{"product_id":"serving-the-word-9781565846739","title":"Serving the Word","description":"\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBrilliantly observed and persuasively argued, \u003ci\u003eServing the Word\u003c\/i\u003e, now in paperback, is an unprecedented look at the prevalence of literalism and the unexpected forms it takes in modern America's religious and secular life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHailed as \"thoughtful [and] suggestive\" (\u003ci\u003eThe New York Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e), \u003ci\u003eServing the Word\u003c\/i\u003e treats literalism as a modern belief system, analyzing its place in two seemingly contrasting fields: Christianity and the law. Moving from wealthy Angelenos who embrace starkly literal readings of the Bible to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's insisting on the narrowest interpretation of legal texts, leading anthropologist Vincent Crapanzano makes a persuasive claim that the attraction to literal certainty that we associate with fringe fanaticism is in fact deeply embedded in American culture.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis \"disturbing but important\" book (\u003ci\u003eThe Washington Post Book World\u003c\/i\u003e) examines our society's very conception of the truth, and poses basic questions about the state of America's mind and soul.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Vincent Crapanzano","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48284349694203,"sku":"9781565846739","price":18.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0779\/3917\/9771\/files\/CoreSourceHub_f40c399c-d81f-4326-8079-c5f55d433c43.jpg?v=1771407485","url":"https:\/\/indiepubs.com\/products\/serving-the-word-9781565846739","provider":"IndiePubs","version":"1.0","type":"link"}