One of my favorite things to do - though it can drive my wife crazy - is to ask, "What does that mean?" I can find a way to ask it about almost anything. For extra fun, I'll put the emphasis on different words. ("What does that mean?" "What does that mean?" etc.)
Today I considered the phrase "I believe in..." which is commonly ended with Jesus, God, science, myself... what you will. I asked myself, "What does it mean to believe in something?
It means nothing! It is an incomplete thought. Belief is a perception about how things really are, a statement about what is true or false. For instance, I believe that the sky is blue. I believe our dog will mess on my carpet (again) by the end of the weekend. I believe I can do a push-up. I believe I cannot run a full marathon.
It makes no sense to say, "I believe in the sky," unless I add, "as something that is blue." Nor, "I believe in my dog" unless qualified by "as a willfully naughty pooper." To state a belief in something requires qualification, if you want to understood accurately.
Of course, we English speakers often use shortened or modified phrases in place of longer, but more complete, ones. I do. It works because we have a common understanding of what the modified phrase is intended to convey.
However, I object to oversimplification at the expense of clarity. When I hear someone say, "I believe in God," I assume the speaker means, "I believe that God exists." I assume this is what most people would understand, but it does require an assumption on my part. The speaker could also be meaning, "I believe in God to get me out of my awful situation," or, by contrast, "I believe in God as a figment of people's imaginations." Same phrase, three possible meanings.
The more clear offender is, "I believe in Jesus." I believe in Jesus to what end? That he existed? That he is God incarnate? That is was a mere man? That he saves people from their sins? That he died and was raised to life? As a political revolutionary? As the new high priest? As a worker of miracles? WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT PHRASE???
Similarly inconclusive is, "If you believe in Jesus/God, then you will go to heaven," or "Believe in yourself."
I urge everyone - especially Christians seeking to communicate the gospel with people who do not necessarily assume the same meanings of certain common Christian phrases as you! - to use language effectively, not casually. Speak to ensure that your hearers understand you!Misunderstandings are inevitable, and should not be used as grounds to judge or look down on anyone. And let it be known that I try very, very hard to avoid the arrogance of elitism, that even now I am afraid you may be hearing in my words.
But at every possible opportunity, be clear in your speech! Take nothing for granted! It is better (in my opinion) to assume others does not know exactly what you mean, than to assume they do. The negative consequences of the latter assumption are far greater than those of the former!
And let's not judge someone just based on what he/she says. Words are windows that are sometimes cracked or opaque.
I realized this morning I tend to do this with certain famous evangelists/televised Christians. So I will try to do the same.
Friday, July 20
Wednesday, July 18
Being MINDful of God
I've been reading some good books (slowly, but nonetheless) about the role of reason/logic/mind in the life of a Christian. It's not about being book-smart or academic, but about making learning a priority, and aligning one's mind/paradigm with what it true, what is godly (believing that all truth is God's truth).
A Mind for God by James Emery White
Love Your God With All Your Mind by JP Moreland
Anything by Dallas Willard
Along the same lines, I'm going to make a plug for Gordon Fee, a highly respected textual critic of the New Testament (and a committed Christian). He is also an Assemblies of God minister. I've skimmed through his How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth, and it appears excellent. One thing I love about him is his emphatic insistence that Christians NEED to read the Bible well, not to interpret it willy-nilly but to be good students of what the original authors were and weren't intending to convey. A lot of bad theology is put out by pretty decent people, simply because they abuse the Bible rather than use it. Often out of ignorance, not malicious intent.
For example, I found this very insightful:
"Let it be understood that the plain meaning of the text is always the first rule, as well as the ultimate goal, of all valid interpretation. But "plain meaning" has first of all to do with author's original intent, it has to do with what would have been plain to those whom the words were originally addressed. It has not to do with how someone from a suburbanized white American culture of the late 20th century reads his own cultural setting back into the text through the frequently distorted prism of the language of the early 17th century.
"(3 John 2, in the King James Version): 'Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.' Of this text, [Kenneth] Copeland [in The Laws of Prosperity], says, 'John writes that we should prosper and be in health' (p.14) But is this what the text actually says? Hardly! In the first place, the Greek word translated "prosper" in the KJV mean "to go well with someone," just as a friend in a letter two days ago said, "I pray that this letter finds you all well. (cf. 3 John 2 in the KJV, GBN, NEB, RSV, etc.). This combination of wishing for 'things to go well' and for the recipient's 'good health' was the standard form of greeting in a personal letter in antiquity. To extend John's wish for Gaius to refer to financial and material prosperity for all Christians of all time is totally foreign to the text."
That's from pgs. 9-10 of one of my new favorites, The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels.
Go visit your local library!
A Mind for God by James Emery White
Love Your God With All Your Mind by JP Moreland
Anything by Dallas Willard
Along the same lines, I'm going to make a plug for Gordon Fee, a highly respected textual critic of the New Testament (and a committed Christian). He is also an Assemblies of God minister. I've skimmed through his How to Read the Bible for All It's Worth, and it appears excellent. One thing I love about him is his emphatic insistence that Christians NEED to read the Bible well, not to interpret it willy-nilly but to be good students of what the original authors were and weren't intending to convey. A lot of bad theology is put out by pretty decent people, simply because they abuse the Bible rather than use it. Often out of ignorance, not malicious intent.
For example, I found this very insightful:
"Let it be understood that the plain meaning of the text is always the first rule, as well as the ultimate goal, of all valid interpretation. But "plain meaning" has first of all to do with author's original intent, it has to do with what would have been plain to those whom the words were originally addressed. It has not to do with how someone from a suburbanized white American culture of the late 20th century reads his own cultural setting back into the text through the frequently distorted prism of the language of the early 17th century.
"(3 John 2, in the King James Version): 'Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth.' Of this text, [Kenneth] Copeland [in The Laws of Prosperity], says, 'John writes that we should prosper and be in health' (p.14) But is this what the text actually says? Hardly! In the first place, the Greek word translated "prosper" in the KJV mean "to go well with someone," just as a friend in a letter two days ago said, "I pray that this letter finds you all well. (cf. 3 John 2 in the KJV, GBN, NEB, RSV, etc.). This combination of wishing for 'things to go well' and for the recipient's 'good health' was the standard form of greeting in a personal letter in antiquity. To extend John's wish for Gaius to refer to financial and material prosperity for all Christians of all time is totally foreign to the text."
That's from pgs. 9-10 of one of my new favorites, The Disease of the Health and Wealth Gospels.
Go visit your local library!
Wednesday, July 11
From Pope John Paul II
I've been listening to a book on CD, written by Pope John Paul II. He said something about youth and mentoring that I thought was worth sharing. At least, I connected with it.
"What is youth? It is not only a period of life that corresponds to a certain number of years. It is also a time given by providence to every person, and given to him as a responsibility. During that time, he searches, like the young man in the gospel, for answer to basic questions. He searches not only for the meaning of life, but also for a concrete way to go about living his life. This is the most fundamental characteristic of youth.
Every mentor, beginning with parents, let alone every pastor, must be aware of this characteristic, and must know how to identify it in every boy and girl. I will say more. He must love this fundamental aspect of youth.
If at every stage of his life, man desires to be his own person, to find love, during his youth he desires it even more strongly. The desire to be one’s own person, however, is not a license to do anything without exception. The young do not want that at all. They are willing to be corrected, they want to be told yes or no. They need guides, and they want them close at hand. If they turn to authority figures, they do so because they see in them a wealth of human warmth and the willingness to walk with them along the paths they are following."
The book is called "Crossing the Threshold of Hope". Visit your local library.
"What is youth? It is not only a period of life that corresponds to a certain number of years. It is also a time given by providence to every person, and given to him as a responsibility. During that time, he searches, like the young man in the gospel, for answer to basic questions. He searches not only for the meaning of life, but also for a concrete way to go about living his life. This is the most fundamental characteristic of youth.
Every mentor, beginning with parents, let alone every pastor, must be aware of this characteristic, and must know how to identify it in every boy and girl. I will say more. He must love this fundamental aspect of youth.
If at every stage of his life, man desires to be his own person, to find love, during his youth he desires it even more strongly. The desire to be one’s own person, however, is not a license to do anything without exception. The young do not want that at all. They are willing to be corrected, they want to be told yes or no. They need guides, and they want them close at hand. If they turn to authority figures, they do so because they see in them a wealth of human warmth and the willingness to walk with them along the paths they are following."
The book is called "Crossing the Threshold of Hope". Visit your local library.
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