Book Review: Deliver Us From Evil by John Swinton

I finally got around to reading Deliver Us From Evil: A Call for Christians to Take Evil Seriously by my friend and mentor, John Swinton. 

In Deliver Us From Evil, Swinton offers a theologically profound and morally urgent invitation to take the reality of evil seriously. With his trademark clarity, compassion, and depth, Swinton challenges Christians to move beyond simplistic and embedded understandings of evil and reckon with its deeper, systemic, and spiritual dimensions. He writes in a way that is incredibly accessible but never shallow, pressing readers to think theologically, examine their own lives, and confront the uncomfortable possibility that we are more entangled in evil than we would like to admit.

Evil is not something we can easily separate ourselves from, nor is it always obvious. As he puts it, “we don't have to intend to be evil to do evil: we just need to lose our sense of truth and falsehood” (p. 15). This insight alone calls for a sober reckoning. The moral dimension of evil is one of the book’s most significant contributions: people often commit evil not because they’re overtly malicious, but because they are convinced—morally convinced—that what they’re doing is actually good. This is precisely what makes evil so insidious, and so difficult to resist.

Swinton grounds his work in Scripture and theology, particularly drawing from the Pauline vision of “principalities and powers.” He writes, “Politics, economics, sociology, and social psychology are important factors, but Paul urges us to see that there is something deep and dark that lurks behind such powers and forces: malignant powers and principalities” (p. 89). Evil, in this account, is not merely the sum of human choices—it becomes something larger, something that takes on a life of its own. It gains systemic, cultural, and spiritual force. It becomes institutionalized in things like racism, economic exploitation, and nationalist ideologies. This is the demonic element of evil that requires "spiritual warfare."

One of the most bracing and necessary moments in the book comes when Swinton turns his gaze on capitalism. He writes, “Our capitalist system does not teach us to love our neighbor... The system in fact requires that we remain fearful, short-sighted, and grudging, and that we do everything we can to retain our affluent norm. Of course, this affluent norm is not available to everyone, but most of us still aspire to it as if that were the norm” (p. 45). This kind of critique is not political. It is a theological discernment, rooted in the call to see evil where it hides, even in what we’ve come to accept as ordinary or even desirable.

And yet, Deliver Us From Evil is not a book about despair. It is a book of faithful resistance. Swinton reminds us that “evil is that which God does not desire” (p. 7), and because of this, we are not powerless. Evil belongs to God to defeat, but we are called to resist, and "evil is not irresistible" (31). That resistance begins not with white-knuckled strength, but with spiritual formation. To resist evil, we must be formed more deeply by our Christian identity than by the ideologies of our context. We must become people whose imaginations are shaped by the story of Christ, not by fear, competition, or tribalism. This is slow, unglamorous work, but it is the way of discipleship.

For Swinton, worship—particularly the Eucharist—becomes central to this resistance. He presents the Lord’s Table not simply as a place of remembrance but as a site of transformation. It is at the table that we learn to attend to the vulnerable, to remember the suffering of the world, and to live out of the economy of grace rather than the economy of fear. In Jesus Christ, Swinton insists, we find the turning point: “In Jesus, the powers are reconciled” (p. 91). Evil does not get the last word; the cross and resurrection open up a new reality where reconciliation is possible, and resistance is hopeful.

Deliver Us From Evil is a theologically rich, pastorally sensitive, and morally urgent book. It does not offer easy answers, nor does it pretend that resisting evil is easy. Instead, it invites the church into a deeper awareness of the complexity of evil, a more honest reckoning with our complicity in it, and a more faithful posture of hope rooted in God’s power to redeem. Swinton doesn't just name the problem; he offers a path—formed in worship, community, and love—toward resisting evil in the name of Christ.

This is a great book—wise, unsettling, courageous, and deeply faithful. It will challenge your thinking, disturb your assumptions, and, if you let it, form you into someone more attuned to the love and justice of  God.