It's been years since I have seen a blank page with intent to write about something that has not been assigned to me by a teacher. It reminds me of the ocean; expansive, a threateningly beautiful, without a guide to navigate. However when one sets sail, the path becomes clear based on the efforts and abilities of it’s pilot. The real question is, why do I sail tonight? Because I am bored? Because i’m feeling rebellious and wanting to challenge cultural assumptions? To validate my own thoughts and feelings on the internet, looking for approval from others? Perhaps all three mixed together like whirlpool.
Before I go too deep into it, I need to clarify some things. These are my personal thoughts and ideas, that I have no intent on pushing on anyone. You may very strongly disagree with them, and that is ok. I know my heart and mind belong to Jesus, and that is all I need. If Jesus wills it, my mind may even change on the subject matter. My only wish is for my thoughts to give you pause in your routine, to contemplate your method of studying the Bible, not to condemn them. Please do continue to study the bible in your own awesome way, comparing and contrasting to my own. I bet you’re curious now.. So here goes!
Knee jerk alert: I don't want to or need to memorize Scripture. I have a few reasons for this, so let me dive right in. What I mean by this is I do not want to memorize what book, what chapter, what verse has this bible story or this quote from God/Jesus. Do not confuse this with knowing God’s word in your heart. I know most of the parables, I know Christ died for me, and I can recall what God says about topics that might come up in some conversations.
Let me first explain why I avoid this. The first reason is from our current culture. Tell me, how many phone numbers in your phone can you recite from memory with the correct contact? Chances are not very many except for important contacts. I feel the same way about the Bible. There’s an app for That! I can search it on my mobile device using keywords, or use a search engine like Google to search for “bible verses on this controversial topic.” Why would I bother remembering all those numbers if I can just search for it like a contact on my phone? This is summed up in this quote from the Scientific American: “The Internet changes everything...With nearly ubiquitous online access, many people may first perform a smartphone search rather than calling a friend.” For me, looking up a bible verse would be akin to any other curiosity search.
The second reason is memorizing itself. How do you memorize something? Chances are you would use some kind of rote technique. I remember in my Personal Spiritual Formation class we had to memorize verses for a test. I listened to the monotone voice over and repeated the words over and over with my lips. To this day I still can't remember what the verse was. Not only that, but if I told you rote memorization is bad for you?! Ever say a word so many times it stops making sense? Try saying “Apple Pie” 30 times in a row and see for yourself. Feel that? That sensation is called Semantic Sensation. For a more sciency explanation google it, but for the sake of this blog post I will use this wonderful explanation from Reddit user Madmaxjr:
So now for the ELI5(explain like i’m 5) part: no one knows the cause for sure, but experiments show that it's basically your brain making a pathway and using it too much. The pathway gets beaten down and all the lovely cobblestones begin to erode. Your brain goes, "Well, I should stop using this path so much." So it does, and it forgets how to get to the place the pathway went without using it.
Did you catch that? It hurts your brain to repeat things over and over again. No wonder i had headaches in that class! Is it a huge deal? No. But as I will get to a bit later, there is a better way to remember God’s word.
The final reason is a bit more personal. Well, maybe actually more impersonal. You see, for me, although the Bible is the living breathing word of God, memorizing it over and over again makes it lose its luster. It's like having a juicy steak for every meal. Sure it's tasty now, but it will get old and tasteless over time. I don't want to get bored of scripture, and memorizing it word for word and where it's located is a surefire way for me to view it as drab.
Before I segue into my alternative for studying the bible, let me offer this. I saw a billboard once that said God wants spiritual fruits, not religious nuts. Over the past year, especially starting work for the Salvation Army, I have learned that effective evangelism requires care first. No-one wants to hear the word of God over a growling stomach. The youth leader I assist put it this way: “They wont care what you have to say unless you show that you care.” So where am I going here? For me, a religious nut is someone who will quote scripture word for word in response to a serious question or concern. Pretend for a moment you were seeking wisdom from a believer (if you were not one). If someone spat out a verse reference word for word, I bet your impression of them would be less than savory. I also bet you would think twice before asking another question, in fear of the machine spewing out more references. Someone who bears spiritual fruits instead will study and internalize scripture, and learn how to speak truth from it in a meaningful and loving/listening way; and then back it up with reference if necessary.
To show how I study the bible, let me share a recent lesson I learned, as if I am sharing it with a close friend. I was reading a devotional the other day that talked about Peter denying Jesus 3 times. The devotional went on to say that after Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus asked Peter “Do you love me” 3 times. This shows no matter how far you may feel from Christ, He loves you no matter what! Even if you deny you ever knew him.
Now even though I did not reference a lick of scripture, I can pull up my bible app and show you the devotional as well as the scriptures it references. All this within a minute. And in order to recite this, I did not need even look at the app. Why? Because reading the bible with a modern day and personalized devotional elicits an emotional response. According to Wikipedia: “Numerous studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than neutral events.”
So for me, instead of forcing myself to read through the entire bible or memorize scripture word for word, I let God lead me to a powerful and emotional evolution that still points to scripture. It could be a song, it could be a devotional, it could be your favorite view. As I'm writing this I am listening to a song called “Oxygen” by thousand Foot Krutch (Link Below). I highly recommend you listen to it to see what I mean, but the gist of it is that God is our oxygen, giving us breath and life. The song is so calming and contemplative for me that it will paint a picture of God better than even a scripture verse might. After all, even the Psalms were based on songs too!
As a final thought, be open to the idea of this type of bible study for yourself or young people. Lets face it, most of us today can't stand to be quiet or devoted to a task for longer than 15 minutes before pulling out a smartphone. I highly suggest the bible app (youversion), it has a full bible that you can download onto the device, as well as tons of relevant studies for numerous topics. (link below)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3OZGiTGehY (Thousand Foot Krutch: Oxygen)
https://www.bible.com/app (The bible App)
https://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/3611hh/eli5_why_is_it_when_i_say_a_word_over_and_over_it/cr9ri77 (Reddit Comment)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/11/technology-changes-memory_n_4414778.html (How technology is warping our mind)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotion_and_memory (Memory and Emotion)
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