Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians, "I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ" (2 Cor 11:3). Scripture is clear that there is a battle for the control of our minds. Satan wants it; Christ demands it (Matt 22:37). So, Paul says, a fundamental part of our worship is presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice which includes "the renewal of your mind" (Rom 12:1-2). In today's culture, that battle for the mind is being waged in our dictionaries. If they can remake our language in their own satanic image, we will be incapable of communicating the ideas that God and His Word present. Take away the language and the spoken and written word become futile.
This is self-evident in today's world. When we accepted "same-sex marriage" as a real term, we forgot entirely what "marriage" really was. Long before that, when we accepted "shacking up together" as a description of "love," we lost the meaning of the word. And so on. So, consider how this works. We know, for instance, that "God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). Done. Clear as day. Except now we've redefined "love" to mean "sex" in most cases and, at its best, "warm affection." So this is a statement that God has deeply warm feelings about us, pushing possibly into something sexual (seriously, a "Christian author" wrote specifically that it was sexual and pointed to Jonathan Edward's writings about our "intercourse with God" as proof). And we are asked to do the impossible -- love one another. That is, feel warmly about all those people out there. Who can do that? So we descend into an abyss built entirely on a shift in the dictionary. And "love" and "marriage" are just the two quickest examples. The battle for the dictionary is everywhere.
We are commanded to "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind" (Rom 12:2). Satan's preference is that your mind would be blinded (2 Cor 4:4). But we are required to love God with all we have including our minds (Matt 22:37). So Satan seeks to blind us by removing all references to God's instructions, either by distracting from His Word or by dismantling the language. A modern Babel. And we run the risk of being conformed to this world if we fail to see it.
4 comments:
We know that languages drift, but the rapidity of silver of the shifts is long held terms certainly points to a targeted offensive.
I value good communication and mastering the language arts. I am old enough, though, that much slang and jargon used by the younger generations totally escapes me--and I don’t even try to keep up. There is also a degree to which I resist changing the meaning of some words or phrases I use or adopting newly accepted ones--regardless of the culture’s pressure to do so. For example, I never say “transgender” but instead “men pretending to be women” or vice versa-- because that’s more accurate, in my view. Also, “pretending to be married” is how I term same-sex “marriage.” (A lot of pretenders here. ;) “They” might change the official dictionaries, but I don’t necessarily change “my dictionary.” I think that “conforming to the world” takes place in my beliefs and attitudes (and then actions) long before it shows up in my speech; I hope I am “holding my ground” in all those areas.
P.S. Long before moving to our current home located one hour from Intercourse, PA (a town which is the subject of much jesting), I knew that “intercourse” has meaning apart from the “sexual” type. (Right-clicking that word just now brought up the synonyms “contact,” “communication,” “interaction,” “association,” and “dealings.”) Shame on that author for being confused about that word!
Yes, language drifts. Unfortunately, it does appear to be a targeted offensive. Like you, Lorna, I prefer not to change my own dictionary, but that presents a problem: communication. If we aren't going to use the same terms in the same way, how will we communicate. I, for instance, refer to "same-sex marriage" as "same-sex mirage" because it is, indeed, not marriage and it is an illusion. But, then, how will I communicate with people on that topic when that will just make them mad and the conversation is over. Further, if I don't know what they mean by the words we're using, I won't be able to tell them the truth regarding those ideas, so I have to figure out a way to understand them without compromising truth.
Nowadays, the word "hate" means you disagreed with a LEFTIST.
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