Luke 4:16 “Jesus, the word of God, left nothing in writing, though he could read and write.”
Letters to Romans 10:17 “Faith comes through hearing.”
Corinthians 3:6 “the letter kills, the spirit gives life.”
The ideas of faith coming through hearing and writing killing the spirit are very interesting taken by themselves. The statements promote an extremely oral culture. I believe there is some truth in the claim that faith comes through hearing. A student can gain knowledge and wisdom through reading. However, to reach a level of faith in something requiring faith a person must be able to gauge inflection so that they can feel the compassion of the words. This is very hard to convey through writing.
I can also see how writing can kill the spirit in the same sense. Writing has a lack of passion that can only be conveyed through a voice. This passion is necessary for a spirit to live and thrive. If there is a loss of spirit, humans may still live, yet the world becomes and empty place.
Most ironic, I found, was the context in which these excerpts were found. The claims are found in the New Testament, a holy scripture to the Christian religion. I find these statements, in a way, contradictory to the Christian faith. Christians revere their sacred texts, for a period in history, more than the preachers reading of them. The Christian faith has had many schisms over the meaning of the written words of the Bible. In this sense these claims seem ambiguous with even the creation of the Bible, much less the amount of emphasis placed upon it. Its also interesting to note that, in converting tribal peoples, early Christians saw them as primitive because they were illiterate; even though they were closer to following the above quoted biblical passages.
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Yes, historical emphasis has been placed on hearing God's Word, see the story of Moses, reading the Word aloud to all the children of Israel. See also the story of Josiah, or learn about Jesus' preaching in the streets of Jerusalem and answering questions. Biblically, there is a definite emphasis on hearing God's Word. Only since Westerners became literate has the focus shifted to reading. The truth is that 2/3rds of world's population is from oral cultures. They prefer to learn orally and reading is work. Some ministries specialize in presenting the Bible in an oral and communal fashion, the setting they prefer. And God is changing their lives, setting them free of darkness, addictions, giving them hope and a future.
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