Christians really emphasize reading the Bible, but Christians still need to think about the situations and conflicts they confront in real life. So they have the desire for cognition in different fields such as history, economy, humanism, charity, etc., which can be satisfied by extensive reading.
A few days ago, Christian Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, communicated with Brother R regarding the concept of reading.
R holds that Christians should not read the Bible only, their concept of reading needs to be updated, and their scope of reading needs to be extended. He suggested that besides the Bible, Christians need to read other high-quality books, especially liberal study books, which can help us to understand the world and communicate with it better.
"Christians should change their concept of reading and do not read books related to Christianity only. Most of the Christians I know think that they should ‘read the Bible only’ and other books have no value—a very biased view,” he said. "In fact, Christians need to read a lot of books, especially liberal studies books, so that when many new things and trends appear, we can be enough prepared to deal with them. "
"Actually, the purpose of reading is to change one's mind. If a person’s mind is changed, everything else will change accordingly. Books of liberal studies are good to read, for example, to know the conflict between Russia and Ukraine better, you need to read related books. It’s the same for epidemic prevention. If we don’t read good books, we are prone to extreme and one-sided ideas and remarks.”
He mentioned that he had met some unbelievers who knew the British missionary Samuel Pollard better than the pastors and believers. Many good testimonies of missionaries are known by the public through the work of cultural scholars, which really embarrasses people within the church.
He mentioned that in recent years, many good books on the history and culture of the Middle Ages, Byzantium, and major Christian countries have been published in society, which has aroused the interest of many non-believers and has positive effect on the public to know the history and culture of the church. By reading these books, Christians can also have an extended understating of the church’s history and contribution.
Brother R analyzed that the phenomenon of many churches currently emphasizing"read the Bible only" is related to anti-intellectualism in Chinese churches which is the result of false teachings like dualism of good and evil. All of them need to be updated.
"Anti-intellectualism eventually lead Christians to start rejecting all books and knowledge outside the church. It’s better to have an open mind," he concluded.
- Translated by Katherine Guo
基督徒群体看重对《圣经》的阅读，但人生仍有现实的处境、冲突以及思考它们的需要，因此人对历史、经济、人道、慈善等不同领域的认知渴求，是需要通过更广泛的阅读带来拓展的。
日前，在与R弟兄交流的过程中，他谈到他的一个看见。他认为，基督徒不能只是唯读圣经，阅读观念需要更新，阅读的范围需要更为广泛。他建议，我们需要多多阅读除《圣经》以外的其他的优质书籍，尤其是通识的书，这样可以帮助我们更好地理解世界、也可以更好地和世界对话和交流。
“基督徒阅读的观念要变，不能只是看教内的书。在我认识的很多基督徒里面，大多数基督徒认为‘唯读圣经’，其他的书没有价值的——这样的想法是过于偏激的。”
R弟兄说：“其实我们要博览群书 ，基督徒更需要多读通识方面的书籍，这样当很多新鲜事物和潮流出现的时候，我们可以有足够的胸怀和智慧去应对。”
“其实我们阅读的目的是为了一个人的观念能够转变。观念转变了一切都好说。通识类的书多读一点比较好，比如俄乌战争的问题需要多读一些这方面的书。在防疫方面，传染病和疫苗的例子，基督徒也都需要了解一下。如果不多读好的书籍，我们容易出现极端和片面的想法和言论。”
他谈到自己遇到过有些非信徒比教会的牧者和信徒还了解传教士柏格理，不少传教士的好见证反而是社会上的文化学者挖掘出来的。这样的现象就让我们教内人士很难为情。”
他举出，这几年社会上出版了不少中世纪、 拜占庭以及主要基督教国家的历史文化的好书，引起了不少非信徒的兴趣，这对于了解教会历史文化有着积极意义，而基督徒阅读这些书对于了解教会历史和贡献也是有很好的拓展意义。
R弟兄分析说，我们当下不少教会里比较强调“唯读圣经”的现象是和华人教会存在的反智主义的典型现象有关，而之所以有反智主义的出现，也是和华人教会比较强调善恶二元论等错误的教义有关，这些都需要更新。“反智主义，最终导致了基督徒开始排斥教外所有的书籍和知识，需要在这个方面带着一种开放的心态会比较好。”
对话｜基督徒不能只是“唯读圣经” 阅读观念需更新
Christians really emphasize reading the Bible, but Christians still need to think about the situations and conflicts they confront in real life. So they have the desire for cognition in different fields such as history, economy, humanism, charity, etc., which can be satisfied by extensive reading.
A few days ago, Christian Times, an online Chinese Christian newspaper, communicated with Brother R regarding the concept of reading.
R holds that Christians should not read the Bible only, their concept of reading needs to be updated, and their scope of reading needs to be extended. He suggested that besides the Bible, Christians need to read other high-quality books, especially liberal study books, which can help us to understand the world and communicate with it better.
"Christians should change their concept of reading and do not read books related to Christianity only. Most of the Christians I know think that they should ‘read the Bible only’ and other books have no value—a very biased view,” he said. "In fact, Christians need to read a lot of books, especially liberal studies books, so that when many new things and trends appear, we can be enough prepared to deal with them. "
"Actually, the purpose of reading is to change one's mind. If a person’s mind is changed, everything else will change accordingly. Books of liberal studies are good to read, for example, to know the conflict between Russia and Ukraine better, you need to read related books. It’s the same for epidemic prevention. If we don’t read good books, we are prone to extreme and one-sided ideas and remarks.”
He mentioned that he had met some unbelievers who knew the British missionary Samuel Pollard better than the pastors and believers. Many good testimonies of missionaries are known by the public through the work of cultural scholars, which really embarrasses people within the church.
He mentioned that in recent years, many good books on the history and culture of the Middle Ages, Byzantium, and major Christian countries have been published in society, which has aroused the interest of many non-believers and has positive effect on the public to know the history and culture of the church. By reading these books, Christians can also have an extended understating of the church’s history and contribution.
Brother R analyzed that the phenomenon of many churches currently emphasizing"read the Bible only" is related to anti-intellectualism in Chinese churches which is the result of false teachings like dualism of good and evil. All of them need to be updated.
"Anti-intellectualism eventually lead Christians to start rejecting all books and knowledge outside the church. It’s better to have an open mind," he concluded.
- Translated by Katherine Guo
Dialogue: Christians Shouldn't 'Read the Bible Only'
