This article was first published in the State of Faith newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Monday night.
During the age of wandering attention spans, one way of grounding the mind is to pick up a pen.
I used to be an avid journal writer, then switched to a computer and eventually abandoned the practice altogether. I’ve been eager to try again.
I’ve had friends who were transformed by the practice of the “morning pages,” starting the day with jotting down thoughts or a list of things they were grateful for. The 1992 bestseller “The Artist’s Way” by Julia Cameron advises writing three daily pages of stream-of-consciousness to tap into dormant creativity and spirituality.
A new trend has also been gaining momentum online. People from various corners of the country are copying the Bible by hand. Yes, that’s right. Writing every single word, verse by verse, chapter by chapter through Genesis, Leviticus, Proverbs, Mark, John and so on.
It’s not an insignificant commitment to finish handwriting an entire Bible. There are over 780,000 words and 31,000 verses in the Bible. With writing sessions of about 30 minutes a day, it could take up to four years, those working on this project estimate.
For many who take up the project, the reason is twofold. It’s a way to engage with scripture in an unhurried act of devotion, allowing the mind to process the words while the hand does the penmanship. The modern Bible writers also see the finished product as an heirloom that’s uniquely personalized for someone they love. With AI on track to take over tasks once considered uniquely human — writing, creating art, even offering advice — there is a growing longing to return to something as arduous, personal and ultimately inefficient as handwriting.
“The goal isn’t speed or perfection; it’s presence. Writing scripture by hand slows reading down and makes each phrase stick. For me, the journey is about deeper attention, quiet reflection, and a tactile connection to the words I’m reading. It’s also become a creative routine that I look forward to each day,” said one woman, who goes by @kaylin_elise on TikTok.
Her goal is to copy several verses a day or to fill a page, she said. She writes in her Target-purchased notebook and likes to play soft music when she writes. She’s made it to Genesis 13 so far.
She also keeps personal notes and writes down her takeaways after each chapter. Kaylin said that the verses she’d previously skimmed over now “feel new.” She says if she’s consistent, ChatGPT estimated that this would take her four years.
Others see the finished product of a handwritten Bible as a way of sharing a part of themselves with a loved one.
David Sloane, one father-to-be (probably by now a sleep-deprived father), picked up the project because he wanted to create a special heirloom for his daughter. “I decided that I wanted to get her a gift that money cannot buy,” he said in a recent post. He hopes to give the book to his daughter when she’s grown.
In the same anticipatory spirit, some young Christian women are handwriting the Bible for their future husbands, presumably whom they haven’t yet met.
One woman, who goes by @they.call.her.faith, said she got out of a serious relationship two years ago and the idea of handwriting the Bible was “put on her heart.”
“My biggest dream is to become a wife and a mother,” she said in a post explaining why she started the project. As she’s writing the Bible, she said, “God continues writing the woman I’m becoming.”
In addition to the Bible text, she’s inserting in her spiral notebook love notes and prayers into the text. She hopes to give her husband her Bible on their wedding day.
For some, the design is pretty simple, while others get more creative with calligraphy and color. One Bible writer used up three pens after finishing the book of Genesis.
This social media trend is actually not new at all. It echoes an ancient tradition: the sacred practice of monks in medieval European monasteries who spent years transcribing biblical texts by hand.
They worked in scriptoria, specialized rooms dedicated to copying and illuminating manuscripts. The work was both an act of worship and a way of preserving sacred texts for future generations. A few years ago, I had the chance to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College Dublin, a manuscript containing the four Gospels and adorned with intricate Celtic artwork. I remember thinking: Who was the person behind each letter, each design?
I wonder if these handwritten Bibles that young Christians are creating today will one day be seen as versions, albeit much less sophisticated and ornate, of those ancient manuscripts.
Maybe that is part of the appeal — a way to connect generations through their faith and to leave behind something personal and even imperfect for the next generation to be inspired by.
Fresh off the press
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- Our columnist Naomi Schaefer Riley reflected on what it means to be Jewish today while she visited the historic Jerusalem Synagogue in Prague: “You are ‘Jewish enough’ for the people who hate you — thoughts from a synagogue in Prague.”
- Who decides what children learn?
Faith in the news
- On growing Islamophobia in Texas. — The New York Times
- Two University of Notre Dame professors will consult the Vatican on human development. — EWTN News
- The humanist in Congress wrote a book about fighting Christian nationalism. — RNS
- An undercover federal agent attended a class at a Minneapolis church and secretly recorded participants. Now a judge wants the government to explain why it didn’t violate a court order protecting places of worship. — MPRNews
End note
Today I’m thinking about freedom.
Ukraine, where I was born and where my family lives, is celebrating its 35th Independence Day. And every day, Ukrainians are still fighting for that freedom.
As I was thinking about what freedom means to me, I keep returning to the freedom to choose, to have options when it comes to building a future: choosing an enriching education, a place to worship, the ability to choose nutritious meals and discover talents to then contribute to the world. So much of freedom is about agency, which, of course, also means the freedom to fail, make mistakes and then recover from them.
In Ukraine, the war is taking away many of these choices from both children and adults. Still, many wake up after loud, frightening nights resolving to hope and find joy where they can.
I’ll leave you with a rendition of the Ukrainian national anthem — in English!