Saturday, January 23, 2010

better Christianity through foreign languages?

One of my recurring themes here is that words are no more AND no less than symbols. Since the purpose of symbols is to transport ideas, any symbol's value is dependent on: 1) significance, which is the value of the transported idea; 2) precision, which is the success of the symbol in transporting the idea. It's pointless to judge a symbol's value based on other criteria than those two.

That's why I'm flummoxed by Christians who insist on symbolizing Christian ideas with words from languages other than their own (often ancient Hebrew and Greek, and it's apparent that correct pronunciation isn't at all necessary!). I'm not offended by it, but I'm suspicious of their motives. Why do it, especially when equivalent symbols of similar convenience are available in their own languages? I dearly hope their motives aren't one or more of the following.
  • Vanity. The ostentatious usage of foreign words can be a peacock-like display to impress others by one's attainment of great knowledge, spirituality, etc.
  • Cliquishness. An excellent method for members of a clique to differentiate themselves from outsiders is to consistently make the same relatively obscure word choices, such as foreign words specially selected by members of the clique.
  • Conjuring. The communicator carefully chooses some foreign words and/or languages based on the assumption that God will be more pleased/honored and therefore more likely to respond.

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