My Definition of Strong Reading
Strong Reading is when a reader devotes a
large amount of attention and time to a text, interpreting it with their
personal ideas and experiences while also being considerate to different
perspectives.
Reading With and Against the Grain
One book that I read against the grain was a biography of JFK. Even though I read this book in middle school and don't remember many specific details I mention it to people often. The reason I mention it is because I can't recall ever fighting with a book the way I fought with this biography. Every sentence seemed biased and skewed. The biography even managed to ignore JFK's use of painkillers and stimulants during his presidency. Anything that could possibly raise a doubt to JFK's character was conveniently left out. Throughout the entire book I was frustrated and found myself fighting the author's viewpoints and reasoning.
One book that I have read with the grain is the Bible. I was raised in a Christian household and count myself as a Christian today. When you have been raised to believe something your entire life the last thing you do as a child is question it. Instead we try to have faith, love as Jesus loves, and look for examples in our lives where we can help others and share this love. To question it seemed wrong. I never did ask questions until one day when I was talking with a fellow Christian, a bible study instructor, and he told me that I should ask questions. He said that by asking questions and finding answers through every day life and prayer our faith grows stronger. So I'm not condemning reading the Bible with the grain, I still often do. I just discovered that reading with and against the grain both have their benefits and that I shouldn't be afraid to practice both with everything I read.
You point out a couple key things.
ReplyDelete1.) Reading against the grain may involve you putting your own knowledge of a person or situation up against the text you are currently reading, so that you start to make comparisons.
2.) Good readers do both--read with and against the grain--at the same time. The best biblical scholars/philosophers are the ones who take into account the history of interpretation of the bible as they interpret, mentioning the strengths of other scholars, critiquing what they think is misguided or unsupported, and then offering their own interpretations.