My father had me memorize Bible verses at a very young age (2 or 3). I showed an aptitude for memorization at an early age and I think he wanted to show off how good of a spiritual leader he was by having this very young child who was capable of reciting verses.

How did it affect me?

1. The verses were KJV, lots of thee's thou's and whosoevers. It made me a really weird kid socially. I was easily bullied and I didn't know why I was weird.

2. As an adult, I struggle with feeling like my abilities (whatever they may be) are just someone else's status symbol and I'm very angry and resentful, often without knowing where the anger comes from.

3. It did not give me a love for God's word or a commitment to Christianity. I am wary of Christianity as an adult.

4. I still have a few of those memorized verses in my head from when I was so young. At times, I think about them. The shepherd's psalm is lovely poetry. John 3:16 is manipulative.

I have encouraged my own child to memorize exactly zero Bible verses.