Dyslexia warps reality: the consequences of which can be catastrophic. It is something that causes great hardship to multitudes in our day. People with normal or even above normal intelligence suffer from dyslexia as the brain oftentimes reverses numbers, letters or words. It is a huge learning handicap and in severe cases can greatly limit education and employment opportunities.

For those unfamiliar with the problem, imagine having the word “GOD” written clearly in front of you and yet your brain interprets the information as “DOG,” as the first and last letters of the word are transposed. I am sure you will agree that there is a vast chasm of difference inherent in this misinterpretation. My heart truly goes out to those who have to go through life having to combat dyslexia.

Moving from the physical to the spiritual realm, I believe multitudes of Christians suffer from what I would call “spiritual dyslexia.” Theologians don’t use that term of course. They would be much more comfortable with a phrase such as “the noetic effects of sin,” which is the simple recognition that since the Fall of Adam, all of mankind’s faculties have been negatively affected, including his mind. In simple terms, we just don’t think now as clearly and precisely as we would have done if there had been no Fall.

Theologically, we all have our blind-spots. According to 1 Corinthians 13, this side of glory, we only see through a glass darkly. One day, we will all comprehend things exactly (as much as finite minds can grasp the infinite). Yet right now, we all have our traditions and blind-spots. As my friend Dr. James White says so often, “everyone has traditions and those most blinded by them are those who do not believe they have any.” If we knew exactly where we were wrong, we would change our viewpoint immediately. But the point is that we do not see these things until God the Holy Spirit enlightens us and overcomes the effects of our depravity.

Someone suffering with spiritual dyslexia then reads certain Bible verses and though the words are clear, the traditions of men jumble up the words or miss out key words entirely in a sentence, or just do not grasp the meaning at all. I speak here from my own experience as I can honestly say that I had read certain verses a certain way (giving them what I believed to be a true interpretation) for many years until suddenly, God the Holy Spirit allowed me to overcome my deeply ingrained spiritual dyslexia to see what the Scripture actually said. This is especially true as I took the theological journey from Arminianism to Reformed theology. I say this (hopefully) not out of spiritual pride, but simply out of sincere grateful thanks to God for opening up my understanding to the true nature of God’s grace. Please allow me to cite just a few examples of what I am referring to, with a few quotes from the Gospel of John. Continue reading →