Does silence speak?
What would be the ramifications if all Christians no longer were able to speak of their faith? I don't mean in the worst-nightmare-of-James-Dobson sense or the our-nation-is-losing-its-religious-freedom crowd. I mean something like in the movie Liar, Liar where the lying lawyer no longer has the capacity to lie. He can only speak if he is speaking the truth.
What if those who considered themselves Christians all of a sudden found themselves unable to communicate anything religious? No God-talk.
How would society change?
What would then be the various factors that determined who was a Christian and who was not?
Let us discuss what it might mean for Christians to cease from speaking. I kind of like this idea....
14 comments:
You mean no Christianese? That'd be fabulous! Then Christians would have to come up with words that everyone understood and make the club a lot less exclusive.
I guess our actions would be more important than they are now. The problem is, how do you take the initial interest and add to it?
You wouldn't have deterining factors because you wouldn't have Christians.
I know people love the whole "Preach the gospel always and if nessacery use words", but I think it is important to notice that Jesus is a incredibly verbose man and a lot of the concepts that he conveyed really couldn't be communicated simply through actions although the corresponding actions were vitally important to make the point.
The problem is, how do you take the initial interest and add to it?
Robin: Who says we need to "add" anything?!?
Melody: Jesus was the Son of God so he was allowed to talk about spirituality/ethics/religion.
Also, I don't understand what you were trying to say in your first sentence.
I guess I was thinking along the lines of Romans 10:13-15
"13 For 'whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.'
14 How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
'How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!'"
God never seems to expect us to use only our actions to preach a message that by necessity must be spoken to convey the whole idea.
And ok, Jesus is the Son of God, but how can we be his followers if we can't speak about the one we follow?
At some point actions require an explanation.
We are sons of God, too!
I guess I was thinking along the lines of the idea that initial interest isn't enough. A person might notice a difference about us, or in our lives, but if we can't tell them about it, how are they to know what it is?
And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent?
Ok, I will allow for preaching, then. But that's it. Unless a Christian is delivering a homily, then they have to shut up!
Robin: A person might notice a difference about us, or in our lives, but if we can't tell them about it, how are they to know what it is?
They can read the Bible.
Hesiak: We are sons of God, too!
I'll believe it when I see it....
lol, ok, so long speeches and the Bible? That's your solution to bad Christian communication?
"They can read the Bible."
You read too much Derrida. Lol.
"I'll believe it when I see it...."
McLuhan says that faith is an issue of perception rather than conception :)
i guess i'd act the same way I do now: ruthlessly sinful, except people wouldn't know my sins are forgiven (or that I claim they are).
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