Holy Literary License

An award-winning western novelist with decidedly liberal political leanings writes a spiritual autobiography unlike any other. The author grew up in a small west Texas town, attended seminary, became a war correspondent in Vietnam, and taught creative writing and literature for 40 years at Trinity University in San Antonio. With a deep sense of the irony of his project, he sets out to explain how the Bible came to be, delving into historical misconceptions, errors in translation, political and cultural biases, as well as the editorial failings of the Bible's many authors -- and yet, he arrives at a place of ultimate faith.

"With common sense and uncommon wisdom, Robert Flynn helps readers of all sorts navigate reading the Bible . . . You will chuckle, be surprised and perhaps annoyed, and put the book down with new insight and appreciation of the journey of interpretation necessary to read with new understanding." —Molly T. Marshall, Ph.D, President, Central Baptist Theological Seminary

"Robert Flynn is a fine storyteller. His new book, Holy Literary License, places that gift on display in a remarkable way. This book offers us an intimate glimpse into Flynn’s relationship with the Bible, a lifelong relationship dating back to . . . when he was a boy of nine. To be sure, however, this book is not an academic work of biblical scholarship; it neither professes nor pretends to be one. Rather, it is a kind of memoir of a life lived against a scriptural and literary background." —James R. Dennis, lonestarliterary.com

"In this extraordinary meditation on the relationship between that universal process and the mortals who try to make sense of it, Flynn aims to liberate the stories of the Bible from writers, editors, translators and ordinary believers who would try to keep its stories 'from growing beyond them,' and thereby 'creating a commonality that could make us a brotherhood.' In 11 pithy chapters written with considerable skill, erudition and his characteristically dry wit, Flynn reflects on the relationship between fact, truth and the role fiction plays in telling truths beyond facts." —Ed Conroy, San Antonio Express-News

Robert Lopez Flynn is a professor emeritus, Trinity University, where he was a much beloved professor of English and creative writing for nearly 40 years. Flynn is the author of numerous books, including ten novels, including North To Yesterday (Knopf, 1967), In the House of the Lord (Knopf, 1969), The Sounds of Rescue, The Signs of Hope (Knopf, 1970, TCU, 1988), and Wanderer Springs (TCU Press, 1987).