"A person who speaks to this hour's need will skirt the edge of heresy for it is only by risking heresies that one can gain the truth" - Helmut Thielicke
I started reading an interesting book by Jonathan Merritt called "Learning to Speak God from Scratch." There has not only been a loss and confusion of the sacred speech but words are continually changing in their meanings to different generations. Here are a few trends that Merritt mentions:
1. The politicization of sacred words
2. The exploitation of sacred words
3. The polarization of sacred words
Here is what many people hear when they hear certain sacred words:
1. "God" - a sadistic monster who likes killing people and sends people to Hell
2. "Faith" - fire insurance policy where you say a prayer or get baptized and get a free out of Hell card.
3. "Conversion" A decision manipulated by fear and guilt.
4. "Gospel" Supposed to be good news but it sure sounds like bad news like I am a terrible sinner and I am on my way to eternal Hell.
5. "Jesus Sacrifice" The angry God kills his son and took your place in a brutal execution.
Grace and mystery are words usually not understood or a part of the equation. Merritt says, "preserving a decaying language is like preserving a decomposing corpse" (p.54). Many people, especially church people do not feel the need to regularly attend a church anymore. this certainly impacts how much talk of the sacred happens much less frequently than it used to.
One of our modern problems today is we often approach language like we do chemistry or algebra rather than poetry or music. "Jewish thinkers treated language not as a corpse but as a living being which we are invited to dance" (p.78). Maybe we need a new vocabulary of faith or a new lexicon of sacred words? Maybe we have to go back to the beginning again when it comes to unpacking our suitcases of what words today means to people who have lost the sacredness of words. Or to put it as Merritt does, maybe we have to learn to speak to God from scratch?
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