Christians as Book-Focused (quote by Alan Jacobs)

Redeemedreader.com has an interesting interview with Alan Jacobs who teaches at Wheaton.  His book The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction has been reviewed by several of my favorite bloggers.  This question intrigued me:

Christians are known as “people of the book.”  Do you see a great obligation for Christians to be close readers, as opposed to unbelievers?

His response:  I don’t think of it in terms of “obligation” but rather as a natural consequence of being Book-focused.  If you take all American colleges and universities, about 3% of students major in English.  Here at Wheaton College it’s closer to 10%, and that’s in part because my students come from Bible-centered families who give their children the message that what they read, and how they read it, can be vitally important for their lives.  This makes them inclined to be receptive to words on the page… It’s just natural that people who revere Scripture would be more attentive to the written word than most other folks.

Not all non-believers are oblivious to the power of words, nor do all Christians revere and study the Bible, but I do like the idea that when we are "Book-focused," it makes us receptive to words in other contexts.