4*. As with her previous books, Armstrong paints a broad canvas and treats her subjects with admirable depth and clarity. The Lost Art of Scripture is an erudite survey of religious attitudes and approaches to scripture. Armstrong bemoans the modern shift to literalist and pseudo-scientific interpretations of scripture and argues that this reflects a fatal confusion of genres. Scripture’s purpose is not to provide us with historical or scientific facts about history and the cosmos; instead, scripture, properly conceived, is an art form that is designed to bring about a moral and spiritual transformation of readers. Armstrong reminds us of Augustine’s teaching that the whole purpose of scripture is inculcate a charitable disposition within readers: if scripture does not inspire ethical or altruistic behaviour, it remains incomplete. Armstrong is particularly strong in demonstrating the ritually-embodied nature of scripture: she notes that scripture was always heard in the solemn context of ritual and so helped participants gain insight into the ineffable and mysterious dimension of ultimate reality. The ineffable nature of the Supreme is scripture’s primary message: this is why the author laments modern attempts to force scripture to yield clear, univocal messages. Exploring the formation of scriptural canons, Armstrong uses this as evidence that scriptures were never regarded historically as the Last Word: instead, they were always seen as a work in progress allowing later texts to draw on older texts to give meaning to contemporary challenges and contexts. The book would have benefited from some closer editing: there are a number of spelling inaccuracies that mar the text but overall this is a wonderful achievement and an excellent contribution to the ever evolving body of scholarship on the role and reception of scripture in world religions.
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