A Few Grains of Incense: Law, Religion, and Politics From the Perspective of the "Christian" and "Pagan" Dispensations

(Excerpt) The pleasures of reading Steven D. Smith’s writing are varied and immense. That certainly holds true for his substantial new book, Pagans and Christians in the City. As with so much of his work, Smith’s argument is presented simply and calmly, and with such mild wit and irony as to be seductive. Yet there is no question that in this book as elsewhere, Smith is unafraid of, and even courts, disagreement and controversy.

With a book as seemingly panoptic as this, the real challenge is deciding which part of the book to push and poke at.