Literary criticism has a bad reputation amongst evangelical Christians. This is, of course, misplaced since viewing the Bible as literature is not an option. It is, after all, a book! Anyway, the good folks at Crossway have decided to do their best to help us understand how a literary view of the Bible is essential. Here is an extract of an early review of the book which is coming out next week.

"The premiere benefit of the LSB is viewing Scripture as literature, without reducing Scripture to the level of mere literature. In Leland Ryken fashion, rebuttals are given to show that viewing Scripture as literature (1) does not show a liberal bias, (2) reinforces Scripture's view of itself as literature, (3) does not reduce Scripture to fiction, (4) does not reduce Scripture to another mere piece of literature, (5) nor deny the inspiration of Scripture. In fact, the editors argue that an accurate interpretation of Scripture first requires an understanding of the many literary features of Scripture.

"To approach the Bible as literature as this literary Bible does is not like dessert — something pleasurable to add to more important aspects of the Bible. The literary approach is the first item on the agenda — the starting point for other approaches to the Bible. This has been a point of neglect among Bible readers and Bible scholars that this literary Bible aims to correct."

Because, the editors make clear, "meaning is conveyed through form, starting with language itself but moving beyond that to a whole range of literary forms and genres" and "There is no meaning without the form in which a piece of writing is expressed." Forms directly impact interpretation.

The number of identifiable biblical genres in Scripture "readily exceeds one hundred" and that does not include archetypes, motifs, styles, rhetoric, and artistry. Scripture is a wonderfully diverse collection of literature with great variety. None are better qualified to bring these to the surface than Leland Ryken."