The Bible in the Life of the Church

Anglicans are formed by Scripture and it has undergirded their identity since the Reformation. It shapes Anglican worship and liturgy, it is read and listened to corporately and individually, through preaching its wisdom is interpreted for daily life, and scholarly engagement with it is valued as new situations and challenges call for scripturally informed understanding. Yet what is meant when Anglicans talk of the authority of Scripture in the life of the Church is not always clear; nor indeed exactly how Scripture should be interpreted. In recent years, tension has arisen from differing understandings of Scripture. For this reason, the Bible in the Life of the Church project was set up in 2009 to explore the questions of authority and interpretation in widely differing contexts. This landmark book records what happened when groups of Anglicans in different parts of the world studied the same passages of Scripture concerned with creation and justice, what was revealed about the way that Anglicans actually regard and use the Bible and what this implies for life together in the Church. The contributors include Ellen Bradshaw Aitken, David Allen, Ellen F. Davis, Stephen Lyon, Robert MacSwain, Jonathan May, David Moxon and others. The editor, Clare Amos, was Director for Theological Studies in the Anglican Communion Office, and was involved in the work of the Bible in the Life of the Church project from its inception. She is now Programme Coordinator and Executive for Interreligious Dialogue and Co-operation at the World Council of Churches.