The Big Picture - A Return to Soul: Review of Aaron Rosen’s Spiritual Traces

The seventeenth issue of The Big Picture, from The Kirby Laing Centre, broaches the difficult topic of evangelicalism. Without sweeping aside the problems and weaknesses of the movement over its history, it has had an important role in revitalising world Christianity, and our world needs a healthy evangelicalism now more than ever. The contributors look at what has characterised the movement since its earliest days, what might be missing and what might have gone wrong. Several articles explore the role of evangelicalism in politics, others in intellectual pursuits such as education or research, and still others in ethics and mission. The editors hope that this issue offers some avenues for its renewal.

As usual, the content of the magazine is diverse, also featuring a conversation with Theophilus about the book of Acts, a study of an intriguing post-war sculpture from Charles Wheeler, a reflection on Cormac McCarthy’s The Road, and more.

Paid subscribers can read all the articles on release and make comments; free subscribers will receive access to a handful of new articles each week. You can also get the beautifully designed print edition of TBP 17 (and several back issues) on Amazon.

This edition includes: ArtWay: A Return to Soul: Review of Aaron Rosen’s Spiritual Traces - Jonathan Evens. I review Aaron Rosen’s exploration of spirituality in contemporary art, especially in conversation with artists working at the intersection of creativity and faith. The review offers a thoughtful introduction to current conversations in art and religion while suggesting why beauty, contemplation and artistic practice remain important sources of meaning in a fragmented age. The review is available for free on 14 August.

The Big Picture 16 explored third places - the social spaces between home and work that are so influential in community life but increasingly under threat in our fragmented, digitised world - and included my interview with Francis Hoyland: 'ArtWay: Meeting Christ in Sundry Places. I interviewed painter Francis Hoyland about his decades of depicting Christ’s life, and the role that his Catholic faith plays in his art.

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Steve Scott - Not A Pretty Picture.

The Big Picture: Meeting Christ in Sundry Places

The Big Picture 16, from The Kirby Laing Centre, explores third places: the social spaces between home and work that are so influential in community life but increasingly under threat in our fragmented, digitised world. As usual, they have a diverse group of contributors who help us to think through how such places contribute to human flourishing, and the relationship of third places to public theology and Christian formation.

Issue 16 features articles about health clubs, coffee rooms and even cigar lounges as sites of encounter and missional opportunity, as well as considering how we might reconceive of churches as active third places that engage our wider community. They also feature articles about anime, art, film, philosophy, books and their Decalogue project.

The Big Picture regularly republishes articles previously published through ArtWay and, on this occasion, is re-publishing my interview with Francis Hoyland: 'ArtWay: Meeting Christ in Sundry Places — Jonathan Evens interviewing Francis Hoyland. Evens interviews painter Francis Hoyland about his decades of depicting Christ’s life, and the role that his Catholic faith plays in his art.'

By Friday, you will be able to order full-colour hard copies on Amazon, and Substack readers will get access to the whole magazine (paid subscribers) or the first batch of articles (free subscribers). You can read the contents page with descriptions here.

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Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis.