I enjoy writing immensly. Toward this end I also enjoy words. I actually probably enjoyed words before I enjoyed writing. I have even written before in this blog regarding my fascination for language, words and meanings. Two recent interactions have reminded me of the importance of language and words in our society.
The first interaction is a growing socio-political division relating to various divisive issues. These issues pop up in personal conversations or in any perusal of news. Whether it is the recent Chick-fil-A debate, or a personal discussion on the difference between a God of love or the God of the Bible, difficult conversations are had most every day. In addition I have recently read some work by Francis Schaeffer. In addition to being a great writer, he was one of the most brilliant men of the past century. He wrote in his book "The God Who Is There" (1968) a perspective on culture at the time which has continued to be true.
"People in our culture in general are already in process of being accustomed to accept nondefined, contentless religious words and symbols, without any rational or historical control. Such words and symbols can be filled with the content of the moment."
This reality is exhibited by terms and phrases being shaped and fitted constantly with new definitions in order to support or question various philosophies. The term Jesus for many in my own circles carries with it certain meaning mined from years of reading and understanding the Bible. However, to others, the term Jesus conjures other sorts of images or meaning. And culture seeks to assign the most useful definition or meaning to what Schaeffer calls contentless symbols. It is important to remember that as you engage in discussions or read/watch the news, be very wary of the usage of terms or presupposed shared definition of terms.
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