I am going to be using this blog over the next several weeks as a method of gathering my thoughts on a subject that I am interested in exploring and discovering the true implications of: language.
I am no linguist, myself. For the purpose of this study, I wish I were. My focus will be specifically on what the Bible has to say on the subject of language, its origin and its purpose.
I believe this study is necessary because of some of the current philosophies that are being popularized by the post-modern movement.
The main tenant of Postmodernism is that truth is determined by the individual, that we each make our own realities by our beliefs and ideas. While this may seem very empowering at first, it actually has the effect of isolating each person from the other. If everyone you meet is living in their own self-constructed universe that is alien to your own, then any connection you make will be superficial at best.
As it regards language, the Postmodern ideal is 'deconstructionsim.' Rather than interpreting texts in the traditional way, deconstructionism assumes that each person uses language uniquely according to their own personal experiences. The purpose of deconstructionism is to determine what the meaning behind a text is based on what we know of the author of the text.
The other thing that postmodernism does to language is to say that every person will interpret a text as to what it means to them. So that what YOU get out of the Bible and what I get out of the Bible when we read it are two separate messages, and I have no right to tell you what it actually means.
Finally, Postmodernism leads us to the conclusion that our individual universes are constructed from language. For this reason, whoever controls the language controls the universe. The practical result that we see from this is a focus on controlling the language that you and I use in the everyday. Certain commonly used words and phrases suddenly become taboo as our language is subjected to 'political correctness.' Businesses adopt and frequently update their mission statements, which they make their employees memorize and carry around with them.
Now you may have noticed that the first two postmodern ideas regarding language contradict the third. Furthermore, the first two ideas render language practically useless for the purposes of communication. However contradictions do not greatly bother a postmodernist. Because truth is determined by my say-so, if I say that two contradictory ideas can co-exist, then they can.
Hopefully, you can see how this devaluing of language impacts the Christian Faith. Our knowledge of God comes through the word of God as delivered by the Holy Spirit. God does not speak to us in an audible voice, as He did to people prior to Moses. He does not speak to us through prophets as He did to Israel. He is no longer physically present in the person of Christ Jesus. Our whole knowledge of God comes from the Scriptures. This, by the way, is no bad thing. When God spoke audibly, very few people were privileged to hear him. The prophets were only good for as far as their voice projected. In the flesh, Jesus could not be everywhere. And in all these epochs, only a portion of God's plan was revealed. We are privileged in our day to have ready access to a written statement that details God's plan from the very beginning to the very end. But if truth is what you make it, and language is unstable at best, then the Scriptures become a novelty to be made what we wish them to be.
In order to address this issue, I wish to examine what the Bible has to say on the subject of language. If we know that, then we will know how the medium through which God speaks should be addressed.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Cartoon Christianity
Years ago, C.S. Lewis wrote an essay entitled "God in the Docks." The essay detailed problems that Lewis had encountered when trying to share his Christian faith with the everyday man. In brief, these problems were:
1.) The idea that history was uncertain and open to interpretation
2.) A difference in vocabulary between believers and non-believers
3.) The idea that man sat in judgement of God rather than the other way around, and tied to that idea: a real absence of the concept of sin.
While I think that all of these problems remain in today's world, there is one more issue that I believe is the primary obstacle to talking openly about the Christian faith to the everyday man. Mainly, that most people believe they already know what Christianity is selling and have pre-judged it to be worthless.
Whenever I see Christians portrayed in the media, what I see is an unflattering caricature. This is more or less to be expected, but there are several characteristics common in the caricature of Christianity that may be instructive if we are trying to overcome objections when presenting our faith.
The most predominate misconception regarding Christianity is that our entire faith is based around adhering to a restrictive set of rules. This has several consequences. First of all, it's clear that Christians aren't perfect, but they are trying. Do you have to be a Christian to try to live up to a bunch of rules? No. As a result, the majority of folks out there think that ultimately, if God exists, they are as good as most people and better than some. They haven't killed anyone, which is the one commandment they recall hearing. They don't believe in heaven, but if it exists, they are doing okay without having to go to church.
Secondly, and possibly more damaging, the idea that being a Christian involves following rules makes it very apparent that many self-labeled Christians are utterly failing to live up to whatever standard it is that we are supposed to live up to. As a result, it becomes idiomatic that all Christians are hypocrites; condemning others while failing to live up to their own standards.
The final and probably most prevalent consequence of the way in which Christianity is portrayed in the popular mindset is that committed Christians are soulless and pathetic facades, worshiping and talking about religion in a syrupy manner with a vacant, brain-washed look in their eyes.
When C.S. Lewis presented his findings in 'God in the Docks,' he was helpful not only to define the problem but also to present solutions. The only solution I can think of to this problem is to do what we should be doing already: enter the lives of those around us as a fellow man: show them our humanity, befriend them, and talk to them frankly about our faith and beliefs. People will turn down a caricature automatically. They will not be so swift to shoot down a good friend.
1.) The idea that history was uncertain and open to interpretation
2.) A difference in vocabulary between believers and non-believers
3.) The idea that man sat in judgement of God rather than the other way around, and tied to that idea: a real absence of the concept of sin.
While I think that all of these problems remain in today's world, there is one more issue that I believe is the primary obstacle to talking openly about the Christian faith to the everyday man. Mainly, that most people believe they already know what Christianity is selling and have pre-judged it to be worthless.
Whenever I see Christians portrayed in the media, what I see is an unflattering caricature. This is more or less to be expected, but there are several characteristics common in the caricature of Christianity that may be instructive if we are trying to overcome objections when presenting our faith.
The most predominate misconception regarding Christianity is that our entire faith is based around adhering to a restrictive set of rules. This has several consequences. First of all, it's clear that Christians aren't perfect, but they are trying. Do you have to be a Christian to try to live up to a bunch of rules? No. As a result, the majority of folks out there think that ultimately, if God exists, they are as good as most people and better than some. They haven't killed anyone, which is the one commandment they recall hearing. They don't believe in heaven, but if it exists, they are doing okay without having to go to church.
Secondly, and possibly more damaging, the idea that being a Christian involves following rules makes it very apparent that many self-labeled Christians are utterly failing to live up to whatever standard it is that we are supposed to live up to. As a result, it becomes idiomatic that all Christians are hypocrites; condemning others while failing to live up to their own standards.
The final and probably most prevalent consequence of the way in which Christianity is portrayed in the popular mindset is that committed Christians are soulless and pathetic facades, worshiping and talking about religion in a syrupy manner with a vacant, brain-washed look in their eyes.
When C.S. Lewis presented his findings in 'God in the Docks,' he was helpful not only to define the problem but also to present solutions. The only solution I can think of to this problem is to do what we should be doing already: enter the lives of those around us as a fellow man: show them our humanity, befriend them, and talk to them frankly about our faith and beliefs. People will turn down a caricature automatically. They will not be so swift to shoot down a good friend.
Friday, February 4, 2011
Falsifying Christianity
The chief problem with the atheistic line of reasoning is that it begins with the affirmation of a universal negative. In essence, you can present proof that something exists, but you cannot prove something does not exist.
Aware of this fundamental flaw, many otherwise confirmed atheists fall to calling themselves agnostics, playing the word game. However, for those who continue to call themselves atheists, the next best thing to actually proving that God does not exist is to DIS-prove any so-called "proofs" of God's existence. Here, also, they encounter problems. If they present a reasonable argument that the universe does not need a God to create it because of natural processes, the theist responds that God used these natural processes to do his creating. If they say that a virtuous, just, reasonable, logical, or even organized God would not allow the apparent chaos that we see throughout history, the theist responds that God works in mysterious and incomprehensible ways. No matter what proofs they may present, the theists continue to assert God is beyond these proofs, or, in other words, His existence is not falsifiable.
The frustration over this impasse is best demonstrated by John Wisdom's famous parable of the Invisible Gardener. In brief, this parable tells the story of two explorers who, while hacking their way through the jungle one day, stumble upon a clearing in which there are rows of arranged flowers carefully planted. The clearing has all the organization and appearance of a well-tended garden. "If it looks like a garden," says one explorer, "it must, in fact, have been planted and tended by a gardener." "Impossible," states the other explorer, "there is no path through the jungle to the clearing." The first explorer states that, perhaps, the gardener has a secret pathway that is hidden from them. They agree to wait and see if a gardener comes. After several days, no gardener has shown up. The first explorer suggests that the gardener may be invisible, which is why they did not see him. So they set up dogs to sniff him out. Still, no sign of a gardener. So the first explorer says that the gardener may be undetectable by any sense. They also set up motion sensors and electric fences, but no gardener ever manifests himself. The first explorer says that perhaps the gardener is also intangible.
In frustration, the second explorer says that if the gardener cannot be seen, smelt, touched, or detected in any way, it is the same as if there is no gardener at all.
One can easily understand this frustration. And if you are speaking to a Muslim or a Jew, this impass remains. However, from the Christian position, there is a solution. Unlike any other popular religion, it is the Christian's position that God's ultimate revelation of Himself was through the person of His son, Jesus. Moreover, the Christian belief is that the ultimate revelation of the Christ's deity was through his resurrection from the dead.
Now the shoe is on the other foot. You can't prove that Jesus corpse isn't still buried and rotting somewhere, but you can produce a body as evidence that he didn't rise again. A difficult task, certainly, but not impossible. We know the method in which he died, the types of wounds inflicted immediately prior to his death are graphically described for us. We know he was preserved with various spices available at the time and wrapped tightly in burial clothes. We are even told where he was buried, and that his tomb was sealed with a heavy stone. This all occurred in a reasonably arid region. These are perfect conditions for mummification. If he did not rise bodily from the dead, it is probable that his remains are still available for inspection somewhere.
It is not my position that the only reasonable argument against Christianity is an extensive search of the ancient graves of the middle east. However, the Christian belief that God came physically to earth and walked among us, does do something revolutionary to the atheist/theist debate. It provides a tangible, physical, verifiable or falsifiable line of evidence. It gives us a historical manifestation of God's reality.
As a Christian, I know there are many fronts for the debate about the authenticity of our faith. But I feel it is a mistake to make the debate about anything but the person of Christ Jesus. Let God's Word speak for Himself.
Aware of this fundamental flaw, many otherwise confirmed atheists fall to calling themselves agnostics, playing the word game. However, for those who continue to call themselves atheists, the next best thing to actually proving that God does not exist is to DIS-prove any so-called "proofs" of God's existence. Here, also, they encounter problems. If they present a reasonable argument that the universe does not need a God to create it because of natural processes, the theist responds that God used these natural processes to do his creating. If they say that a virtuous, just, reasonable, logical, or even organized God would not allow the apparent chaos that we see throughout history, the theist responds that God works in mysterious and incomprehensible ways. No matter what proofs they may present, the theists continue to assert God is beyond these proofs, or, in other words, His existence is not falsifiable.
The frustration over this impasse is best demonstrated by John Wisdom's famous parable of the Invisible Gardener. In brief, this parable tells the story of two explorers who, while hacking their way through the jungle one day, stumble upon a clearing in which there are rows of arranged flowers carefully planted. The clearing has all the organization and appearance of a well-tended garden. "If it looks like a garden," says one explorer, "it must, in fact, have been planted and tended by a gardener." "Impossible," states the other explorer, "there is no path through the jungle to the clearing." The first explorer states that, perhaps, the gardener has a secret pathway that is hidden from them. They agree to wait and see if a gardener comes. After several days, no gardener has shown up. The first explorer suggests that the gardener may be invisible, which is why they did not see him. So they set up dogs to sniff him out. Still, no sign of a gardener. So the first explorer says that the gardener may be undetectable by any sense. They also set up motion sensors and electric fences, but no gardener ever manifests himself. The first explorer says that perhaps the gardener is also intangible.
In frustration, the second explorer says that if the gardener cannot be seen, smelt, touched, or detected in any way, it is the same as if there is no gardener at all.
One can easily understand this frustration. And if you are speaking to a Muslim or a Jew, this impass remains. However, from the Christian position, there is a solution. Unlike any other popular religion, it is the Christian's position that God's ultimate revelation of Himself was through the person of His son, Jesus. Moreover, the Christian belief is that the ultimate revelation of the Christ's deity was through his resurrection from the dead.
Now the shoe is on the other foot. You can't prove that Jesus corpse isn't still buried and rotting somewhere, but you can produce a body as evidence that he didn't rise again. A difficult task, certainly, but not impossible. We know the method in which he died, the types of wounds inflicted immediately prior to his death are graphically described for us. We know he was preserved with various spices available at the time and wrapped tightly in burial clothes. We are even told where he was buried, and that his tomb was sealed with a heavy stone. This all occurred in a reasonably arid region. These are perfect conditions for mummification. If he did not rise bodily from the dead, it is probable that his remains are still available for inspection somewhere.
It is not my position that the only reasonable argument against Christianity is an extensive search of the ancient graves of the middle east. However, the Christian belief that God came physically to earth and walked among us, does do something revolutionary to the atheist/theist debate. It provides a tangible, physical, verifiable or falsifiable line of evidence. It gives us a historical manifestation of God's reality.
As a Christian, I know there are many fronts for the debate about the authenticity of our faith. But I feel it is a mistake to make the debate about anything but the person of Christ Jesus. Let God's Word speak for Himself.
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