Introduction

I take as an axiom, “Great people read, and great people read a lot.”  My purpose, then, is extending this principle to, “Christians should read, and Christians should read a lot.”  Surely we are obligated to steward the intellects God gave us.  We can do this by reading.  Reading combats laziness, reading informs our worldview, reading gives us a knowledge of the devil’s devices, reading enables us to understand and love others.  Most importantly, reading makes first dates less awkward—it gives us things to talk about.  Reading is a good thing, but it is something many people foolishly neglect, much to their own detriment.  By reading I mean primarily books, not newspapers, magazines, comics, or trashy websites. To quote Charles Spurgeon:

Give yourself unto reading. The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own. You need to read.

Of course, How to Read a Book exists, and I have shamelessly plagiarized its title.  But this is not a post about how to read a book, it’s a post about how to read books.  I shall explore how a Christian should approach the necessary discipline of reading extra-Biblical books.  And I have three words to describe how you should approach reading:  broadly, copiously, and deeply. Continue reading “How to Read Books” →