Monday, November 11, 2024

*** This is a rough transcript of today’s show ***

It is the 11th of November 2024. Welcome to the Christian History Almanac, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org; I’m Dan van Voorhis.

It was a very happy Monday. Neither the Trojans nor the Rams played, and so neither lost; it’s a good week so far.

We’ve got a question that has come in from Roy in Lewisville, Texas. Lewisville is north of Dallas (is it considered part of the greater Dallas Fort Worth area? That’s a weird designation)- Lewisville is the “Urban Bass Fishing Capital of Texas.” I wish I understood fishing because people who are into it seem to really like it. I support my local economy and its fishermen for my fish.

Roy wrote a few questions about the history of the Bible- we’ve been getting some questions on this as we have done our first two “History of the Bible” weekend editions- we are up through the Middle Ages and will get into the Reformation and the Bible in an upcoming episode.

Roy wondered how “different our practices of reading scripture and understanding it are from the Christians who lived before the Bible became as common as it is now.

Roy, I wonder about this a lot- even in my lifetime, it has become so incredibly easy to look things up at the tip of my fingers- this hasn’t made me a smarter or better Christian, so what is the relationship between our practice of scripture reading and our grasp of theology and the faith.

There is a “paradox of availability” with Scripture in that it seems the more available it has become, the less seriously we study it. Consider the Christian of the first centuries carefully memorizing, telling, and retelling the stories of Jesus. The reverence for Scripture in the church throughout history (bowing in its presence, even kissing the book) might seem strange to us today, but there was an appreciation for the text we don’t have today. 

We can’t underestimate the impact of the public reading of Scripture- it was the PRIMARY way people heard Scripture- I’m willing to bet this is likely not the case for you today. Personal reading is elevated, as is personal interpretation, and all of this is not necessarily bad- the Reformation used personal devotion as a corrective to the abuses in parts of the church.

But in the same way that ONLY public reading can lead to abuses, so too can ONLY private readings. Part of the remarkable story about how the Bible got down to us and how, despite some diversity, the message came down to us without alterations. This happened in large part because the scriptures being continually read, memorized, and retold protected them from being changed.

I’m reminded of a friend of mine who is a numismatist- he studies old coins and verifies the legitimate ones- he says you learn to spot the fakes by being so familiar with the real ones it becomes obvious when something is out of place. The “Lectio Continua” was the practice for reading “continually” through Scripture- there were no chapters and verses until the 1200s, and so you would read until you came to an appropriate spot and then pick up the next day.

I have also wondered what our chapters and verses have done in our brains when it comes to “proof texts” or “cherry-picked” verses to answer tough questions rather than the broad council of all the Scriptures together.

The sense I get from reading about the early church and the Scriptures is that they wanted this story to be forever in the front of their minds. They knew Scripture like I know the lineup for the 2002 Angels or some people know Bass fishing or.. um, Robin Hood (I’m not trying to shame hobbies; we can all delight in delightful things)- the idea being that the early church- with less access to Scripture than we have- seemed to have taken the text so seriously we are the beneficiaries today. So- be encouraged, and if you are so led, be inspired to know the text as they did (and we have resources at 1517.org!)

You can send me your questions at Danv@1517.org.

 

The last word for today is from the daily lectionary, and one way that Scripture, especially the Psalms, were memorized was by making them into rhyming verses- this is from one of the great Hallelujah Psalms- from 113:

Praise God: ye servants of the Lord,
O praise, the Lord’s name praise.


Yea, blessed be the name of God

from this time forth always.

 From rising sun to where it sets,

God’s name is to be praised.


Above all nations God is high,

‘bove heav’ns his glory raised.

Unto the Lord our God that dwells

on high, who can compare?


Himself that humbleth things to see

in heav’n and earth that are. 

 

This has been the Christian History Almanac for the 11th of November 2024, brought to you by 1517 at 1517.org.

The show is produced by a man whose Purdue Boilermakers college football team reminds me that it could be worse… he is  Christopher Gillespie.

The show is written and read by a man who misheard, but still wants to thank the people today who take care of our pets- I’m Dan van Voorhis.

You can catch us here every day- and remember that the rumors of grace, forgiveness, and the redemption of all things are true…. Everything is going to be ok.