Is Bible Journaling Really a Sin?

Who knew Bible Journaling was so controversial?!

I was going through Pinterest the other night and I came across a few pins that looked like this (this is literally a screen shot of my Pinterest “For You” tab):

I liked how colorful everything was and the typography of certain Scriptures in the margins of the pages. I thought it was beautifully done, creative, and artistic. I color code some Scriptures in my Bible to help myself find things easier, but my Bible looks more like a textbook than anything pin-worthy!

I was inspired by the pins, so I started pinning some like the ones above in a “Bible Journaling” board. That’s when I started to see more pins that looked like this (again, this is a screen shot of my Pinterest):

I thought these pins were artistic and beautifully done, and I was pretty impressed by the creativity and artwork. But then I started to notice that some of the Bible verses were not visible because they had been painted or drawn over, and I wasn’t quite sure how I felt about that…

So I clicked on one of the pins to look at it in more detail, and that’s when I saw just how controversial Bible Journaling actually is:

“This is beautiful!”

“This would be better done on a notepad instead of in the Bible…”

“Some people have two Bibles—one for reading and another for artwork.”

“You shouldn’t be coloring on the Word of God like that.”

“Bible journaling helps me get closer to God and helps me focus.”

“Coloring or drawing on the Bible is like putting graffiti on a temple.”

Yikes!

Everyone had valid points, whether they were advocates of Bible journaling or persecutors. I didn’t realize that the topic of Bible journaling was as controversial as it was until I started digging even deeper into it and realized that everyone has their own strong, convictions about.

One of the biggest questions at the center of the Bible journaling debate is whether Bible journaling is sin or not—that is, whether it’s disrespectful to God or not. But what’s even more surprising is that no one has actually answered this question without a biased opinion and without digging deep into the Scriptures.

So whether you’re an advocate for Bible journaling or a persecutor, this post is not meant to convince you of either position.

Instead, this post is meant to look objectively, using the Scriptures, at whether something like Bible Journaling, in and of itself, is sin.

So grab your Bible and a cup of tea, and let’s jump into the Scriptures to see whether Bible Journaling is a sin.

What is Bible Journaling?

There’s a number of definitions for Bible Journaling depending on whose blog you read…

For the most part, Bible Journaling is described as a way for you to engage with the Word of God. Now, whether that “engagement” is through highlighting Scriptures that stand out to you, or creating works of art in relation to the Scriptures, it’s really up to you…

Studying out the Word of God and taking notes to deepen your understanding of the Scriptures is not sin. In fact, you should be studying out the Word of God, instead of reading it passively. It reminds me of the Bereans in Acts 17, who eagerly examined the Scriptures every day:

The Scripture doesn’t explicitly say that the Bereans highlighted and took notes in their Bible—probably because there wasn’t a canonized Bible at that time. All they had was the Old Testament scrolls, which were costly and probably within a particular location that they had to travel to.

But what I appreciate about this example is that it shows us that our Bible studies should be about digging deep into the Scriptures. We should eagerly examine them daily and apply them to our lives.

If you check out our Beginner’s Guide on How to Read and Study the Bible, you’ll see a section in there where we talk about how you have to become an active reader if you want to really start applying the Bible to your life. Becoming an active reader means you may have to highlight, underline, circle, or take notes in your Bible to better understand it.

But is it wrong to highlight, underline, or write notes in your Bible? I don’t think so. In fact, I haven’t really heard anyone complain about that “type” of Bible Journaling.

Where the “controversy” comes in is when people draw, color, paint, and do other creative types of artwork within their Bibles. Is that sin?

What Exactly is Sin…?

Before we even figure out if Bible Journaling is considered a sin, we have to actually know what sin is. I think a lot of us “know” what sin is, but few of us have actually dug deep into the Scriptures to see how sin is defined. We have an idea of what sin could be, based off what we may have learned from our parents, church, or even society. But how does the Bible define sin?

Defining sin would be an entire Bible study on its own, so I won’t go too deep into that here, but there are a few Scriptures that stand out in terms of what sin is. Here are a few:

This list of sins in Galatians 5:19-21 are the more obvious sins (hence why the Bible says “The acts of the flesh are obvious”). For instance, it’s pretty obvious when someone is drunk or debaucherous (i.e. they do things in excess, like playing 15 hours of video games a day, binge watching television, etc.).

There’s another list of sins which may not be as “obvious” as the sins listed in Galatians 5: 19-21, but they’re just as bad… I personally call these “heart-related” sins.

These two Scriptures are in no way the only times the Bible talks about sin. There are definitely other Scriptures. But I think these two Scriptures lay a great foundation for what sin is and we can use these lists to determine whether Bible Journaling is in fact a sin.

Does Bible Journaling Fall Into One of These Lists of Sins?

This would probably be the million dollar question, and it’s actually a great one.

Well, we know that there are certain sins that Bible Journaling just simply isn’t. For instance, Bible Journaling would not be considered something like sexual immorality, drunkenness, fits of rage, or orgies (which is defined as group sin). Those are all sins, but they are in no way related to Bible Journaling (and honestly, if you do find a way to relate the two, that might be a bit of a stretch…).

That leaves other sins on the list that Bible Journaling could maybe fall under… Let’s look at a few examples in the table below to see what sins some may consider Bible Journaling to be (as a note, these rationales are based off comments I have read):

The list of sins above and the rationale for why Bible Journaling may be considered that type of sin, makes complete sense.

But notice that we had to do a bit of extrapolating to make Bible Journaling actually fit into the type of sin. We also had to include some assumptions and opinions into the rationale. For instance, saying, “You’re more concerned with making the Bible look ‘pretty’ instead of reading and applying it,” is an assumption and your opinion. You don’t know the person’s intention behind Bible Journaling unless you ask them, so you’re assuming that they’re more concerned about the artwork behind Bible Journaling than the actual Scriptures.

So whether Bible Journaling falls under these list of sins or not is really a disputable matter.

Wait, What’s a Disputable Matter?

In Romans 14, Paul is writing to the church in Rome, and he was trying to address the disunity within the church. There were some Christians who were okay with eating meat, whereas other Christians were strongly opposed to it (perhaps some Christians still felt bound to Old Testament Scriptures, while others, who may have sacrificed meat to idols, felt too guilty to eat it). There were also some Christians that thought certain days were more sacred than others. There was such a strong divide over these issues that it was creating disunity within the church.

Romans 14:1 starts out with this whole idea of “disputable matters”. The original Greek word for “disputable matter” means “something like an inward thought—an opinion.”

Ah… an opinion….

If you look at the basic, Merriam-Webster definition of “disputable” it means, “to engage in argument: debate”.

Woah.

So what Paul is getting at here is that we shouldn’t be quarreling over disputable matters.

Let me say that again and highlight it…

We shouldn’t be quarreling over things that are matters of opinion or that would lead to debate.

So Bible Journaling is a Disputable Matter?

If you were to read all of Romans 14, Paul basically tries to forge unity and bring level ground to the opposing issues with the Roman church. The Christians there felt very strongly about what they believed, and it had gotten to the point where there was contempt and judgment between people:

Paul basically tells the Christians in Rome that, whether they eat meat or not, they should not look down on one another for an issue that is merely a matter of opinion (i.e. things that were not salvation-related).

BIBLE JOURNALING IS A DISPUTABLE MATTER!

Whether you’re completely for it or against it, that’s your opinion and you are entitled to it. Bible Journaling is a disputable matter, which means it’s not something we should be getting worked up about and divided on.

If you believe that Bible Journaling is a defacement of the Word of God, then you totally have a valid conviction. If you believe that Bible Journaling is a creative way to connect with God’s Word, that’s a totally valid conviction as well.

Either way, you should not look down or be critical of the person who has a different conviction than you on Bible Journaling.

So, Bible Journaling Is Not Sin?

I think the best way to answer this is James 4:17:

If you truly believe that Bible Journaling is bad, not something you should do, and if you were to do it, it would prick your conscience, then don’t do it. If you were to do it anyway, then yes, Bible Journaling would be sin for YOU because you went against the “good you ought to do” (i.e. you went against your personal convictions).

If Bible Journaling is more about your artwork and posting cute photos on Instagram, getting followers, and trying to prove to people that you’re a “good Christian” or a great artist, then yes, Bible Journaling would be sin for YOU because you’re more man focused than God focused (i.e. you’re focused on how Bible Journaling will benefit your social media rather than what God thinks of you).

If you get worked up about the topic of Bible Journaling and you have to make sure your opinions are expressed on every blog page, Instagram photo, or Pinterest pin, then yes, Bible Journaling would be sin for YOU because you have a dissensions heart that loves discord.

But if you’re just trying to use Bible Journaling as a tool to engage with the Scriptures and get closer to God, then no, it’s not sin.

Okay, Well, What Is Wholly Hearted’s Opinion?

Like I said when I started this entry, Bible Journaling is a pretty controversial topic. I didn’t want to infuse my opinions or beliefs into this entry because at the end of the day, it’s a disputable matter and it’s really not worth it to get caught up on.

But for the record, drawing within my Bible is not my personal method of studying the Scriptures or meditating on them. I don’t have any issue if that’s how people want to study the Word, though. I don’t see it as graffiti, being unholy, desecration, etc… It’s just not for me.

I do feel pretty strongly about painting over the Scriptures to the point where they can’t be read. That doesn’t sit right with my conscience, so I refuse to do it. I would never paint over any other texts from other religions—shoot, I wouldn’t paint over any books, period! I get that some people have two Bibles—one for reading and one for artwork. Still, it’s just not for me.

Hopefully this Bible Study helped put things into perspective for you regarding Bible Journaling. I’d love to hear your thoughts and comments on the matter. I know it’s a disputable matter, so all viewpoints are welcome!