ISBN The Bible Made Impossible (Why Biblicism Is Not a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture) book English Paperback 254 pages

Biblicism, an approach to the Bible common among some American evangelicals, emphasizes together the Bible's exclusive authority, infallibility, clarity, self-sufficiency, internal consistency, self-evident meaning, and universal applicability. Acclaimed sociologist Christian Smith argues that this approach is misguided and unable to live up to its own claims. If evangelical biblicism worked as its proponents say it should, there would not be the vast variety of interpretive differences that biblicists themselves reach when they actually read and interpret the Bible. Far from challenging the inspiration and authority of Scripture, Smith critiques a particular rendering of it, encouraging evangelicals to seek a more responsible, coherent, and defensible approach to biblical authority.This important book has generated lively discussion and debate. The paperback edition adds a new chapter responding to the conversation that the cloth edition has sparked.ContentsIntroductionPart 1: The Impossibility of Biblicism1. Biblicism and the Problem of Pervasive Interpretive Pluralism2. The Extent and Source of Pervasive Interpretive Pluralism3. Some Relevant History, Sociology, and Psychology4. Subsidiary Problems with BiblicismPart 2: Toward a Truly Evangelical Reading of Scripture5. The Christocentric Hermeneutical Key6. Accepting Complexity and Ambiguity7. Rethinking Human Knowledge, Authority, and UnderstandingConclusionAfterwordIndex