Instead of interviewing a guest, TBM host Dru Johnson and editor Celina Durgin discussed an article they co-wrote for Christianity Today: "Is It Time to Quit 'Quiet Time'?"
Many people read their Bibles on their own, and some do so daily. When combined with communal study, some form of this practice is important for anyone wanting to become fluent in Scripture. However, private Bible-reading can go wrong. It can be fragmented, individualistic, uninformed, and essentially passive. It can be impotent or even deleterious for readers whose misunderstandings go uncorrected and who don't apply true biblical principles to life.
At its most distinctive, the "quiet time" ritual of private prayer, listening, and devotional Bible-reading is an artifact of Western culture from the last 150 years. Dru and Celina explored the history of this practice in an article in Christianity Today, published online and slated to appear in the April print edition.
They concluded that the form quiet time often takes is not conducive to Bible literacy and can actually compound misunderstanding over time. It can even be an empty ritual that Christians perform to feel pious while failing to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God.
If you're a regular listener, you can probably guess that Dru and Celina favor community-based solutions to this problem.
Dru hosts The Biblical Mind podcast, directs the Center for Hebraic Thought, and is an Associate Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at The King’s College in New York City.
Celina is the Editor of The Biblical Mind magazine and podcast. She was previously an editorial fellow at a political magazine in New York, and then, after graduate school, worked in the editorial department of a marketing company in downtown Boston. Some of her written work can be found in Christianity Today.
Show notes by Celina Durgin
Is God Perfect? Does That Matter? [Revisited] (Peter Leithart)
Lament, Moral Injury, and the Dark Parts of Scripture (Dr. Jill Firth)
Until All the Psalms Are Sung Again (Poor Bishop Hooper)
Listen to an Article: Recovering the Political Teachings of the Hebrew Bible
If Christians Read Scripture Like Jews Do (Ari Lamm)
The Church's Alarming Neglect of the Old Testament (Brent Strawn)
On Whether There Is Sacred Music (Delvyn Case)
How to Enjoy Reading the Bible (Matthew Mullins)
Behind the Scenes: CHT Staff Tells All! (Dru, Amy, Celina)
The Biblical Authors vs. Greek Philosophy (Joseph Dodson)
Understanding Slavery in the Old Testament—and Today (Myrto Theocharous)
You Mean Jesus Isn't Literally a Vine? (Beth Stovell)
American Christians' Peculiar View of Inerrancy—and Other Oddities (Mike Bird)
Listen to an Article: Neither Work nor Leisure Provides 'Our Daily Bread'
Ancient Israelite Government in Modern Republics (Kyle Swan)
Don't Drop the Body of Christ (Janelle Peters)
Why We Should Still Keep the Sabbath (Mark Scarlata)
Reading Exodus: When Does a Multitude Become a People? (Leon Kass)
Listen to This before Writing That Book (Michael Thomson)
But Really, What's Up with Abraham Almost Sacrificing Isaac? (Aaron Koller)
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