Achieving Authenticity: Dyslexic theology in response to festive Bible reading challenges

I’m doom scrolling on social media when I find myself stopping to read this post:

Maybe it’s time to start A New Christmas Tradition. Beginning December 1^st, read one chapter of the book of Luke in the Bible each evening. There are 24 chapters. On Christmas Eve you will have read an entire account of Jesus’ life and wake up Christmas morning knowing WHO and WHY we celebrate!

At first, I’m mildly amused. The comments are filled with people saying, “I’ll be doing this,” and that it’s “not difficult to achieve.” As a researcher looking at dyslexia and reading the Bible, this is gold. But as a dyslexic Christian who struggles with reading the Bible, I feel inadequate. I know it’s unlikely that I would get beyond day 5, and most definitely not make it to 24. Even listening to the Bible doesn’t make it easier for me. I like to think that I’m secure enough in myself and in my own relationship with God to know this does not make me a ‘bad’ Christian, but a part of me still worries that I’m making excuses.

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During the festive period, challenges and goals based on reading the Bible are regularly encouraged by churches (particularly, but not exclusively, evangelical churches) and by Christians on social media. During December, the “Luke in 24 days” challenge mentioned above is a common one, and coming into the New Year, plans such as “Bible in a Year” and the “30 Day Shred” become the focus. The intention behind these ideas is to encourage people in their faith, to use the festive period for reflection on what God has done, and to look forward to growing closer to God in the New Year. However, these plans for reading the Bible are often presented and perceived as goals to achieve or tasks to complete, leaving those who do not complete (or even start) them with a sense that they have failed.  This risks discouraging people, especially those who struggle to read, or who engage with texts differently to others.

Dyslexic people often struggle to engage with the Bible, and while there are ‘dyslexia-friendly’ or audio versions available, the difficulty remains for many people. This is because dyslexia entails more than just struggling to read, it also impacts the way a person understands a word and interprets the meaning.[1] Reading as a dyslexic person often involves taking time to process the words, and this can be frustrating. It can be especially frustrating when it comes to engaging with the Bible, as the purpose of reading is generally not only to decode the meaning, but also to apply the words personally and to engage with God in some way.

Dyslexic people are more likely than others to experience anxiety and low self-esteem, often related to struggling to ‘keep up’ with tasks that others find more straightforward.[2] This can lead to problems such as social embarrassment and exclusion.[3] Drawing this together, dyslexic people can often struggle within Christian communities where reading the Bible is considered to be a vital spiritual practice.[4]

With so much focus on engaging with the Bible during the festive period, it is important to consider those who will be discouraged rather than encouraged. The intention of this article is not to criticise those who commit to regular Bible reading, but to challenge how Bible reading goals are presented.

Christmas as a Time of Reflection

I do resonate with this desire for reflection at Christmas time. It’s a time where I find myself reflecting more on the love and goodness of God. I value finding ways of engaging with God, whether it’s listening to and singing Christmas hymns and worship music while I bake, or attending Christmas events and services at church.

I look at people in church or on social media who commit to daily Bible reading over this period, and I wonder if I’m just not putting enough effort into my relationship with God. But most of the time the Bible is no more than words, and 30 seconds later I’ve forgotten what I’ve read.

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The rationale behind Bible reading challenges, such as reading Luke in 24 days, is to ground Christmas celebrations in the birth of Jesus Christ, which is a pivotal event in the Christian story of God and God’s people. As a Christian, I resonate with this desire for reflection at Christmas time. However, I wonder if such prescriptive Bible reading risks overshadowing organic spirituality and relationship. Theology and spiritual reflection are embedded in practices which create meaning and connectedness with God.[5] Spiritual practice is inclusive of all actions which embody meaning, and all practice is grounded in personal context.[6] The way in which spiritual reflection manifests in each person’s life, therefore, is variable and personal.

When we have such a focus on individual Bible reading at Christmas, there is a risk that people will feel they are not prioritising the religious meaning behind Christmas. My co-host on the Autism and Theology Podcast, Rev. Ian Lasch, commented on this, saying that we are often trying to add more into our lives around Christmas, when maybe we should be slowing down to give more space for reflection amidst the business. For dyslexic people, who generally take longer and use more energy to do seemingly simple tasks, it is likely to be helpful to place less emphasis on doing more. In taking time to slow down, and to do the things that we enjoy, we can create space for authentic reflection, and for engagement with God.

New Year as a Time for New Beginnings

There have been many years where my ‘New Year’s Resolutions’ have involved reading the Bible more. A few years ago, I had set myself the goal of reading the Bible in a Year. I was managing quite well and had read the Bible most days for a couple of months. I wouldn’t take in or remember much of what I had read, but I told myself it was important to get into the habit, and even if I couldn’t remember much, I was doing the right thing.

I was managing until my supervisor asked, “do you feel guilty if you don’t read the Bible?” I began to realise the pressure I had been putting on myself. I had spent so much of my life making goals for reading the Bible and then feeling like a failure when I couldn’t keep it up. The guilt of feeling like I should be doing better made me believe that I wasn’t as faithful as other Christians. I realised that by basing my faith on achieving goals, I was damaging my relationship with God.

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Around New Year, Bible reading plans or challenges abound. These include goals such as “Bible in a Year” and the more ambiguous “30 Day Shred” – where the whole Bible is read in a month. While these plans are encouraged throughout the year, there is a significant push to do them in January when many people are making New Year’s resolutions and thinking of habits that they plan to adopt. While these plans vary in intensity, the general idea is to get an overview of the entire Bible and to develop a daily habit of Bible reading.

Conversations in blogs and communities often present reading the entire Bible in a relatively short space of time as a benchmark for faith. The completion of these plans is not expected to be easy. They involve reading large sections of scripture at a rapid pace. This is particularly true for the “30 Day Shred.” One blog post about this plan says that the “point isn’t to take your time and meditate on the word” but to get an overview of the Bible. Furthermore, they acknowledge that it is a difficult and “uncomfortable exercise.”[7] This plan may be beneficial to some people, and I do not disagree that sometimes it is good to be uncomfortable, but I also think that widely encouraging people to read the Bible intensely can be problematic.  

For example, the small amount of research that has been done strongly suggests that dyslexic people are already struggling under the pressure to read the Bible. Whilst engaging with the Bible, however that may look for an individual, is an important aspect of faith, turning it into a goal to achieve sets a standard, creating a situation where people can come to feel like they have failed.[8] For dyslexic people there is risk that so much pressure will have a negative impact on mental health and social engagement within communities.[9]

Furthermore, there seems to be a lack of consideration for people who are physically impacted by reading. A common trend in discussions about these plans and challenges is that a person just needs to persevere and once they get into the habit of daily Bible reading, it will be much easier and have a positive impact their faith. In a podcast by John Piper, he answers a question about how to read the Bible as a Christian with a learning disability. The listener describes their difficulty with reading due to struggles with concentration and headaches. Piper gives various suggestions, but interestingly does not address the fact that the listener is experiencing headaches from reading.[10] While this is not directly about “Bible in a Year” or the “30 Day Shred,” it demonstrates a wider attitude of suffering and struggling in order to maintain a relationship with God.

Regular and individual Bible reading as a staple in a Christian’s life is a relatively recent phenomenon. Historically, Bible reading generally involved community and oral readings and meditations. I would argue that, instead of encouraging people in setting challenges to put themselves under strain, churches and Christian communities should encourage people to find ways of engaging with the Bible that work for them. This should not be framed as a goal to achieve as the New Year begins, but as an organic part of an authentic relationship with God and the Bible.

Achieving Authenticity

Christmas and New Year provide opportunities to reflect on the love and goodness of God and to anticipate what God will do in the coming year. The festive period is being used by many as a time to develop habits, or set challenges, including those based around Bible reading plans. However, this pressure to read the Bible is a source of exclusion for those who struggle to read, such as dyslexic people. While some may benefit from these challenges to read the Bible, there should be more awareness of the potential risks, such as feelings of failure, and physical strains, with both contributing to mental health difficulties.

Instead of suggesting that people over commit, there is a need to encourage organic and authentic ways of engaging with God. This may look like encouraging people to find space amidst the overwhelming business to engage with God and God’s Word in a way that does not add stress and pressure.

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References

[1] Julian G. Elliott and Elena L. Grigorenko, The Dyslexia Debate (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2014); Frank R. Vellutino et al., ‘Specific Reading Disability (Dyslexia): What Have We Learned in the Past Four Decades?’, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 45, no. 1 (2004): 2–40, https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0021-9630.2003.00305.x.

[2] Michael A. McNulty, ‘Dyslexia and the Life Course’, Journal of Learning Disabilities 36, no. 4 (1 July 2003): 363–81, https://doi.org/10.1177/00222194030360040701; Stephanie L. Haft, Chelsea A. Myers, and Fumiko Hoeft, ‘Socio-Emotional and Cognitive Resilience in Children with Reading Disabilities’, Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences 10 (August 2016): 133–41, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cobeha.2016.06.005; Bushra Hossain, Stephen Bent, and Robert Hendren, ‘The Association between Anxiety and Academic Performance in Children with Reading Disorder: A Longitudinal Cohort Study’, Dyslexia 27, no. 3 (2021): 342–54, https://doi.org/10.1002/dys.1680.

[3] Julia M. Carroll and Jane E. Iles, ‘An Assessment of Anxiety Levels in Dyslexic Students in Higher Education’, British Journal of Educational Psychology 76, no. 3 (2006): 651–62, https://doi.org/10.1348/000709905X66233.

[4] Zoe Strong and Armand Léon van Ommen, ‘Dyslexia and Reading the Bible’, Journal of Disability & Religion 27, no. 2 (3 April 2023): 284–306, https://doi.org/10.1080/23312521.2022.2041531.

[5] Helen Cameron et al., Talking about God in Practice: Theological Action Research and Practical Theology (London: SCM Press, 2010); Zoe Bennett, Invitation to Research in Practical Theology (London: Routledge, 2018).

[6] Bennett, Invitation to Research in Practical Theology.

[7] ‘Reading the Whole Bible In 1 Month?’, Bible Roadmaps, accessed 1 December 2023, https://www.bibleroadmaps.com/blog/reading-whole-bible-in-1-month.

[8] Strong and van Ommen, ‘Dyslexia and Reading the Bible’.

[9] Carroll and Iles, ‘An Assessment of Anxiety Levels’.

[10] John Piper, ‘Reading Is Agonizing for Me — How Can I Study the Bible in Small Bits?’, Desiring God, Ask Pastor John, accessed 18 November 2022, https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/reading-is-agonizing-for-me-how-can-i-study-the-bible-in-small-bits.

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© Zoe Strong, 2023.

This work is licensed under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0).

Cover Image: By the author.