Be Countercultural

Ray Bradbury’s science fiction thriller Fahrenheit 451 shows the author’s concern about education and an apathetic reading public. In one place Bradbury writes,

“School is shortened, discipline relaxed, philosophies, histories, languages dropped, English ignored. No wonder books stopped selling.”

To avoid Bradbury’s concern, do something countercultural. Let me suggest some steps.

#1. Hit the “do not disturb” button on your phone.

#2 Set your phone out of sight.

#3 Choose a book to read: fiction, poetry, history, biography, it doesn’t matter.

#4 Find a quiet place, out of earshot of surrounding noise, apart from outside distractions.

#5. Sit in a comfortable chair with good lighting.

#6. Now, read. Read for fifteen minutes, then an hour, then lose yourself in what you’re reading for hours on end.

#7. Find joy in this one, countercultural act: reading.

Thanks for spending this minute with me, Dr. Mark Eckel.

AFTERWORD [From 26 May 2020, “Within,” Reading changes students from the inside, out]

I taught a course on Gothic Horror Literature to high school seniors for many years. We would study books like Dracula, Frankenstein, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. These stories we read and discussed are morality plays. Human nature is nowhere better understood than when we consider why Dr. Moreau thought he could remake animals in his image. We understand our true nature when we identify with the decaying portrait of Dorian Gray. And we begin to realize the tension between our dignity and depravity when reading about Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

So high school seniors had to address the question, “How did reading this literature affect my person, my understanding about myself?” One semester stands out in my mind. Professors wait for these moments, moments which define when true learning has occurred. Each young person began to explain what they had learned. To a person, each high school senior said the same thing. “After reading Gothic horror, I came to realize that the real horror is inside me.”

Think about those responses for just a moment. Imagine if every young person in this culture were so moved by literature. Imagine that students would come to the place early in their lives – uncompelled by their instructor – that they first bore responsibility for evil in themselves. Imagine how our world would change?! Self-restraint would replace state regulation. Internal compulsion would eliminate external controls. Or said simply, if you control yourself, no one else will have to.

Whenever I talk about Gothic Horror Literature, I tell that story. All the students in one class came to the same conclusion at the same time. They realized the truth of Jesus’ statement in Mark 7, that sin is within. Literature has the power to show us our nature: from the inside, out.

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, President of the Comenius Institute, personally seeking Truth wherever it’s found.

Mark Eckel (MA English, ThM Old Testament, PhD Social Science Research) is Executive Director of the Center for Biblical Integration, Liberty University.

“Give Me a Minute” is an ongoing effort to simply, clearly, and quickly explain aspects of true Truth.

Gratitude, as always, to my longtime friend, videographer, and tech guru Josh for his continued service.