed me to access learning adjustments, including additional time to complete my studies. Since I am a Xhosa Christian, I turned to the Bible for spiritual encouragement to help make sense of these mental health challenges. Such clarity was required because in my own South African Xhosa cultural background it is common to interpret instances of misfortune and illness as the result of a troubled spiritual dimension that can be rectified through propitiation. After a long cycle of therapy and counselling, in 2023 I meditated on Romans 12:1–2, which lead me to the questions: how can I ‘renew my mind’ spiritually to heal my mental illnesses, and how do I honour God as a ‘living sacrifice’ if my mind is struggling to hope? This paper provides a cross-cultural theological reflection on how I answered these questions and found meaning through a Xhosa Christian spirituality bound in community, prayer and Bible study. This meditation helped me to understand that it was ‘the will of God’ to continue my PhD journey, which I successfully completed and graduated in 2025.
Copyright (c) 2026 Axolile N. M. Qina http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Be still and be present: Psalm 46 and the challenge of super-modern anxiety
This paper explores Psalm 46 as a theological response to the pervasive experience of anxiety in super-modern life. Drawing on Kirk A. Bingaman’s concept of ‘new anxiety’ and Marc Augé’s theory of super-modernity, this interpretation views contemporary restlessness as both a psychological and spiritual condition arising from over-stimulation, disconnection, and uncertainty. Against this backdrop, Psalm 46 offers an alternative vision of stability grounded in divine presence and trust. A close literary and theological reading of the psalm reveals a movement from chaos to calm: God as refuge in turmoil (vv. 1–3); God’s sustaining presence in the midst of instability (vv. 4–7); and God’s sovereign command to ‘be still’ (vv. 8–11). This stillness is not passive withdrawal but an active posture of faith – an invitation to re-centre the self in God’s unshakable reality. By reframing anxiety through the lens of divine presence, Psalm 46 offers a theological framework for resilience, stillness, and hope. It speaks to the intersection of theology and mental health by affirming that peace emerges not from control or certainty, but from communion with God. The psalm functions as both a pastoral and theological resource, offering individuals and faith communities a means to encounter healing, stability, and renewed presence amid the relentless pace of modern life.
Copyright (c) 2026 Jonathan Shamshad http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Trauma, silence, and survival: Bathsheba’s story as a theological resource for mental health
The story of Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 11–12 and 1 Kings 1–2 confronts readers with themes of sexual violence, grief, silence, and resilience. Traditional or hegemonic interpretations have often minimized Bathsheba’s experience, centring instead on David’s sin and repentance, thereby perpetuating a theological culture that marginalizes the voices of the traumatised. Such readings not only obscure the psychological realities of trauma but also risk reinforcing patterns of silencing that echo in contemporary contexts of mental health struggles. This article proposes a re-reading of Bathsheba’s narrative through feminist and womanist hermeneutics, drawing on the work of J. Cheryl Exum, Wilda C. Gafney, and Suzanne Scholz, among others. These approaches foreground Bathsheba’s perspective, reframing her story not as a tale of passive complicity but as one marked by coerced vulnerability, survival, and enduring presence within Israel’s royal history. This hermeneutical shift creates space for survivor-centred theological reflection, aligning the biblical text with contemporary insights from trauma studies and mental health discourse. By engaging the intersections of theology, psychology, and pastoral care, the study highlights how Bathsheba’s story can inform a richer understanding of lament, resilience, and healing. It argues that reclaiming silenced voices within scripture can foster theological practices that respond more compassionately to mental health crises today. In particular, it suggests that survivor-centred hermeneutics may serve as a resource for communities of faith seeking to support those navigating trauma, shame, and the long-term impact of abuse.
Copyright (c) 2026 Anne Marie Foster http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
From the keening to the chanter: Feminine lineage in Scottish lament
This paper explores the theological and cultural lineage between the women’s caoineadh (keening) traditions of pre-Reformation Scotland and the later development of the pìobaireachd lament. It argues that the suppression of keening by the seventeenth-century church silenced a feminine mode of communal grief-transformation, a function preserved in part through the bagpipe’s cumha repertoire. Restoring balance between masculine and feminine energies in ritual music, it suggests, may recover heart-resonance and communal healing. The article traces the displacement of communal lament into Gaelic song and pìobaireachd as continuing vessels for grief and transformation.
Copyright (c) 2026 Margery E. Bray http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Scottish nature, anxiety and God: Connecting to the world around us as a benefit for our mental health
From mountain peaks to sandy beaches, people in Scotland are lucky to inhabit an area of such natural beauty. Spending time in nature, at the coast or in a local park, is recognised as a benefit for mental health. Considering the experiences of Christians with mental health concerns, how might seeing nature as a connection with and self-manifestation of God, present in the natural world as we experience it, further these benefits? In my doctoral research into the lived experiences of Christian women experiencing anxiety, a recurring theme was the importance of connecting to nature, and so to God, during times of poor mental health. In this paper, the words of my research participants will be explored alongside an understanding of the presence of God expressed through the natural world, drawing from the fields of mental health and environmental theology. I will first discuss how participants understood God as present in the natural world around them. An exploration into how this connection between God and nature interacts with feelings of anxiety will then be undertaken, asking if God’s presence is calming or concerning. Finally, drawing together the conversation between anxiety, nature, and God, the possible anxiolytic effects of connecting to Scottish nature will be considered.
Copyright (c) 2026 Cody Crawshaw http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
Scotland’s mental health landscape is shaped by a convergence of historical, cultural, and socio‑economic pressures that have led the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland to describe the current situation in 2026 as a ‘mental health emergency’. Intergenerational trauma, sectarian legacies, rural isolation, and the aftermath of industrial decline all contribute to a uniquely Scottish context of mental health outcomes and create disproportionate barriers to support. Against this backdrop, this issue of Theology in Scotland offers fresh perspectives and interpretive tools that will deepen understanding and engagement. Together, they form a distinctly Scottish and deeply needed intervention in the wider conversation between theology and mental health.
Copyright (c) 2026 Katie Cross http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0
“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