Reading and Writing Scripture in New Religious Movements: New Bibles and New Revelations

New religious movements both read the Bible in creative ways and produce their own texts that aspire to scriptural status. From the creation stories in Genesis and the Ten Commandments to the life of Jesus and the apocalypse, they develop their self-understandings through reading and writing scripture.

Eugene V. Gallagher is the Rosemary Park Professor of Religious Studies at Connecticut College. He is the co-author of Why Waco? Cults and the Battle for Religious Freedom in America and other books and articles on new religions. He serves as co-general editor of Nova Religio and associate editor of Teaching Theology and Religion.