Did you ever say anything and then realize you don’t exactly
know what you are saying? I have done that, said a difficult word in a sentence
assuming I knew what I was trying to get across but actually misusing the word,
like “exasperated” or something like that.
But what about saying a whole sentence without really
knowing what you are saying?
I find that a lot with religion, I can express things to you
in words that are either so specifically complicated that you would have no
idea what I am saying, or so religiously vague that you cannot figure out what
I believe.
The first is just using formal language, and is easily
translated: The Eschaton will mark the parousia of the Christ figure incarnate.
(Jesus will show up again in the flesh at the second coming).
But the second is impossible to translate and therefore far
more dangerous: I am saved by the blood of the lamb.
I am not necessarily saying that this sentence might not be
true for you, I am saying it is really hard to understand what you mean: saved
from what? Saved for what? Saved by what exactly? Saved how? Why did this
happen? Did it have to happen? What difference does it make?
Now, I am not trying to get anyone angry. I am just pointing
out that religious people seem to say a lot of things that they believe, and
when they say them, they assume everyone listening thinks exactly like they
do...
If I said to you I was making spaghetti sauce, what
immediately comes to mind? Probably a tomato based sauce of some kind....
but... it might be pesto, it might be a white sauce, it might have beef, it
might have sausage, does it use basil or oregano, red or white wine... etc...
So why do you not think if I say “saved” that there are as
many different ideas in people’s mind as
to what the word means?
Us churchy people can fall prey to doing this constantly:
sin, grace, faith, heaven, salvation, blessing, holy, Christ, God; as near as I
can tell there are thousands of definitions and concepts wrapped up in just
that short list of terms.
If I said to you my eternal salvation is guaranteed by the
grace of God, which lifts me from my sinful nature; I could mean anything in
the world by that.
I am making a plea here for the simplification of language
when it comes to beliefs. When I express my faith
in the way that normal people
talk does it make it any less powerful?
And then, perhaps, we would actually fight less between
ourselves. We could also fight less with all those people who say church is
irrelevant in the modern world, because I am pretty sure most of them make that
claim because they have no idea what we are saying.
See, I always end up in a fight with the “I am saved by the
blood of the lamb” people because the terms I use are different than theirs.
Well, to be fair, my beliefs are “slightly” different as well; but if we could
simplify terms we would be so much closer.
I would express the closest sentiment I had in this way:
Jesus taught me a better way to live which allows me to follow a path in life
that will accomplish something for the good of us all.
My sentence is still open to interpretation, but I think you
can more quickly see what I am trying to say.
Take another one, “God’s grace has caused this to happen”
really, how? And what exactly is God’s grace? What does it mean if God causes
things to happen in our lives?
“I think this happened for a reason” is easier for everyone,
both inside and outside of the church to talk about together. You can still ask
a lot of questions like do things really happen for a reason, why? But at the same
time, the conversation is open and free to everyone.
I know that there are a million things that separate us from
each other. I know that religion has always been a big one for the human race.
But I think we are getting further and further apart without actually
understanding why. Perhaps something as simple as dropping the code words and
expressing ourselves from our heart would help.
