June 26, 2007

That's Entertainment

When I read a book for entertainment, I read it only once. Actually I don’t understand people who read their favorite authors and stories over and over again. Reading for information is another matter and I often revisit the same text many times. In our adult Sunday school class last week a woman told us of a conversation she’d had with one of her friends in the mid-west. The friend received a telephone call from her pastor and in the course of the conversation she revealed she’d been reading her Bible when he called. The pastor asked, “Haven’t you already read that once?” This came from an older gentleman, who was quite serious. The woman was dumbfounded. Who knows, maybe he reads his Bible just for entertainment.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Gail;
-----I confess, I read Little Big Man twice. I even hated to read at the time. Not long after, I read the Bible from front to back…once. Gads, there was so much repetition! Not just in repeating the same stories, but in repeating themes through different stories. Several years passed before it really settled in that the repetition of theme was a reflection of the overall theme of the Bible. I have come to more than just appreciate how the Bible interacts with the growing insights and perceptions in our lives. The one always sheds new light and perspective on the other. If I felt that I did not need to read my Bible again because I read it once through in High School, then either my life would be pitifully stagnant, or I would have glorious total recall. Oh, for the latter!