Audio Bibles

I want to commend audio bibles to you.

We live in a time of podcasts and audiobooks.

Why not also listen to the Bible?

We have always been first aural. We learn language through hearing, not reading.

Indeed, the ability to listen is nearly universal. And listening overcomes illiteracy, low literacy, and dyslexia.

For centuries, the public, audible reading of scripture would have been the only way you ingested scripture.

Consider Ezra reading aloud the Law all morning in the public square (Nehemiah 8:3).

Or consider Paul’s command to Timothy to devote himself to the public reading of scripture (1 Timothy 4:13).

I say all of this because I still hear people apologize for audiobooks as if that is not real reading, as if only reading the graphical symbols on paper counts for anything.

But the Bible commends learning, not silent reading.

So, yes, read a paper Bible, linger long over its words, and marvel at and give thanks for its accessibility and your ability to read. But also give yourself (and others) permission to listen to the Bible. You may be surprised at what you discover.

You may find yourself ingesting more scripture. You may find the creases of your day more infiltrated by scripture. You may find new elements stand out to you.

May God bless your hearing of His word.

Amen.