Hearing vs. Reading

             

                  I feel like referring to scripture as just writing or “sacred or religious writings or books” don’t capture the true feel and essence of the scripture. I know that the word scripture comes from the Latin word scriptum, which comes from the verb “scribo” “to write” but I feel the speaking of it holds more weight and importance than the reading. In “Beyond the Written Word” Graham speaks about how in some religious the writing is secondary to the actual speaking and hearing of the text. When the reading says the other religions outside of Christianity, Judaism, and Muslims don’t have scripture I don’t agree. They do have scriptures, they just aren’t written.  When I think of “scripture” I don’t necessarily think of the literal written words in the bible, Tanakh, and Qur’an, I think of a verse that holds importance to me. I don’t think, “I need to turn to page so an so and read lines…” I just say a verse I’ve heard that I remember that is appropriate for my situation at the time. (I don’t know if this is making sense). I personally feel that writing a scripture down and translating it takes away from the true form and meaning. Like not hearing it in the true form doesn’t capture the whole feeling of what was said, and the whole experience isn’t felt. The story of the old man reading to the kids even though he didn’t understand what he was reading was interesting to me. When he replied “the children learn them by heart,” I didn’t interpret that as them knowing the verse forward and backward; I took it as they knew the meaning deep in their heart even though they didn’t know or understand the exact words being used. I think hearing the words to a bible verse, a qur’anic recitation, or a Vedic sutra, rests in the heart heavier than reading them.