May 26, 1998
When receiving entries for a writing contest, I was startled by the title on one manuscript: “I AM A WORD.” It was entered in a category asking writers to explain why they thought they should be writers.
We use words to communicate ideas, inform, teach, inspire and encourage. We use words to express our sense of personal identity, to tell others who we are, how we think and what is important to us.
Words are symbols for ideas or things. Using symbols has some risk for confusion because the listener may picture something different than what the speaker is trying to convey.
For instance, when we hear “word” we think of a collection of letters (written or spoken) that represent something. But when the ancient Greeks used “word” (or “logos” in their language) they had a different idea. For them, logos represented the basic element or “soul” of the universe, an undefinable reasoning or wisdom that controlled all things and could express itself in some understandable way. For that reason, “logos” is translated into English as “speech” or “word.”
People in the Western world usually avoid thinking in abstract terms. We are far more apt to use concrete words. For instance, if I say, “I am a woman.” my hearers would agree. If I say, “I am a word,” they might raise their eyebrows and mutter, “Oh sure, and what does that mean?”
My point? Language changes have limited our understanding of who Jesus is and what He said about Himself. John’s gospel begins with: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John is referring to Jesus as “the Logos” or “the Word.”
In the Greek culture where He was born, “logos” or “word” was a powerful expression of an infinite being. By using this term, John knew his readers would make some connections. For the Jew, the Old Testament was God’s written expression of His revelation to them. Now John is saying that Jesus is the living expression of a Being who is the “soul of the universe,” God Himself. He once revealed Himself to Israel and that revelation was recorded in printed form. Now He is revealing Himself in a human body to all who will accept Him.
Those who knew the Scriptures understood that God speaks. Now His expression was through a living man, Jesus Christ. When Jesus spoke, because He was “logos”His words were God’s words.
Does this heady stuff make any difference? Is it important today? Only if it is true. If Jesus Christ is God in human flesh, we must consider Him. What is God communicating to us through Him? Why are His words important? What is the message of His life?
If our universe is closed, God could not come in. However, Jesus said, “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.” In a world where “logos” can inhabit a human body and interact with people, it is possible to know God.
The Bible affirms that Jesus is more than a good man, more than a teacher or a prophet. His sinless life of doing good, and His death and resurrection prove He is more than mere human. He claimed to be God incarnate.
We need to consider what this means for us. If we believe what He said about Himself and take Him up on His offer of forgiveness and eternal life, He promises that we will enter into a relationship to One we can know personally, not just as a vague entity the Greeks called “the soul of the universe” but God Himself.
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Showing posts with label language. Show all posts
Monday, June 5, 2017
Wednesday, November 18, 2015
Language changes — but God’s Word is still the same! ............. Parables 354
January 26, 1993
“Oure Fadir that art in heuenes, halwid be thi name; thi kyngdom comme to; be thi wille done as in heuen and in earth; gif to vs this day oure breed oure other substaunce; and forgeve to vs oure dettis, as we forgeve to oure dettours; and leed vs nat in to temptacioun, but delyuere vs fro yuel. Amen.”
No, my fingers are not on the wrong keys. That is the Lord’s Prayer as it reads in English, about A.D. 1350. Three hundred and fifty years earlier, it looked like this: “Faeder ure thu the eart on heofonum; si thin name gahalgod...”
Today, most of us know it as “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...” In another 300 to 700 years, who knows what it will sound like, at least in English.
Languages change over time. They also change from place to place. Consider the confusion an American gas jockey might feel if an Englishman drove up and asked him to fill the tank with petrol, check under the bonnet, clean the windscreen and check the spare in the boot!
These days, the primary issue concerning words and their meanings centers around sexist and racist terms. Newspapers and other publications have lists of taboos. For example, most do not permit the use of pronouns that stereotype male or female roles. There are also Bibles with inclusive language, including at least one that refers to God as “our mother.”
This raises a question--can we be sure how the Lord’s Prayer or any portion of Scripture should read in English? After all, the original copies of the documents that make up the Bible were lost a long time ago. The answer is that there are thousands many copies of those originals still in existence, thousands in fact. Translators use them to determine what the originals said. Each Bible version is an attempt to translate these Greek and Hebrew documents into the language of the day.
In 1611, that language was similar to what we see in the King James Version. This translation has been in use for such a long time that many people think it is the only reliable one. Some are suspicious of newer versions and even say we don’t need modern English Bibles.
Interestingly enough, that was one of the criticisms against the King James version when it was first translated. Many people wanted to stick with their older translations. However, King James of England did not like the marginal notes in some of them and suggested a new translation, in the language of the day, with minimal notes in the margins. He wanted a version every person could read.
Translators are still trying to keep the language of the Bible clear and current. Most of them try to be as true to the Greek and Hebrew as possible. Some are what might be called dynamic translations: they retain the sense of the meaning but are not word-for-word renderings. The goal, in most cases, is to help people better understand the Word of God.
When I first read a “modern” translation, I was fearful that it might not be very accurate but after a semester of learning how the manuscripts have been used and translated, I have a strong confidence in most of our Bible versions. Some translations may not be as good as others, but whether I open up the King James Version or Good News for Modern Man, accurate scholarship insures dependability.
Even more assuring is the fact that the Spirit of God uses His Word to reveal Christ and to demonstrate how He meets our spiritual need. How important that we not only can read it in our own vernacular, but that we do read it.
“Oure Fadir that art in heuenes, halwid be thi name; thi kyngdom comme to; be thi wille done as in heuen and in earth; gif to vs this day oure breed oure other substaunce; and forgeve to vs oure dettis, as we forgeve to oure dettours; and leed vs nat in to temptacioun, but delyuere vs fro yuel. Amen.”
No, my fingers are not on the wrong keys. That is the Lord’s Prayer as it reads in English, about A.D. 1350. Three hundred and fifty years earlier, it looked like this: “Faeder ure thu the eart on heofonum; si thin name gahalgod...”
Today, most of us know it as “Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name...” In another 300 to 700 years, who knows what it will sound like, at least in English.
Languages change over time. They also change from place to place. Consider the confusion an American gas jockey might feel if an Englishman drove up and asked him to fill the tank with petrol, check under the bonnet, clean the windscreen and check the spare in the boot!
These days, the primary issue concerning words and their meanings centers around sexist and racist terms. Newspapers and other publications have lists of taboos. For example, most do not permit the use of pronouns that stereotype male or female roles. There are also Bibles with inclusive language, including at least one that refers to God as “our mother.”
This raises a question--can we be sure how the Lord’s Prayer or any portion of Scripture should read in English? After all, the original copies of the documents that make up the Bible were lost a long time ago. The answer is that there are thousands many copies of those originals still in existence, thousands in fact. Translators use them to determine what the originals said. Each Bible version is an attempt to translate these Greek and Hebrew documents into the language of the day.
In 1611, that language was similar to what we see in the King James Version. This translation has been in use for such a long time that many people think it is the only reliable one. Some are suspicious of newer versions and even say we don’t need modern English Bibles.
Interestingly enough, that was one of the criticisms against the King James version when it was first translated. Many people wanted to stick with their older translations. However, King James of England did not like the marginal notes in some of them and suggested a new translation, in the language of the day, with minimal notes in the margins. He wanted a version every person could read.
Translators are still trying to keep the language of the Bible clear and current. Most of them try to be as true to the Greek and Hebrew as possible. Some are what might be called dynamic translations: they retain the sense of the meaning but are not word-for-word renderings. The goal, in most cases, is to help people better understand the Word of God.
When I first read a “modern” translation, I was fearful that it might not be very accurate but after a semester of learning how the manuscripts have been used and translated, I have a strong confidence in most of our Bible versions. Some translations may not be as good as others, but whether I open up the King James Version or Good News for Modern Man, accurate scholarship insures dependability.
Even more assuring is the fact that the Spirit of God uses His Word to reveal Christ and to demonstrate how He meets our spiritual need. How important that we not only can read it in our own vernacular, but that we do read it.
Monday, June 22, 2015
Language of Love .............. Parables 290
October 22, 1991
The English language is a puzzle to those with a different heritage. We use “hot” and “cool” to describe the same thing. “Bark” can be a dog’s sound or the covering on a tree and many words that sound the same are spelled differently: rough and ruff, been and bean, profit and prophet.
Another confusing word is “love.” We “love” our kids, our car, our silk pyjamas, strawberry pie, and the latest hit song. This one word covers a multitude of feelings and desires. However, the Greek language is far more precise; it has several words for love. For example:
EROS, the root word of erotic, is the passion a person can feel towards the opposite sex. It can be one-way or two way, and easily becomes lust where one person uses the other person for selfish reasons.
PHILEO is the affection shared between friends. It is wanting the best for the other person, but to keep it alive, both must work at it.
AGAPEO: When the love of God was recognized as none of the above, this new word was coined to describe it. It is a love not governed by feelings nor does it depend on the responses of the loved person. It is an unconditional love, a commitment to do what is righteous toward the other, whether or not they deserve it. It is a love that cannot be faked nor does it exploit.
Knowing these differences is vital to a strong marriage. It is common for a couple to think that warm feelings mean love. Then, when the feelings (eros) fade, so has “love” fade or gone. They are shocked because they never thought this would ever happen to them because their “love” was so strong.
This loss of “love” is cause for many a divorce, yet it does not have to happen. The Greek definitions of love can clarify what is going on. Not only that, careful attention to what the Bible says about love can help couples restore those important feelings and keep their marriage alive.
First of all, the Bible says demonstrating love is equal to obeying God. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” and “...whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him...
These actions of obedience can be done with or without any feelings of affection whatsoever. When God says, “Be kind,” we can behave in a kind way, with the help of His Spirit, even if we feel no affection or passion at all.
Yet God does not call His people to a life of doing right and never feeling like it; that would be terrible. Instead, the One who created us built in us a strange capacity for manufacturing feelings. I first noticed it in our children. When they were small, there were days they didn’t really feel too loving toward their parents. However, if I encouraged them to do some sort of positive action for their dad or me, as soon as they did it, their negative feelings were replaced by affection. It worked every time.
It works between couples too. When the fire of eros grows dim and the affections of phileo grows shaky, then the positive actions of agape will bring back the passion into a marriage relationship.
It works best when both decide they will give of themselves (as required by agape), not hold back until the other person gives. Also, the doing must be with a reliance on God, not out of a sense of “duty.” But because this is the love of God, it will outlast all emotional ups and downs and weather the trials faced in all marriages, even the worst of them.
So, if the language of love has confused you, learn a little Greek. Learn the difference between “I eros you...” and “I agape you...” Then decide to DO the deeds of agape, God’s love. Through it, He wants to heal heartaches and rekindle the fire for couples who think it has gone out.
(A 2015 update: I’ve learned that sometimes these Greek words are used interchangeably in the Bible. The most reliable way to define what they mean is by their context. This does not change the basic truth in the above article. Love can be hormones, but it is supposed to be a commitment to put others first and rely on God to do it!)
The English language is a puzzle to those with a different heritage. We use “hot” and “cool” to describe the same thing. “Bark” can be a dog’s sound or the covering on a tree and many words that sound the same are spelled differently: rough and ruff, been and bean, profit and prophet.
Another confusing word is “love.” We “love” our kids, our car, our silk pyjamas, strawberry pie, and the latest hit song. This one word covers a multitude of feelings and desires. However, the Greek language is far more precise; it has several words for love. For example:
EROS, the root word of erotic, is the passion a person can feel towards the opposite sex. It can be one-way or two way, and easily becomes lust where one person uses the other person for selfish reasons.
PHILEO is the affection shared between friends. It is wanting the best for the other person, but to keep it alive, both must work at it.
AGAPEO: When the love of God was recognized as none of the above, this new word was coined to describe it. It is a love not governed by feelings nor does it depend on the responses of the loved person. It is an unconditional love, a commitment to do what is righteous toward the other, whether or not they deserve it. It is a love that cannot be faked nor does it exploit.
Knowing these differences is vital to a strong marriage. It is common for a couple to think that warm feelings mean love. Then, when the feelings (eros) fade, so has “love” fade or gone. They are shocked because they never thought this would ever happen to them because their “love” was so strong.
This loss of “love” is cause for many a divorce, yet it does not have to happen. The Greek definitions of love can clarify what is going on. Not only that, careful attention to what the Bible says about love can help couples restore those important feelings and keep their marriage alive.
First of all, the Bible says demonstrating love is equal to obeying God. Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” and “...whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him...
These actions of obedience can be done with or without any feelings of affection whatsoever. When God says, “Be kind,” we can behave in a kind way, with the help of His Spirit, even if we feel no affection or passion at all.
Yet God does not call His people to a life of doing right and never feeling like it; that would be terrible. Instead, the One who created us built in us a strange capacity for manufacturing feelings. I first noticed it in our children. When they were small, there were days they didn’t really feel too loving toward their parents. However, if I encouraged them to do some sort of positive action for their dad or me, as soon as they did it, their negative feelings were replaced by affection. It worked every time.
It works between couples too. When the fire of eros grows dim and the affections of phileo grows shaky, then the positive actions of agape will bring back the passion into a marriage relationship.
It works best when both decide they will give of themselves (as required by agape), not hold back until the other person gives. Also, the doing must be with a reliance on God, not out of a sense of “duty.” But because this is the love of God, it will outlast all emotional ups and downs and weather the trials faced in all marriages, even the worst of them.
So, if the language of love has confused you, learn a little Greek. Learn the difference between “I eros you...” and “I agape you...” Then decide to DO the deeds of agape, God’s love. Through it, He wants to heal heartaches and rekindle the fire for couples who think it has gone out.
(A 2015 update: I’ve learned that sometimes these Greek words are used interchangeably in the Bible. The most reliable way to define what they mean is by their context. This does not change the basic truth in the above article. Love can be hormones, but it is supposed to be a commitment to put others first and rely on God to do it!)
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