The various literary genres found in Hebrew and Christian Scriptures suggest that God's written word was intended to be presented aloud. Each genre has its own dramatic quality. Poetry, parables, oratory, epistles, and even narrative have rhythmic, intonational, and affective qualities that set them in dramatic categories. Using the Bible exclusively as a reference book and forgetting that it is also a literature book has deprived many worshipers of the experience of hearing Scripture...
The reading of Scripture has been a significant part of both Jewish and Christian worship, an appropriate liturgical priority for a religion that is based on God's revelation. This article traces the history of the reading of Scripture in worship throughout the history of the church.
Reading Scripture effectively can bring the text to life. This article argues that the best way to do that is through a typical conversational tone of voice. Scripture readers are encouraged to carefully study and rehearse each passage they are to read.
The public reading of Scripture is a skill that can be developed with experience and practice. Becoming sensitive to the nature of the scriptural text and the way in which listeners hear public reading is also an important aspect of this skill development. This chapter prescribes a series of helpful approaches to Scripture reading and gives several examples for how a given passage may be brought to life through public reading.
Here are some helpful guidelines to enliven Scripture readings and thus communicate the Word of God more clearly. Six ways of rendering Scripture dramatically are presented, along with a variety of practical suggestions for preparing dramatic readings for use in worship services.
This article calls for vibrant congregational responsive reading that can be achieved through congregational rehearsal and creative adaptation of biblical text. Several examples of the authors' work appear in the next chapter of this volume.