Reforming Scriptures: Theories, Transformations, and Experiences Across American Religions

Is scripture a fixed object like the Bible? Or is it the result of what people do with sacred texts? In this collection, essays explore how Christian and other religious communities in the United States use, give meaning to, and debate the validity of scriptures that include everything from the spoken word to film to digital media.

The contributors draw on pioneering theorists like Vincent Wimbush and William Graham to grapple with how we might understand what we call scripture. The first section asks what makes a text scripture; the second looks at how scripture might change from medium to medium or context to context; and the third delves into how people use scripture. Two key themes emerge: that it is communities that produce and confer authority on scripture; and that fully grasping what a piece of scripture means must account for the medium that transmits it.

Diverse and interdisciplinary. Reforming Scriptures rethinks what "scripture" really means.

Contributors: Samantha Baskind, Jon Bialecki, James Bielo, Kelly D. Dagley, Megan Sanborn Jones, Joseph McDonald, Tom Mould, Eugene C. Staples II, Peter J. Thuesen, Jordan T. Watkins, Rosalynde Frandsen Welch, Lydia Willsky-Ciollo

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0HMW39JK6
• ISBN13: 9798240400315
• Release Date: April 2027
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.