What if we viewed reading as not just a personal hobby or a personal indulgence but as a spiritual practice that deepens our faith?

 

Jessica Hooten Wilson, award-winning author and professor, makes the case that this is exactly what reading should be.

 

Listen in as we discuss all things readings – both Scripture and beyond.

 

Here’s some highlights from our conversation:

• Why reading more than Scripture helps us understand God and Scripture better.
• How Jessica used to sneak out as a little girl to teach the Bible. Yes, really.
• Did you know there is a Christian way of reading? Jessica explains this.
• Why it’s important to really attend to what Scripture is saying instead of assuming we know what it says – or preemptively interpreting God’s word.
• We talk about Matthew 13 – and why Jesus tells parables or, as the Message says, stories.
• We discuss how our reading has been formed by our 20th-century values of individualism – and yet reading used to be, and should be, a fully embodied experience. We do this by reading aloud, seeing words on the page, and hearing the words read to us. All of these interactions help us enter the text in a more embodied way.
• Why remembering was a moral responsibility for the Jewish people and why it’s necessary for us too.
• Jessica shares how Mary exemplified the importance of remembering. When she was faced with something new and unthinkable (being the mother of Jesus), her memory of the Word poured out of her. Her remembrance of God and His truth ministered to her and comforted her.
• Jessica put together an amazing resource of all the books she thinks we should read. We talk about how she chose the list and why it matters. And we talk about how to start reading these works, especially if we are a little intimidated by them.

 

You can connect with Jessica at: https://jessicahootenwilson.com/

On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JessicaHootenWilson

On Twitter: https://twitter.com/HootenWilson

Subscribe to her thoughtful newsletter on Substack: https://jessicahootenwilson.substack.com/

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