A LIBRARIAN’S ORIENTATION
What this book explores
A sociologist’s critique of biblicism from inside evangelical Christianity and an argument for a more Christ-centered authority.
EDITORIAL NOTE
Why it’s in the Library
It separates trust in Scripture from a particular modern theory about how Scripture must work. The book gives travelers a way to name pervasive interpretive pluralism without requiring either denial or abandonment of the Bible.
Good starting place if…
You remain interested in Christian faith but need language for why sincere appeals to a clear, self-interpreting Bible repeatedly produce incompatible doctrines and practices.
Know before you begin…
Smith critiques evangelical biblicism from within Christian commitment and proposes a more Christ-centered approach. His diagnosis draws on sociology, while his alternative is constructive theology and reflects his movement toward Catholic Christianity.