Literacy

[ThisIDidNotDo]

Hello good Christians!

I was wondering if any of you had any bible quotes about literacy (the ability to read). Googling for "bible literacy" isn't much help. Is there anything in scripture about being able to read?

 

[drich0150]

Being able to read and write was a right reserved for the priest and scribes of the day and to the social elite. That skill was not for everyone.

 

[ThisIDidNotDo]

That's interesting, thanks for your reply. Can you support that view with scripture? Do you think this is the position the majority of Christians would agree on?

 

[drich0150]

Can you support that view with scripture?

How do you mean? This was a social norm not a command. Kinda like specific recipes of wine and bread. we know the people of the first century ate wine and bread, but the bible doesn't contain a specific wine or bread recipe even though unleavened Bread and wine are the center pieces of one of our most holy rituals.

The best any of us can do is look to secular historians, and see what they say. (About bread/wine or even the literacy rate.)

What are your thoughts on 1st century literacy?

Do you think this is the position the majority of Christians would agree on?

This again was not a christian command, it was simply how life was lived, even the language they spoke (Aramaic) was not even a sanction language. it was a slang or a combination of a few different dialects that died out with in a few hundred years. If anyone (christian or otherwise) disagrees then they are more than welcome to state their claim, because this is a matter of History, and not one specific to Christianity/Judaism.

 

[ThisIDidNotDo]

OK, thanks. I've got no criticism of your historical opinion, it seems like a reasonable position. What I was really looking for was a bible reference, but I guess there probably isn't one. Thank you for taking the time to reply to my query.

 

[drich0150]

May I ask what difference it makes?

 

[ThisIDidNotDo]

I'm more interested in ancient literature than the practice of Christianity.