-In some circles a lost art, this - "the reading". Paul told the young pastor Timothy to be sure to be paying attention to the public reading of the Word of God (1Timothy 4.13), which was a customary part of Jewish worship (cf Luke 4.16; Acts 13.15). Granted, for most this would have been their only access to the Scriptures since most homes would not have had even one copy in them (much less virtually unlimited access via some futuristic global network of computers). Additionally in those days the default medium for conveying God’s Word to people was most definitely oral (cf Matthew 13.20-23; Luke 8.21, 11.28; John 5.24, 8.43, 8.47; Acts 4.4, 13.44; Romans 10.14, 10.17; Galatians 3.2; 1Thessalonians 2.13; 2Timothy 4.17; Hebrews 2.1; James 1.22-25 - hence they were called oracles, Hebrews 5.11-12). Still today, many of the worlds peoples are oral cultures, transmitting news and truth and tradition via word of mouth.
In the west, the advent of the printing press and public education have done much to erode our dependency on oral forms of communication. We are both literate and "literated", literally inundated with literature, including what we now casually call the Bible - copies can be found in practically every home and hotel (in the US at least). And because of this, God’s people today are no longer entirely dependent on strictly oral intake of that which is our spiritual milk and bread and meat (assuming we depend on any intake whatsoever). Sadly, this is not entirely a good thing. Paul knew the benefits of actually hearing God's Word - as a regular part of our corporate gatherings, "the reading" affirms Scripture for what it truly is (cf 2Timothy 3.16-17) - and since his letters not only conveyed the truths of God but were also the inspired Word of God (this one was at least - the letter to the church of the Laodiceans never made it into the canon and was lost), Paul insisted that these assemblies read both letters he had sent with Tychicus and Onesimus.
In the west, the advent of the printing press and public education have done much to erode our dependency on oral forms of communication. We are both literate and "literated", literally inundated with literature, including what we now casually call the Bible - copies can be found in practically every home and hotel (in the US at least). And because of this, God’s people today are no longer entirely dependent on strictly oral intake of that which is our spiritual milk and bread and meat (assuming we depend on any intake whatsoever). Sadly, this is not entirely a good thing. Paul knew the benefits of actually hearing God's Word - as a regular part of our corporate gatherings, "the reading" affirms Scripture for what it truly is (cf 2Timothy 3.16-17) - and since his letters not only conveyed the truths of God but were also the inspired Word of God (this one was at least - the letter to the church of the Laodiceans never made it into the canon and was lost), Paul insisted that these assemblies read both letters he had sent with Tychicus and Onesimus.
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