A Christian scripture found in the King James Version of the Holy Bible in John chapter 21 verse 25 reads: “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.”
O f course Jesus is our perfect example, but there are many other great people who have lived and left a record of their learning in books. It is my argument that we can learn so much about religion through the general, non-religious books from people who have lived and learned before us.
In 1450 when Gutenberg made his first printing press, the world was forever changed. It was one of the most important inventions in the history of the world. Education and literacy boomed and with that, religion boomed as well, specifically Christianity. Our world today exists based on the knowledge we have from the written word. Without the order and education that writing and mass printing brings, our world would be much less religious and much more chaotic.
I think it is a good idea for people to educate themselves, and strengthen their own convictions by learning about opposing views, commentaries, biographies etc. through books. These things are not necessarily religious in nature but I think that they can teach us a lot about ourselves and
our own beliefs.
Even for us non-readers out there, we all have been affected by books, weather they were read to us at bedtime before we could even talk or whether they were forced through our ears in 3rd grade reading time. Every book teaches something, and I argue that because books are the primary source of discovered knowledge, we can learn so many things about religion even through secular books that teach us about peoples’ lives, stories based on true events, and even made up stories. The more we educate ourselves with books, the more we can learn about our own beliefs. Even a Physics text book or a horror story like Silence of the Lambs can teach you a thing or two about religion. You can learn lessons, morals, ways of life, things to do, things not to do and so on.
The great thing ab
out books opposed to all other media is that they are not limited to 2 hours on a screen. The depth and learning of a book goes as deep as a reader’s imagination and the time spent learning through a book can take as long as a lifetime.
So as dorky as it may sound, in our world where so much time is spent in front of a talking box, individuals can do nothing better to learn more about their own beliefs than to explore more truth from the books of this world.
QUESTION:
Do you agree that since even the world itself can not contain the books that should be written about all the doings of Jesus, that we should take advantage of the books that we DO have to further our knowledge of truth? Or in other words, can we further our own knowledge of religion through other non-religious books?
I think your argument is dead on. We can enhance our understanding of our own religion through secular books, regardless of whether they are critical of religion. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein instantly came to my mind because as a little girl I learned a good moral about the ultimate sacrifice for love. This tree gave up everything, including it's trunk to make a boy happy. Eventually, the boy learned that it wasn't material possessions that he got out of the tree that made him happy, but it was the friendship of the tree that caused him true happiness. The tree reminds me of Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for each of us. Jesus, just as the tree, gave up everything so that we might find happiness. Just as the boy needed the tree, we all need Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteCan we find truth other than the books containing the works and words of Jesus? Absolutely! All things testify of Christ. It is one of my favorite hobbies to search for truth in the most obscure areas. Our missionary reference manual "Preach My Gospel" acknowledges that the light of Christ has enlightened many of the great thinkers, Christian and non-Christian alike to help bring other men to the truth. To this extent, the words of the Qu'ran, the Talmud, the Harvard Business Review, the New York Times, and Oh The Places You'll Go all may re-teach us eternal truths that have already been spoken by prophets and Christ.
ReplyDeleteP.S. This last post was written by J. Guest
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree, that we can learn of religion through non-religious books, just because it gives the reader a broad understanding of what is out there, and not just a one direct form of learning. I think we can better understand religion when we have a vast knowlege to intake all kinds of forms of readings and religions. When I tend to read other forms of books, I can always relate religion in the book that I am reading, or I can disagree with the material through my standards taught from The Book of Mormon. Books are blessings from God, given to us to learn and to reason with one another, which is another reason why our Prophet's encourage us to become educated, to gain as much education as possible during this life. We are to never stop learning and I would say that would include never stop reading.
ReplyDeleteMy answer is yes! While we won't be learning any new doctrine through secular books, they still present us with an opportunity to glean knowledge and insights into doctrine we know. We can use the knoldege and esperiences of others to enhance and expand what we've learned from the scriptures and modern day prophets. I've read many inspirational books, especially biographies of particularly successful people or people who've overcome hard trials, that strengthen my testimony of the Gospel. As long as we use secular books as supplements to our knowlege of sound Gospel principles, I think there is much to be learned from people both in and outside of our faith.
ReplyDeleteI particularly enjoy books from Christian authors, because I love how simple their testimony of the Savior, including his power to atone for our sins, is and I feel my testimony strengthened through their great faith.
I think this question is answered by modern day prophets who choose to quote authors such as C.S. Lewis and others in General Conference. Secular books that emphasize Gospel principles are of value because they help us understand our beliefs better and they help us understand that Gospel principles are eternal and far-reaching and that they touch many people's lives.
I think that non-religious literature certainly helps us in learning more about religion in a lot of ways. The main one I came up with relates to doctrinal belief, of our LDS faith, about us being children of a Heavenly Father and having a Savior in Jesus Christ.
ReplyDeleteWhen we are exposed to different information/ideas outside of a religious context, I feel that we are all empowered with a certain level of discernment. I also think that everyone is able to distinguish truth and error based on their own experience and context combined with another more instinctual influence. Within the teachings of the LDS faith we refer to this as the light of Christ.
Through this process I believe that all people on the earth are able to feel enriched or enlightened by non-religious literature. I also think that this process helps us make connections to truth and to our religious understanding (whether LDS or not), and in-turn, reinforces our beliefs and strengthens our general knowledge of religion.
Just like we can have spiritual experiences outside of church and church related settings we can learn about God and religion from books and readings that aren't produced by the religion you subscribe to.
ReplyDeleteWhen we look at the way other people view God and religion we can affirm our beliefs or take a step back and reavaluate what and why we believe, causing us to make new decisions on what we believe now.
I'm certain that there are inspired authors and other works that are done from various religions. We can all learn from these books and see gospel principles and doctrines in different forms.
This is a great discussion post because I think many of my spiritual growth experiences happen outside of sacred settings, or without sacred text.
ReplyDeleteFocusing in on literature, there are many books that have actually strengthened my testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, even though they make no explicit mention of it.
I believe this is through allegories authors either intentionally, or unintentionally, make in their books. In looking to Harry Potter #7, I doubt JK Rowling wanted to encourage Christian beliefs and doctrine. Despite this, it helped strengthen my own beliefs because I saw numerous allegories which helped me understand Gospel principles better. This has been the case with many different books I have read.