SACRED AND SECULAR SCRIPTURES

What do the Bible and other Great Books of literature have in common, and what makes the Bible different?

Nicholas Boyle seeks to answer this question in a way that will appeal both to the specialist and to the general reader. He uses philosophical tools derived from a discussion with, among others, Schleiermacher and Hegel, Levinas and Ricoeur, to support the conclusions of Chenu and Vatican II about how to read the Bible. He then shows how these tools make possible a new critical method - a Catholic approach to literature - which he applies to literary texts as diverse as Faust, Moby-Dick, The Lord of the Rings, and the James Bond novels.

This book offers new insights both to those professionally interested in theology and hermeneutics and to anyone who wants to deepen their experience of the moral and spiritual wealth of secular books and secular culture in general.