EAT THIS BOOK…3/27/08
by SteveEugene Peterson, author of the bestselling contemporary translation of the Bible titled The Message, has a new book with a terrific title: Eat This Book. Peterson has no doubts that we Christians believe the Bible is central to who we are, that nearly every Christian owns one, or even that a lot of us actually read it.
His concern is that we don’t read the Bible on its own terms, as God’s revelation. In fact, he says that this is one of the most neglected aspects of the Christian life: reading the Scriptures for spiritual formation, reading in order to live. Most of our reading of the Bible is done on a very superficial level. Add to that the fact that few of us ever take what we read and apply it to everyday life, and you begin to understand the problem.
Peterson tells a delightful story about watching his dog gnaw on a bone. He said the dog would drag the bone off to a private place and go to work on it…gnawing it, turning it over and over, licking it, worrying it. And every now and then, you could hear a low rumble or growl…kind of like a cat purring. The dog was totally involved in the task at hand, and savoring every moment of it.
This is the way we should spend time with our Bibles: meditate on it, chew it, swallow it, wrestle with it, toss it around and look at every side of it, let it dissolve on our tongue. Peterson says that “all serious and good writing anticipates precisely this kind of reading — ruminative and leisurely, a dalliance with words in contrast to wolfing down information.” (Eat This Book, p. 3)
If we should read all good writing in that way, how much more should that apply to our reading of the Scriptures? Let me encourage you to take time with your Bible. If your time spent with it doesn’t involve being “lost in wonder, love, and praise,” then you’re probably not doing it right.
RSS
What a wonderful analogy! When I consider it in regards to the volumes I’m most fond of, I see it applies rather well – I do indeed curl up in a private place, and contemplate the different perspectives of the story, trying to glean as much meaning from it as possible. I’ve always been confused as to why most Americans approach the Bible differently, as though it has some provisionary statement on it’s cover advising prospective readers to use caution applying critical thought to its content. From the church’s inception to post-Gutenberg, so little of the world’s population was literate, it only made sense the clergy kept the daunting task of studying and disseminating the stories of the Bible to their congregations. Today however, most of our population is literate, and we can choose amongst dozens of translations, just within the English language, for our own studies. If we have doubts, or find confusion in a particular story, we can refer to another translation to see if it’s perspective communicates the message more effectively to us. One of my favourite Bibles was actually 4 – four columns on each page, with a different translation in each column! That aside, if we take the time to study any given translation, if we understand the stories (or at least the basic ideas of them), Steve’s job is putting them into context in *today’s* world, telling us how to apply them to *our* lives, instead of simply re-telling the stories to the illiterate masses. As long as we remember the stories have a message, and that message maintains it’s value regardless of ‘historical accuracy’, we’ll avoid the error of worshiping a book, instead of God. It is through an understanding of these messages, found in the stories of the Bible, we can experience the Spirit of God. And just as a toddler is enthralled by a big yellow bird teaching them about words and numbers, we can be enthralled by some ink on paper teaching us to live in the Spirit.
Bj
Berry…you amaze me! Great insights. I agree that the majority of our population is literate, the problem is that the average American reads and comprehends on a 5th grade level! That makes my job doubly difficult, because the truth is that few are willing to engage the Scriptures on a deeper level than that. I’m encouraged that nearly half of our church membership has taken Disciple, but I worry about those who haven’t. I will point with pride to my Disciple graduates, who’ve taken the time and effort to move beyond elementary understandings of the Book, but I will always feel responsible for those I was unable to inspire to take it. We are all poorer for it.