The End of Biblical Studies

Can biblical studies ever be completely disassociated with the religious beliefs of the scholar? Is the Bible relevant to modern society? Avalos (religious studies, Iowa State U.) believes that the sources of the Bible come from systems of belief and understandings of the origins and nature of the world that are now irrelevant to the beliefs and systems of modern society. He acknowledges the efforts of biblical scholars to give contexts, but asserts their work cannot be disconnected from their conscious and subconscious agendas to convert and convince. He deprecates methods of Bible study as inadequate to make the scriptures apply to modern thought, and believes the products of those methods are too open to back alleys of interpretation and are also inadequate to solving modern problems. He also asserts that as interesting as the Bible is as an historical artifact, it cannot be taken for more than that. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Hector Avalos (Ames, IA) is associate professor of Religious Studies at Iowa State University, the author of four books on biblical studies and religion, the former editor of the Journal for the Critical Study of Religion, and executive director of the Committee for the Scientific Examination of Religion.