What about people who don't read?
How can we make the Bible accessible to young people who either can’t read or just won’t read? Is this an insurmountable problem? I certainly don’t think it is.
This is not a new problem; in fact the ‘can’t read’ problem is a shrinking one as more people are able to read today than ever before. We must remember that in Jesus’ day far fewer people could read.
Today, a great deal of emphasis is placed on ‘daily personal Bible reading and study’. However, if you can’t read or just don’t enjoy reading this can create a barrier. If you are continually being told you should be reading the Bible every day and can’t read, it’s easy to begin to think that you are never going to be ‘good enough’ for Jesus. There is great news at hand for anyone who feels like this – Jesus never commanded us to do ‘daily personal Bible reading and study’. Anyone can have a relationship with Jesus – not just those who can read!
‘Daily personal Bible reading and study’ has really only been possible for the past few centuries. Before the invention of the printing press Bibles were rare. Likewise, in Jesus’ day the ‘average’ family would not have had their own copy of the scriptures. They wouldn’t have read the scriptures for themselves, instead they would have gone to the synagogue to hear it read and then they would have discussed it with one another. Deuteronomy 6:7 tells us how children would have learnt God’s commandments, “Impress them [the commandments] on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
Now, please don’t misunderstand what I am trying to say. It’s excellent that many of us can now read the Bible for ourselves and we should make the most of this amazing opportunity that we are so privileged to have. Reading the Bible every day is a good thing to do and I would always encourage those who can do it to do so. However, what I do want to say is that it’s not the end of the world for those who can’t/won’t read. That’s how it was for the majority of people in Jesus’ day. Jesus made his teaching accessible to all; we need to do the same. He told stories people could relate to and undoubtedly created a great deal of discussion.
In Jesus days the Jews would have learnt from the Scriptures by hearing them read, explained, and from the resulting discussion that would take place as you went about their day-to-day life. And let’s not forget they also memorised it!
Throughout history learning from the Bible has been a corporate activity. It’s great, that we can now do personal Bible study as well, but let that be an addition, not a replacement for discussing the Bible with others.
There is much debate at the moment about the privatisation of faith – there are those who say that it’s okay for people to have ‘faith’, but it ought to be something they keep to themselves. The Christianity I read about in the New Testament most certainly says and does the opposite! That’s just one reason why discussing the Bible with others is such a great idea – it keeps faith public, it keeps it a communal activity, not just something which is private.
Learning in Jesus day was often done through discussion. Much learning in schools today is done through discussion. Discussing the Bible is so important. It helps stimulate thought, it brings it to live, it helps us think through application, it increases understanding, it helps us gain fresh insights and it enables those who can’t/won’t read to engage with the Biblical text.
In our youth work we should make sure the Bible is read out loud, so people can hear it, and we need to create plenty of opportunities for discussion, because it’s through discussion that things can really become embedded. We need to learn how we can facilitate engaging, stimulating and life-changing Bible discussion so we can help young people wrestle with the text together and apply it to their lives.
Phil Green, *essential project director
