Leland Ryken Quotes

Powerful Leland Ryken for Daily Growth

About Leland Ryken

Leland Ryken (born March 13, 1938) is an American evangelical Christian literary critic, professor, and author who has significantly contributed to the field of biblical exegesis and Christian literature analysis. Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Ryken grew up in a family with strong roots in the Presbyterian Church. He attended Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, where he earned his BA in English. After serving in the U.S. Navy, he pursued his Master's and Doctorate degrees from Wheaton College in Illinois, both in Literature. Ryken began his academic career at Wheaton College as an assistant professor of English in 1967. He moved to Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 1980, where he served as a professor and eventually the chairman of the English Department until his retirement in 2005. Throughout his career, Ryken has written extensively on literature, biblical exegesis, and literary criticism from a Christian perspective. His major works include "The Word of God in Living Words: A Guide to Reading and Understanding the Bible as Literature" (1980), "How to Read Novels Like a Professor" (2004), and "Worldly Saints: The Pursuit of Morality in an Age of Permissiveness" (1978). His most notable contribution to biblical studies is probably the multi-volume "Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible." Ryken's work combines a deep understanding of literature with a commitment to the Christian faith, providing readers and scholars alike with insights into the intersection between the two realms. His influence extends beyond academia, making his works accessible to a broad audience interested in exploring literature from a biblical perspective.

Interpretations of Popular Quotes

"Language is a tool for discovering truth and expressing beauty."

This quote by Leland Ryken suggests that language, as a tool, serves two primary purposes: revelation and expression. Firstly, language helps us to uncover truth – knowledge about the world and ourselves. Secondly, it allows us to share our discoveries, thoughts, feelings, and insights in a way that is aesthetically pleasing or beautiful, thereby enriching our collective understanding and experience. In essence, language facilitates both the pursuit of wisdom and the expression of artistic creativity.


"A good book tells us the truth about ourselves."

This quote suggests that a good book has the power to reflect our human experiences, emotions, and beliefs, thereby revealing truths about our nature, motivations, and even flaws that we may not always recognize within ourselves. Reading such books can serve as mirrors of self-awareness and understanding, fostering personal growth and emotional intelligence.


"The best way to enjoy a good book is to read it again."

Leland Ryken's quote emphasizes the value of revisiting a great book. Reading a book once offers an initial understanding, but re-reading enables deeper appreciation, as readers can recognize nuances, themes, and character developments they might have missed upon first reading. It allows for a more intimate engagement with the text, fostering a richer, more rewarding experience, similar to how repeated listening to a favorite piece of music or revisiting a cherished place enhances one's connection to it.


"Reading is a means of learning how to see."

Leland Ryken's quote suggests that reading serves as a tool for enhancing perception, encouraging us to view the world with a more discerning eye. By immersing ourselves in literature, we cultivate the ability to appreciate nuances, understand complexities, and recognize patterns that may not be immediately apparent in our daily lives. This heightened sensitivity to detail helps us see beyond surface-level appearances, fostering empathy, imagination, and a deeper connection with others and the world around us.


"Poetry is not merely an ornament for literature, but a necessary and vital part of it."

Leland Ryken's quote emphasizes that poetry is not just a decorative element in literature but an essential and integral component. He suggests that the function of poetry transcends aesthetics and contributes significantly to the core essence of literature as a whole. In other words, poetry offers profound depth and meaning, making it indispensable for understanding and appreciating literature in its entirety.


When you think about Puritanism, you must begin by getting rid of the slang term 'Puritanism' as applied to Victorian religious hypocrisy. This does not apply to seventeenth-century Puritanism.

- Leland Ryken

Think, Religious, Applied, Slang

The oldest theory of art belongs to the Greeks, who regarded art as an imitation (mimesis) of reality. The strength of that theory is that it explains the way in which art takes its materials from real life.

- Leland Ryken

Strength, Art, Which, Materials

Since God is the one who calls people to their work, the worker becomes a steward who serves God.

- Leland Ryken

Work, Calls, Worker, Steward

In Puritan thinking, the Christian life was a heroic venture, requiring a full quota of energy.

- Leland Ryken

Christian, Requiring, Quota, Christian Life

Stressing the God-centered life can lead to an otherworldly withdrawal from everyday earthly life.

- Leland Ryken

Life, Withdrawal, Stressing, Earthly

The goal of Bible translation is be transparent to the original text - to see as clearly as possible what the biblical authors actually wrote.

- Leland Ryken

Bible, Goal, Original, Translation

It is true that the Puritans banned all recreation on Sundays and all games of chance, gambling, bear baiting, horse racing, and bowling in or around taverns at all times. They did so, not because they were opposed to fun, but because they judged these activities to be inherently harmful or immoral.

- Leland Ryken

Racing, Gambling, Inherently, Harmful

Puritanism was a youthful, vigorous movement.

- Leland Ryken

Youthful, Puritanism, Vigorous

My claim is simply that the literary approach is one necessary way to read and interpret the Bible, an approach that has been unjustifiably neglected. Despite that neglect, the literary approach builds at every turn on what biblical scholars have done to recover the original, intended meaning of the biblical text.

- Leland Ryken

Turn, Been, Literary, Claim

Literature incarnates its meanings as concretely as possible. The knowledge that literature gives of a subject is the kind of knowledge that is obtained by (vicariously) living through an experience.

- Leland Ryken

Living, Through, Subject, Vicariously

The Puritans' sense of priorities in life was one of their greatest strengths. Putting God first and valuing everything else in relation to God was a recurrent Puritan theme.

- Leland Ryken

Sense, Valuing, Putting, Everything Else

Readers should aspire to what is excellent. They should refuse to read a substitute Bible. They should want a Bible that calls them to their higher selves - or to something higher than their current level of attainment.

- Leland Ryken

Bible, Excellent, Read, Attainment

No group of people has been more unjustly maligned in the twentieth century than the Puritans. As a result, we approach the Puritans with an enormous baggage of culturally ingrained prejudice.

- Leland Ryken

More, Been, Baggage, Twentieth

A Christian philosophy of literature begins with the same agenda of issues that any philosophy of literature addresses. Its distinctive feature is that it relates these issues to the Christian faith.

- Leland Ryken

Faith, Philosophy, Relates, Distinctive

For the Puritans, the God-centered life meant making the quest for spiritual and moral holiness the great business of life.

- Leland Ryken

Business, Making, Meant, Puritans

The Puritans were obsessed with the dangers of wealth.

- Leland Ryken

Wealth, Obsessed, Dangers, Puritans

The Puritans removed organs and paintings from churches, but bought them for private use in their homes.

- Leland Ryken

Private, Organs, Paintings, Puritans

There is a quiet revolution going on in the study of the Bible. At its center is a growing awareness that the Bible is a work of literature and that the methods of literary scholarship are a necessary part of any complete study of the Bible.

- Leland Ryken

Bible, Study, Necessary, Scholarship

With so many contradictory renditions of the biblical text, the public has lost confidence that we can actually know what the Bible says. It is an easy step from this skepticism to an indifference about what the Bible says.

- Leland Ryken

Bible, Indifference, About, Skepticism

Writers themselves benefit from all helpful information about their task and methods. Readers, in turn, can have both their understanding and appreciation of literature enhanced by information about the writer's work.

- Leland Ryken

Work, Methods, About, Helpful

The Bible is obviously a mixed book. Literary and nonliterary (expository, explanatory) writing exist side by side within the covers of this unique book.

- Leland Ryken

Bible, Within, Side, Covers

If you're searching for quotes on a different topic, feel free to browse our Topics page or explore a diverse collection of quotes from various Authors to find inspiration.