Why I Read the Bible to My Children

I read a chapter out of the Bible to my family every night after we eat dinner.  I prefer to read from the Old Testament.  I prefer to read more obscure texts.  I always try to make sure that we complete an entire book before moving on to the next one.  I make a point to not expound or explain during these occasions.  That is not to say that we never discuss or that I avoid answering my children’s questions; that kind of interaction is reserved for different times.  

The reason I do what I do can be summed up with one word: familiarity.  I believe that the Bible is the most reliable description of God we have.  I want my kids to be familiar with that description.  I want them to hear the words for themselves without the encumbrance of speculating medieval philosophers who were influenced by the thinking of the Dark Ages.  I want them to hear the words untethered from the boxes that theologians have forced them into for too many years.  I want them to hear the words in the context in which they are presented; not in the reformulations made to support arguments that kowtow to the psuedo-intellectuals of eras past, or for that matter, present.  I want them to understand the New Testament in light of the Old Testament.  I want them to understand what Paul is saying because it sounds familiar from the reading several nights past; I want them to hear how Paul repurposes words that are ensconced in the history/text from where he came.  I want them to hear the many cultures, time periods, writing styles, literary mechanisms and personalities that all sing in concert; individual voices that can each stand on their own but which are each offerings lent to the great continuity that is the voice of God.  I want them to hear God.  I want my children to hear others speak erroneously about God and think to themselves: “That doesn’t sound like the God to whom I’ve been introduced.”

I read so that my children take seriously what is so important to me.  I read unencumbered because I want them to fall in love with what I love without me having to try to sell them on it.  I read without the marks of insecurity that come with too many explanations, too many excuses, too many suspicious sounding helping words.  I read to them without the stammering voices of people who forced the text into their small worlds and didn’t let it breathe.  I read the words as they are so that my children can hear the words speak for themselves.  I read so they can know God and not just know someone else’s description of Him.