Flex the brain

FEATURE: Reading books the right way will keep a mind in shape the way exercising keeps a body in shape | Gene Edward Veith

Christianity depends on reading. Therefore, Christians have to read.

These are overstatements—obviously, many illiterate persons over the centuries have had faith—but they emphasize that God has chosen to communicate Himself to us by handing us a Book. Christian spirituality is grounded not in having visions, not in hearing voices inside our heads, not in cultivating mystical experiences, but in receiving the Word of God. That is, by reading.

What we know of God—and of ourselves and where we stand before God—we learn by what He tells us about Himself, and He reveals Himself to us most clearly by means of human language that has been written down. This Word can then be studied, contemplated, and applied, and when the Word is preached and proclaimed, the Holy Spirit is powerfully at work, creating repentance and faith in Christ.