Why Read Christian Books: An Attempt at a Philosophy of Reading
Stewart Custer wrote: “Once in a while one hears a sincere but self-assured preacher say, ‘I don’t need all those commentaries and books about the Bible. All I need is my Bible and God the Holy Spirit!’ …If it be true that we do not need anything but the Bible, then we do not need the preacher’s interpretation either. We may take our Bible and go home and read it. But the arrogant preacher did not intend that. What he really intended was that people listen to his explanation of the Bible and to no other. This is arrogant piosity.”
Some Christians artificially create tension between reading and spirituality. B.B. Warfield replied in this way: “Nothing could be more fatal, however, than to set these two things over against one another. …Sometimes we hear it said that ten minutes on your knees will give you a truer, deeper, more operative knowledge of God than ten hours over your books. ‘What!’ is the appropriate response, ‘than ten hours over your books, on your knees?’ Why should you turn from God when you turn to your books, or feel that you must turn from your books in order to turn to God? …In your case there can be no ‘either-or’ here – either a student or a man of God. You must be both.”
Custer continues: “Tools are not an end in themselves; they are the means to an end. The use of tools is vitally important. It is possible for a farmer to break up ground with his bare hand to plant seed; it is possible to pull weeds with the fingers, but it is much easier and efficient to do it with a hoe and a rake. A far greater harvest can be gained by using a modern tractor and commercial sowers and harvesters. The application to Bible study is obvious. When the Bible student draws upon commentaries and reference works, he is drawing upon results of thousands of years of Bible study. He can see so much because he is standing upon the shoulders of generation after generation of dedicated students of the Bible who have shared the benefits of their study of God’s Word with others.”
With these introductory thoughts in mind, here are five reasons why I read Christian books. I read Christian books to…
1. Cultivate a heart that is humble and teachable. Scripture is right – knowledge puffs up (1 Cor. 8:1). Reading can be used to gain more facts and as a result to think too highly of self. But reading can also be a humble hunger to learn.
2. Receive counsel and grow in wisdom. Just read through Proverbs and note how many times “knowledge” is mentioned. More times than not, knowledge is described as something commendable that must be sought after and stored up. Reading good books is another way of receiving wise counsel.
3. Obey God’s greatest command. Matthew 22:37 – “You shall love the LORD your God…with all your mind.” The more you know God, the more you will love Him. Reading is never an end in itself. Reading is a means to loving God with all your mind. Wilful ignorance and mental laziness directly violates God’s greatest command.
4. Teach clearly and faithfully God’s Word. How am I supposed to know the length of a “span?” How does anyone know what a “synagogue” is? How do we know what “propitiation” means? By reading. I want to feed God’s people, not what I think, but what God says. Novelty in preaching and theology is not a virtue. Reading good books helps give me confidence that I understand God’s Word correctly.
5. Understand and better accomplish God’s will for my life. If I am better equipped to love God and if I am sure of what God says in His Word, then I am well prepared to follow in complete submission. The last thing I want is to be duped into wrong action because of a faulty understanding of what God says.
Why do you read Christian books?
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I read Christian books because:-
1. The Apostle Paul did (Jewish and other books anyway);
2. There is a rich Christian tradition behind writing and reading good books;
3. I feel like I am standing on the shoulders of great Bible teachers when I read their commentaries and it gives me access to material that would otherwise be physically or financially impossible to do, or even to understand, due to my somewhat limited education;
4.I love to read honest and detailed biographies of Christians-especially about their idiosyncracies and little known anecdotes about their lives;
5. I am starting to see the sheer commitment and discipline it takes to write substantially on theologicial subjects;
6. You make me read books for our monthly elders meetings:)