Bible Believers [Paperback]

Nancy T. Ammerman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 1987

Bible believer (also Bible-believer, Bible-believing Christian, Bible-believing Church) is a self-description by conservative Christians to differentiate their teachings from others who see non- or extrabiblical tradition as higher or equal in authority.

In normal usage, "Bible believer" means an individual or organisation that believes the Christian Bible is true in some significant way. However, this combination of words is given a unique meaning in fundamentalist Protestant circles, where it is equated with the belief that the Christian Bible "contains no theological contradictions, historical discrepancies, or other such 'errors'", otherwise known as biblical inerrancy.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nancy Tatom Ammerman spent a year in 1979-1980 participating in, observing, and interviewing the members of a suburban Connecticut congregation, described on its church sign as "Independent, Fundamental, Premillennial, and Baptistic." Although she is not a fundamentalist, Ammerman's own background was similar enough for her to fit in easily and to be accepted and trusted.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 264 pages
• Publisher: Rutgers University Press (October 1, 1987)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 081351231X
• ISBN-13: 978-0813512310
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #824,987 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book, November 30, 2006

By 

cs "bookreader" (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bible Believers (Paperback)

This is an intelligent, well written book that conveys how Fundamentalists structure their lives and what their world view is. It was just perfect for my interest as a psychotherapist who is trying to understand this mindset in a client. The writing style is analytical without being ponderously academic, dry or theoretical. It is also extremely even-handed, neither favoring not condemning a mindset but rather just describing how Fundamentalists make sense of the world and what measures they take to maintain their beliefs in the face of the larger secular society. It assumes no religious bias on the part of the reader, which I find intelligent and refreshing. For me, it clarified in accessible, dispassionate terms what the (psychological) benefits of membership are, as well as the (psychological) sacrifices and limitations which membership imposes.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars an important source on fundamentalist Christianity, July 20, 2001

By 

Lalalalaura (Washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Bible Believers (Paperback)

This is a good book, and I recommend it, but it's not perfect. Although Ammerman did a lot of ethnographic work, it seems like she relies mostly on interview material rather than direct observation, and that was sort of frustrating. I have to assume that if what she was told by her subjects had contradicted what she saw, she would have said so, but I still found myself wishing I had a clearer picture of daily life in the congregation. Still, I don't know of a better book on the same subject -- that such a good book as this has these limitations only shows how difficult a subject it was to tackle.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book., May 20, 2011

By 

J. Reames "Dr. J. Reames" (Omaha, NE) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Bible Believers (Paperback)

I had Ammerman as a professor years ago. She knows the wherefore of which she speaks, having grown up in this background. The fact she can write about it with a fair hand, a *neutral* hand, says a lot about her grasp of cultural relativism. But it also gives her a unique insight as to exactly what makes these communities tick (and more largely, what drives Fundamentalism itself, as a worldview.)