Things that have gone out of fashion in the Evangelical world (part 1) - Memorizing Scripture

Now this series of posts could come to sound like and old-man rant. It probably will and it probably is, however, I hope these post will also prompt us to think of what we may have lost. 

In Argentina, there are "days" for almost everything and everyone. There is, like in most places, Father's Day and Mother's Day but there is also Children's day, friend's day and Grandma and Grandpa's days. One very important day in Argentina is Teacher's Day (11/9 commemorating the death of the great Argentine educator Domingo Faustino Sarmiento).

One year on this day (which fell upon a Sunday), during the church service, we shared together what we had appreciated about our Sunday School teachers. I remember Rene Padilla (a well-known theologian) shared that he had appreciated the way in which his Sunday School teacher had taught him to memorize Bible verses. 

So this is my first "things that have gone out of fashion": Scripture memorization. The question is though, why do it? We can look up a verse on our iPhones in seconds: why commit the Bible to memory? Einstein actually said that he didn't remember anything he could write down. So, why use up valuable disk space in our brains on something you can look up?

I think my answer would be that word for word memory is probably not as important as knowing that certain scriptural truths are there and where to find them. Jesus clearly had memorized Scripture; demonstrated by his ability to quote it at the Devil in the temptations (Matthew 4:1-11, Mark 1:9-20 and Luke 4:1-13) and to the traders in the Temple (Matthew 21:13-17, Mark 11:15-19, Luke 19:45-48 and John 2:12-25). That Jesus did it should be some encouragement.

I think the most important thing that Scripture memorization does though is to change our way of thinking. Memorizing Scripture is a stage in the process of helping the believer see the world through God's eyes. Famously, C. S. Lewis said "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else." This is also true of the Bible, I believe it no only because I see it but rather that I see everything else by it. This surely aids our discipleship.