Reading

I just finished the book __Reading Between the Lines__ by Gene Edward Veith and it got me to pondering about reading and especially Christians reading or lack of reading.

He had this to say:

"Christians to one extent or another have to read. They are "people of the Book," whose spirituality and conceptual framework is centered upon the linguistic revelation of the Word of God. As the culture moves farther and farther away from the printed word, Christians will still read. As their neighbors plug themselves in to their video images, Christians may find themselves making up a greater proportion of the reading public. Their tastes and values may matter again. Beacause readers exert the most influence in a society, however the masses amuse themselves, Christians may find themselves once again the thinkers and the leaders of society."

He used as an example the Dark Ages when the Vandals trashed a a civilization based on law and learning. During which time the church preserved the printed word, Bibles, Ancient works, books of science and medicine carefully copied and stored behind the walls of monestaries.

I hope that he is right and that Christians will continue to read or start to read, if they don't. How can they know God and the greatness of His glory if they don't at least read His word.

For more thoughts on reading you can go over to a couple of my favorite blogs, Common Room and Dominion Family. Headmistress at the Common Room has done a couple of articles recently about reading and the lack of it in our culture, even among homeschoolers. You can read them here and here. Over at Dominion Family, Cindy also had this to say.