Smith, The Bible Made Impossible

Christian Smith

Via the Brazos website, the introduction and first chapter of Christian Smith’s recent Bible Made Impossible (2011) are available, as is the below interview with Smith about the book. Although Smith’s argument seems, to me at least, to have difficulties in some different places, other parts do offer some helpful thoughts.

Among these salutary points are Smith’s essential appeal for evangelicals to read scripture within a group identity constructed around Jesus Christ and the rule of faith (see particularly 99–172). Doubtless, many would differ with Smith on the details of this recommendation’s implications. Yet, his core reminder about the centrality of Jesus and the rule of faith, a key hermeneutical touchstone in the history of Christian biblical interpretation, is certainly valuable for those who seek to continue that interpretive tradition.