Why read, anyway?
Hi!
Near the beginning of Part Two, Mildred protests to Montag, "Why should I read? What for?" How would you answer that question for yourself?
In addition, why should Christians read the Bible? Do you have any personal tips for getting into God's word that someone struggling to do so might need to know?
That's three questions. I'd like you to at least answer the first two, if not the third.
That's it. Simple enough?
Love,
Mrs. D
posted by Sister Sara @ 7:41 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
1. Reading may seem like a waste of time. After all, television and movies stimulate more senses, and are more engrossing, not to mention more entertaining, so why on earth would we ever pick up a book?
There are several answers, one of which would be the purely informational one. It is a well established fact that the rate of information flow is far, far more with reading that television can ever hope to claim. In addition, reading preserves the concept of imagination. The wonderful thing about books is that we get to imagine what the characters look like, sound like, we can create the most elaborate special effects, we can imagine the most fearsome creatures. No Hollywood director can ever compete with the sheer power of the imagination.
The reasons for reading the Bible are even more obvious. All you have to do is look back to the Medieval Ages, before the Bible was printed in a common language, to know that decadent church officials (still rampant even today) will twist its words to say whatever they want, or even make up things entirely. After all, how can you protest something you don't know is wrong? In addition, the revelations that are often experienced while reading the Bible are different for everyone, making it vital to individual reading.
1. I would not say you SHOULD read, as in a moral sense. But it would be wise to do so. Certainly, you can make it through life without reading a whole lot. But by being a knowlegable reader, you certainly open up yourself to many more opportunities that you would never get without reading.
2. This is one is more difficult for me to answer. I guess the reason you should read the Bible is so you are in connection with God as far as what he wants to say to you. Also, many people consider time with God in his word to be like putting on armour (of God lol) to defend against the attacks of the devil(?).
3. My personal tip is (not that I follow it to the letter) to try and make it a habit. If you train yourself daily, it will no longer seem a chore but natural. And not onyly that a priviledge(?).
1. Well, reading is important because it does increase imagination (just look at Anne Shirley . . .), it helps you understand what other people believe about things, it helps you to communicate effectively with other people by increasing your vocabulary, and basically everything else that the other people have posted already. Also, a lot of books (even novels) have elements of history in them, so books can help you learn about things that happened in the past.
2. Reading the Bible is very important for Christians because it tells us who God is and what He's like. If we really want to follow Jesus, we have to know the way He wants us to live and act and think, and the Bible tells us how.
1. Reading is not only all the things that everyone has already mentioned, but it's a pleasure, well, for me at least. It's a way to make your brain work. Reading fictional mysteries helps you to think of the "who done it," while reading history books helps you learn about those who have come before us. Reading makes you think, and as all of us know from Mr. Lawson, thinking is vital for anything we do/say/believe.
As to the second question, reading the Bible is important for growing with Christ. Being a Christian shouldn't just be about a one-time deal; one little salvation prayer and that's it. NO! It's about a daily walk with Christ! And I'm the worst one to be talking about this because I fall so short, not spending daily time with Jesus. But on the days I do, I feel so much fuller the whole day through, like I could do anything, because Christ is there with me. So, general tip, spend daily time with Jesus, because He cares for you and wants to spent time with you! :)
Well, there are hundreds of responses to these quesions I'm sure, but I'll cover just one. In response to Mildred I would have replied similar to Montag. If someone is willing to die for books or not willing to live without books, there must be something of value inside those books. Reading causes the brain to break out of the box of habit and everyday patterns and the immediate surrounding world and explore places only the imagination can take you.
As far a reading the Bible goes, I can't help but notice something. In Fahrenheit 451, reading caused people to become unhappy many times. Either because it was sad or emotional or because it showed them that they don't know everything. The Bible is like that an many ways. It's touching and can be very sad to read about some of the stuff that happened. And if you let God, He'll break you and begin to rebuild you. That hurts sometimes though. Consequently, many people choose not to take the risk and decide to go along with their lives without changing. However, even though it may hurt to hear you're wrong or it may hurt to put some of those ungodly habits to death, in the long run God brings the only true joy found. Even though that doesn't always mean being happy.
For me the Bible is a constant check in my life which helps me to keep my life on track. If I'm ever confused about something I often times have to pray and seek God in His Word (which is God's thoughts and actions put into words) to see what He says about things. He's got all the answers in there. You just have to be able to see and hear them. In a lot of cases after Jesus would finish telling a parable or something he would often say something to the effect of "He who has ears to hear, let him hear. He who has eyes to see, let him see..." THis really applies to the entire Word. The Bible offers God's response to any problem if your willing to give it to Him. But we have to train ourselves to hear and to see him. And that only comes from discipling yourself to read the Bible daily and seek God on your own.
Hmmm... Great responses, you all. I have always loved reading, but it's only been recently that I really woke up to the fact that Jesus was the WORD made flesh. And it made me realize how important WORDS are. Obviously, God thought words important enough to inspire men to write them down to benefit us all--well, those who chose to read them. I've heard it said that Christians should be people of the word or people of the book. How can we be if we aren't reading?
Graded.
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