Jonathan Dodson has
a good post that should be passed around on
why Christians should bring their Bibles to church (assuming they live in a country where they can own a Bible). His main points are:
1. It allows the Bible to make up your mind about meaning, not you make up your own mind about the meaning.
2. It allows you to read the Bible in context.
3. It helps you avoid confusing the medium for the message.
Some good quotes from
his piece:
- Follow the argument of Scripture, not just the argument of the preacher.
- When we read in context we get to see the Bible, not in bits and pieces, but as an awe-inspiring whole.
- Reading in PowerPoint prevents us from seeing the Bible as complete thoughts that hang together in context.
Read the whole thing.
1 comment:
Interesting.
For another viewpoint, Peter Leithart:
Public reading and hearing of Scripture is well-grounded in Scripture. When Yahweh cut covenant with Israel at Sinai, part of the ceremony was a public reading of the Law (Exodus 24:7). Torah was not a secret code, reserved for a priestly class. It was public, known to all, and all were accountable to it (including the king, Deuteronomy 17). At the Feast of Booths in every Sabbatical year, the priests were to reenact the original Sinai proclamation, reading the law to the whole assembly of Israel (Deuteronomy 31:9-13). When Josiah led the people in renewing the covenant with Yahweh, he read Torah in the hearing of all the people (2 Kings 23:2).
"In biblical times, of course, many believers were illiterate, and their only exposure to the Scriptures would have been through public readings. That is not the case today, and many modern Christians think of private reading as the preeminent way they are exposed to Scripture. I do not at all disparage private reading, but the Scripture emphasizes the importance and benefits of public reading. Christianity is a religion of Word and hearing; "hear" is virtually equivalent to "obey" throughout the Scripture.
And listening to someone is phenomenologically different from reading a book. When we listen, we are in a position of passivity, and cede authority to the reader. We can tune out someone reading, but often (public) reading confronts us with things that we had not noticed in our own private reading. We need to receive the word through every gateway that we have - the eye, the ear, the mouth, the nostrils, touch. Liturgy receives the Word made audible, edible, tangible.
This has some implications for how we hear the word in public reading. I believe it is best to close your Bible and listen to the reader. You can check things later if you like. But when the Word is being read, you should NOT have your nose in the book."
http://www.leithart.com/archives/001118.php
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