For years I've enjoyed refreshing my memory by reviewing Daniel Pennac's Readers' Bill of Rights. (I'll be sure to include those below). Others may have taken up this idea--to put the Bible reading spin on it--but I haven't personally read any. (You may want to craft your own list.)
1. The right to read ANY time of day (or night).
2. The right to read at your own pace.
3. The right to follow a plan OR not follow a plan.
4. The right to choose ANY translation.
5. The right to choose ANY format--digital, print, audio.
6. The right to STOP reading any translation that isn't a good match.
7. The right to skip a day.
8. The right to have preferences.
9. The right to own many OR few.
10. The right to skim.
A brief explanation for my ten.
- I wrote the first 'right' to counteract the notion that if you don't wake up at 3AM to spend three hours in the Word, then you're not a "good" Christian. I do not subscribe to the notion that you have to read the Bible early, early, early in the morning OR before breakfast (the notion to feeding one's soul before one's body. Again, ANY time of day (or night) can be the right time to read.
- I wrote the second 'right' because again there's this notion that if you read fast or quickly or at a normal reading pace, then you are reading Scripture wrong. I hate the notion that you can read "too slow" or "too fast." ANY pace can be right.
- I wrote the third 'right' because there isn't one right plan for everyone. For some trying to follow a reading plan is like trying to force a square peg into a circle hole. Much frustration and unnecessary frustration at that. Some people thrive on the structure of a plan. Others do not.
- I wrote the fourth right because there isn't one right translation for everyone. Everyone is entitled to have a favorite translation--or two, or three, or four. But I don't think you should shame others or judge others for their translation choices.
- I wrote the fifth right because again there is judgment going on. Print, digital, audio--one isn't necessarily "better" than the other. You can definitely have preferences, likes, and dislikes. But don't shame others for preferring to spend time in the Word in a different format.
- I wrote the sixth right because I struggle in this area. I start a project--a translation--and I feel locked into that commitment. I might struggle, get frustrated and irritated, but I push through because I feel the need to finish what I started. But I shouldn't feel this pressure and neither should you.
- I wrote the seventh right because legalism (for some, for many) can be a daily struggle. I can be a taskmaster, my own worse enemy. Obviously, I want to read every day. But that isn't always possible...and that's okay.
- I wrote the eighth right vague--perhaps a little too vague. EVERY reader has preferences. Red letter or black letter; single column or double column; hardcover or leather; verse by verse or paragraph. Or preferences between translations. Or perhaps preferences on time of day. It is okay to have personal preferences.
- I wrote the ninth right because again there are people who want to shame you for owning "too many." I don't know that it goes the other way. But some people do LOVE to have one and only one Bible. Like the idea of owning more than one Bible is a foreign concept to some Christians. Like why do you need more than one?
- I wrote the tenth right feeling conflicted. I do skim genealogies most of the time--some of the time. I don't know that it's "right" to encourage a lot of skimming. But I think everyone skims sometimes.
Readers' Bill of Rights (Daniel Pennac)
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