Note: This post is a re-purposed and expanded version of “For the Love of Books,” and commemorates my son, Timothy, and daughter, Emily’s, graduations this week: Tim from Villanova where he got two Masters, one in English Literature and one in Theology, and Emily who became a registered nurse, receiving her RN from Rowan College. Very proud of them!
In southern New Jersey, the county I grew up in became the poorest in the state. In the area of literacy, for example and the last I checked, only 13% of county residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher. Further, the county ranked the lowest in New Jersey in school testing and high school completion rates. During the 70’s, there were lots of clothing and glass factories and, therefore, lots of assembly line workers that functioned best with Captain Kirk-style leaders that told them what to think and do. Most were afraid of “the big city” (Philadelphia was our closest), and also afraid of the “secular humanism” that was permeating the culture. These conditions were ripe for a religious fundamentalism that plays on fears, encourages isolation, and insists on always taking the Bible literally.
I’ve observed that low literacy, passivity, and a lack of critical thinking are often part of the story of why toxic churches can thrive for a time. What’s more, literacy and use of the mind are directly related to knowing and handling the Bible correctly or incorrectly. As an illustration of how lower literacy can make one vulnerable to bad or no religion, one dear father I knew went to his grave having read only one book in his life, a book about Greg Brady of The Brady Bunch. To this day, four of his five children are unchurched and show surprising susceptibility to error. They are not comfortable with reading, especially classic literature, so the Bible is largely an unknown treasure that they think can only be interpreted with wooden literalism.
As the late Bruce Metzger, one of the foremost NT Scholars of the last century, pointed out, “The Bible doesn’t always mean what it literally says but it always means what is literally means.” A lot of Christians come at the Bible with an overly-literalistic, treat-Scripture-like-a-newspaper perspective, and when this gets mixed with religious fervor and commitment, things can get scary and become very ugly. Always taking the Bible literally, especially when one simultaneously devalues theological education, mainstream science, and a thorough knowledge of the Old Testament, ancient Near Eastern and first-century culture is a recipe for spiritual abuse and malpractice. As N.T. Wright observed:
“One of the great sorrows of our age is that people even inside the church, let alone outside of it, have so reacted against the over-dogmatic claims of some ‘conservative’ Christians concerning the literal truth of the whole Bible (when a great deal is manifestly poetry, and so on), that whole idea of the Bible itself as ‘God’s word’ is discounted by many.”
Lent for Everyone: Mark, Year B (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012), 113.
When Wright says, “a great deal is manifest poetry,” what he is getting at is that many know nothing about the historical grammatical method of interpretation, Scripture’s various literary genres, or how different parts of the Bible appeal to different parts of us. For example, they do not know how the psalms speak to our emotions, the letters of Paul to our minds, apocalyptic literature to our imagination, or the prophets to our will.
That’s why we need to champion moms and dads united in healthy marriages that will build kids who seek out and lead spiritually healthy families, love the Bible, and know how to handle it correctly. Homes that prioritize reading—especially ones where parents snuggle with their children while reading to them—will form natural attachments and even safeguards against fear and passivity. For example, related to fathers and daughters, a daughter’s self-esteem is best predicted by her father’s physical affection. In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association found that girls with doting fathers are more assertive.[2]
Moreover, the discipline and joy of reading is directly related to growing kids that are culturally literate and appreciate the past, including classic literature. Cultural literacy and exposure to great books (see here and here for some excellent suggestions) can guard against aberrations and non-classical expressions of Christianity. These expand our kids’ view of the world and decrease the likelihood that they will apply “Bible verse Band-Aids” to harsh realities; further, that they will have more empathy and better understand human nature. Even great fantasy and fairy tales can make them long for a better world and inspire them to do great deeds. Additionally, a knowledge of history and tradition can provide perspective when church leaders fall or are exposed.
Take away: Commit yourself to the joy and life-long discipline of reading and learning. If you’re a parent, make sure this is combined with plenty of physical and emotional closeness to your children.
[2] Meg Meeker, Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters (Washington, DC: Regnery, 2006), 23.