On Reading

Practice and training with learning

“God chose to send his living Word into the world for 30 years, and his written Word into the world for 2000+ years. Think of the assumption behind this divine decision. People in each generation would be dependent on those who read. Some people, if not all, would have to learn to read—and read well, in order to be faithful to God.” Pastor John Piper


On this blog, I have mentioned the pilgrimage that God has set before me. Having the hope of the Gospel brought to me in my eighteenth year, life became one gigantic appetite for God’s Word and His ways in the world. But a great deal of practice and training with learning needed attention. I am not ashamed to admit that this matter still needs attention.

Learning to read—not merely pronounce the words in a sentence—became the central task back around 1974-75-ish.

Month by month, year by year, my wife—bless her for patience—has been the most helpful to me. She guided me greatly in my 20’s helping me to practice reading sentences not only so words were correctly pronounced but to gain understanding. I remember mixing up immortality and immorality not in pronunciation but in meaning. That was embarrassing.

Another key practice was jumping in to read. C’mon on in—the water’s great! Early on faithful men in our local church put into my hands well-written, meaty, reliable books on the Christian faith. That was key. Reading begets reading. Authors inform. Authors inspire. Authors reinforce.

The first step of exposure—opening the book, looking over the Table of Contents, skimming around in some chapters, checking out footnotes, references and indices—provides initial focus.

But beyond that there’s the motivation to think, meditate and make connections—that’s the work of understanding. Language-based learning, which implements habits of reading, requires the exercise of the brain. Habits like: 1) noting the facts and images presented in the words, sentences and paragraphs, 2) giving consideration to the knowledge and organization of facts already stored in the brain, and 3) assessing and evaluating inferences and conclusions.

For the past 6 or 8 years, I am trying to implement another practice in reading—look for the relationship that one part of knowledge has with another. There’s always some form of interrelatedness. Subjects cannot be studied in isolation of others. What a task! I am trying to make gains on this perspective.

I have just read a book by Peter J. Leithart entitled, Defending Constantine. I am challenged by the height, breadth and width of Dr. Leithart’s knowledge of theology, politics, Roman Empire history and the ecclesiastical landscape of the 3rd and 4th centuries. It might be the first book for me to pick up and read right away a second time. I want to learn how to read.

In the beginning was the Word…

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

G. Mark Sumpter