A Progression of Reading

I was not much of a reader when I was a kid. I had too much to do -- playing outside, running off to visit the neighbors, getting into mischief, like any kid. I did get sick a lot, though, and Mama would spend extra time reading to me, so I learned that books were good. When I was about eight, I caught almost every childhood disease that came down the pike: chicken pox, measles, bronchitis, the works. I spent much time at home instead of school, mostly on the bed or couch. TV, a relatively new thing, didn't have a lot of stuff interesting to an eight-year-old, so I learned to enjoy books.

I never stopped reading just about any book I could get my hands on, though, and it did not really matter the subject. I still loved the King Arthur tales, but I was beginning to run out of fiction books for kids 15 and over, even if I were only twelve or thirteen. My parents had bought me a set of encyclopedias. I remember running home after school to pick a volume, open it up, and start flipping pages until I found something that attracted my attention. I'm fully grown now, but I still jump from subject to subject. It's my way of learning more about different topics.

Did I ever read the Bible when I was young? Yes, I did. In my early teens, I would walk to the local Victory Monument on a high bluff overlooking the river I considered mine. There was a huge pine tree on the bluff's edge, and I felt that was mine too. I would take out the little white Bible I was given when I was baptized and read the psalms or stories from the gospels. I honestly felt like God was sitting there with me, and although I could not hear a voice, it felt like we were having conversations. I do not remember any of them in particular now. Still, I felt good when I left the pine tree to go back home and do my homework – and possibly get some more reading done simply for pleasure.

The time came when I read more books on spirituality, biblical interpretation, and theology. Some of those books radically changed my view of scripture and religion in general, while others just confused me more than I had been. One spark of clarification was learning that I could not read the Bible as a literal account of everything that could be assumed to be just like life now. I had to learn about the geography, history, and cultural anthropology of life at that time and how similar things were happening in the surrounding areas. It was utterly fascinating and informative as well.

I learned that Bible Study was not simply about making verses in one part of the Bible point to other verses elsewhere, often in another testament. Granted, it does happen, especially words from the prophets applying to the coming Messiah. The ancient prophecies were often about events and behaviors much closer in time. Often they were about how the people's behaviors of that time would affect the future, like the exiles in Babylon and Assyria.

I am still reading and learning, and I do not think I will ever stop unless my eyes fail or my brain no longer functions as I need it to. Meanwhile, I can pass on things I have learned through reading (and writing) to another generation. Hopefully, they will learn to read the Bible in a way that brings the past to life and illuminates the stories in a way that shows what their life was like and how modern readers can find parallels in modern times.

Now, after I have read my lesson for today, do I want to read a DCI Gamache mystery or reread a book I read decades ago about building a cathedral?