RT Article
T1 America's Bibles: Canon, Commentary, and Community
JF Church history
VO 64
IS 2
SP 169
OP 184
A1 Stein, Stephen J.
LA English
PB Cambridge Univ. Press
YR 1995
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1779579497
AB In America the category ‘bible’ enjoys a privileged cultural position. That fact was brought home to me anecdotally several years ago when I received a telephone call forwarded through a departmental secretary. The woman on the other end of the line expressed frustration because she did not know what to do with a worn-out Bible. She asked if there was a proper way to handle the situation: should she bury it, or burn it? She was genuinely perplexed. Of one thing alone was she certain: she could not throw the Bible into a garbage can. As it turned out, I was of little help. I knew no liturgy for disposing of old Bibles, nor any special protocol for handling them. But I also do not remember ever throwing one away. I am accustomed to seeing old Bibles in attics or on shelves of used-book stores. The telephone call underscored in a practical way the special aura that surrounds the ‘bible’ in America.
DO 10.2307/3167903