Abstract

In the traditional approach, the Bible is treated as revelation, and later as the product of history. But neither the first nor the second can satisfy the modern reader—the first is too naive, the second is too learned. Although the reader no longer believes that the Bible represents the infallible word of God, he nevertheless stands at a loss before an edition which distinguishes its different layers by four different kinds of type. Since he can neither read nor study it, his only alternative is to put it aside.