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    The Social Life of Scriptures
    Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Biblicism

    James Bielo (Edited by), Brian Malley (Contributions by), Jon Bialecki (Contributions by), Erika Muse (Contributions by), Eric Hoenes Del Pinal (Contributions by), John Pulis (Contributions by), Liam Murphy (Contributions by), Simon Coleman (Contributions by), Susan Harding (Contributions by), Rosamond Rodman (Contributions by), C. Samson (Contributions by), Akesha Baron (Contributions by)

    9780813546056

    Hardback, published 26 August 2009

    272 pages, 2
    22.9 x 15.2 x 2.3 cm, 0.51 kg

    Bielo's collection is a must for all serious students of Christianity. It puts forth such a simple idea, we have to wonder why it's taken so long for anthropologists to get it: we cannot understand Christianity without understanding 'the social life of Scriptures.' In their detailed analyses, the contributors here make a convincing case.
    - Matthew Engelke (London School of Economics)
    The essays in this collection explore the multiple contexts in which the Bible is actually read. They make a major contribution to the anthropology of Christianity and to the study of reading and interpretive practices.
    - Vincent Crapanzano (author of Serving the Word: Literalism in America from the Pulpit to the Bench)
    An intriguing collection of essays. Those who do believe that the Bible is divine revelation, but who are also willing to study its operation in quotidian real-life situations, should welcome The Social Life of Scriptures.
    (Books and Culture)

    What do Christians do with the Bible? How do theyùindividually and collectivelyùinteract with the sacred texts? Why does this engagement shift so drastically among and between social, historical, religious, and institutional contexts? Such questions are addressed in a most enlightening, engaging, and original way in The Social Life of Scriptures.

    Contributors offer a collection of closely analyzed and carefully conducted ethnographic and historical case studies, covering a range of geographic, theological, and cultural territory, including: American evangelicals and charismatics; Jamaican Rastafarians; evangelical and Catholic Mayans; Northern Irish charismatics; Nigerian Anglicans; and Chinese evangelicals in the United States.

    The Social Life of Scriptures is the first book to present an eclectic, cross-cultural, and comparative investigation of Bible use. Moreover, it models an important movement to outline a framework for how scriptures are implicated in organizing social structures and meanings, with specific foci on gender, ethnicity, agency, and power.

    Introduction: Encountering Biblicism
    The Trouble with Good News
    "
    In the Beginning"

    The Man is the Head"

    The Word of God and "
    Our Words"

    How Q'eqchi'-Maya Catholics Become Legitimate Interpreters of the Bible
    "
    We Are Anglicans, They Are the Church of England"

    Chinese American Christian Women of New England
    The Bones Restored to Life:
    Textual Ideology, Textual Practice
    Revolve, the Biblezine
    Understanding the Bible's Influence
    The Social Life of the Bible

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