Monday’s thoughts
May 27th
“We Are Divided By A Common Language”
In looking over two texts that seem to compete with each other we see something that is quite revealing.
In the Pentecost account in the 2nd Chapter of Acts we learn about the Holy Spirit coming onto the people and the people each spoke in their own language but everyone was understood.
In the Genesis story in Genesis 11 we read about the Tower of Babel and how humankind was attempting to develop a common language but God disrupted their language so they wouldn’t be able to understand one another.
I think this is the state of things today in the Christian Church. We are divided by a common language. We speak the same words but do not understand. Orthodoxy is confronted by heterodoxy; liberals are confused by conservatives; fundamentalists battle extremists on the other side and people are speaking but not understanding.
Can we ever get to the point that we understand each other or are we destined to languish in a world of miscommunications? It is a problem we don’t seem to be able to repair?
Have you ever tried to communicate with another person your faith only to feel that you were not heard? Have you ever been confronted by people whose faith is so different from yours and to have them come on in such a strong way you began to feel your faith was not as strong as theirs; you had no answers to their questions; no response to their strongly worded propositions?
What do we say to a ‘fundamentalist’?
What do we say to a person who shares our Christian belief but whose understanding of it is so different from ours we wonder if its truly the same?
If you have thoughts on this subject write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you are willing to allow others to read your thoughts and respond to them click on the “comments” box below. I look forward to hearing from you.
Charles Schuster
