I love words. That’s not the first time I’ve said that and it won’t be the last. It is hopefully something that is fairly obvious from this here blog which is driven by them as well as the Other Place.
In as much as I wouldn’t class myself as a high intellectual, I acknowledge that I’m definitely a literary type of fellow and my learning derives mainly from reading, writing and listening to words.
Aspects of my background were hugely influential in producing the outcome of my word love. The church upbringing made a big deal of being clear on what the Word said and we made a great stress on being a Bible-believing church. Even up to very recently there was a subtle hint of pride that said that our take on the Word was such that someone would have to come with a really good argument based on the reading of the Word to get us as a church to shift on our doctrinal positions.
On the surface this ‘open creed’ position that says we’re open to correction sounds generous and humble until you actually go about addressing the underlying preconceptions that form our approach to the Word. Then you’ll discover how limited any movement is to that. Such is the limitation even the tortoise would find it excruciatingly slow to the point of non-existent. Not that I encourage knee-jerk reactions to different doctrines, but when the institution’s been around for over a century and has well established doctrines etched in the blood and sweat of bible scholars, then there’s understandably a reluctance to have a doctrine convention too often, if at all.
What does this have to do with anything? Follow me carefully and I hope to make it clear. In spite of my love for words I’m reaching a conclusion (note key word: reaching, not yet reached) that the literary love-in can be an obstacle to the Word.
It almost feels like it’s the case these days, especially in the ‘developed’ countries, that if you’re illiterate or not up on developing yourself in understanding text, etc. that you’re in a second-class of humanity. Great emphasis is placed on education and attaining a level of literate and numeracy skills that should allow you to perform productively in society. If you cannot read then you are of little use to anyone and considered in a pitiful way.
Don’t get me wrong, reading and writing is important. Yet I can’t help but think back to days before compulsory education (“you mean there were days when you weren’t forced to go to school? The shock! The horror!). Without placing too much stress meself, I’m fairly certain that the communities of faith grew in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ without such an obsession for being literate. Great role models of following Christ came from people who couldn’t read that well. Imagine how followers of the Way coped without the Holy Scriptures that we value (or more likely take for granted and tokenise) today. Imagine how some in the persecuted areas of the world cope today.
My point is, the miracle and wonder of the Word becoming flesh in Jesus Christ is that now that He has ascended His glorious Holy Spirit lives in those that believes and enables them to likewise become living letters – incarnate words becoming flesh if you will. Mastery of word-power and being eloquent and well read are not requirements of discipleship. The passionate pursuit of righteousness is not to be equated with a desire to cram in as much of the Word as possible to look smart in a debate and outscore someone with memorised scripture references.
Thus if we’re motivated to be faithful to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ ourselves we won’t necessarily be stuck in the rut of a tradition that we’ve slavishly followed all of our lives. Rather in the same way that we grow and change as people faith in Christ will allow us to grow and change – if we’re open to that Word that is not just on paper, but in real life.
Please get me right, my faith would not be possible without knowledge of the Living Word through the written Word and I am grateful for the sacrifices that took place to allow the text to get to me. Yet that written Word acts in conjunction with the life that comes from the Spirit that draws me closer to that Living Word. That is something open to everyone literate or not and such is the freedom of that, I can live in a community of believers who have something to offer because there are no barriers of educated and non-educated just as there are no other divides on race, gender, age or economic status lines.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
dmcd
Life With CD 