Monday, 03 December 2007 00:00 | and posted in Sharing Your Faith
I quite like the poem 'Jabberwocky' by Lewis Carroll:*
`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.'
The problem is that 'Jabberwocky' is just Lewis Carroll's fantasy and is full of "made-up" words. There is no meaning to them. So no-one really knows what it means.
Isn't it like that with a lot of Christian words? People use them fairly confidently - they may even have a vague idea what they mean, but to their listeners they are just about as understandable as 'toves' or 'mome raths.' When I was in Primary school we always closed assemblies by saying the Lord's Prayer together: 'Our Father, who art in Heaven, Harold be thy name.' We had never come across the word 'hallowed;' nobody had ever explained what it meant and so it seemed very reasonable that God should be named after the British Prime Minister, Harold Wilson! (I know, it was a long time ago!)
Besides confusing people, using "insider" words can leave people feeling excluded and unwanted. Rather than encouraging people to find out more, it is more likely to make them give up altogether.
Those of us who are Christians have a responsibility to tell people about the great God who made the Universe and who loves everyone and wants to be friends with them. To fulfill this responsibility properly we need to use words that people will understand. That means thinking through the message and making sure we understand it. We can't hide our lack of understanding behind long impressive-sounding words that have no meaning for the people we are talking to. It also means thinking about the people we are talking to and using language and illustrations that they will understand. Paul, who was one of the first people to tell others about God's good news, said this: 'I do everything I can to win everyone I possibly can. I do all this for the good news, because I want to share in its blessings,' (1 Corinthians 9:22-23) (and that includes using words they understand).
Why not make a list of all the words that Christians use that might confuse or exclude people who don't know God personally? Now try writing your own story without any "Christian words." Post your attempts on ignite for others to see.
FOOTNOTE:
* 'Jabberwocky' is from, 'Through the Looking-Glass' by Lewis Carroll (1872)