Is It Time to Quit ’Quiet Time’? Discussing Our View (Dru Johnson & Celina Durgin)

The Biblical Mind

Instead of interviewing a guest, TBM host Dru Johnson and editor Celina Durgin discussed an article they co-wrote for Christianity Today: "Is It Time to Quit 'Quiet Time'?"

Many people read their Bibles on their own, and some do so daily. When combined with communal study, some form of this practice is important for anyone wanting to become fluent in Scripture. However, private Bible-reading can go wrong. It can be fragmented, individualistic, uninformed, and essentially passive. It can be impotent or even deleterious for readers whose misunderstandings go uncorrected and who don't apply true biblical principles to life.

At its most distinctive, the "quiet time" ritual of private prayer, listening, and devotional Bible-reading is an artifact of Western culture from the last 150 years. Dru and Celina explored the history of this practice in an article in Christianity Today, published online and slated to appear in the April print edition.

They concluded that the form quiet time often takes is not conducive to Bible literacy and can actually compound misunderstanding over time. It can even be an empty ritual that Christians perform to feel pious while failing to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with their God.

If you're a regular listener, you can probably guess that Dru and Celina favor community-based solutions to this problem.

Dru hosts The Biblical Mind podcast, directs the Center for Hebraic Thought, and is an Associate Professor of Biblical and Theological Studies at The King’s College in New York City.

Celina is the Editor of The Biblical Mind magazine and podcast. She was previously an editorial fellow at a political magazine in New York, and then, after graduate school, worked in the editorial department of a marketing company in downtown Boston. Some of her written work can be found in Christianity Today.

Show notes by Celina Durgin