I recently read a book.
It’s called: Learning to Speak God from Scratch: Why sacred words are vanishing–and how we can revive them by Jonathan Merritt
Jonathan is highly educated and well spoken. He has several seminary degrees and, along with other accolades, is a contributing writer for The Atlantic and has appeared on numerous news outlets. He’s worth a Google.
Why this book is important
Jonathan wrote this book after moving to New York City from Georgia. He quickly realized that the faith language he spoke so fluently within the church community of The Deep South did not translate easily in his new neighborhood. He had to rethink not only how to approach conversations surrounding faith, he had to rethink what the words of faith actually mean.
The book begins with Barna studies that explore the regularity to which Americans have spiritual conversations. Spoiler alert: they’re on the decline. In reality, most said that they avoid spiritual conversations for reasons such as: religion has become too political; religious language seems too cheesy/outdated; I’ve been personally hurt by religious conversations.
Whatever the reason for this decline, Jonathan addresses the great need for us to participate in spiritual conversations. Throughout the book he shares his own personal experiences and biblical insights that both encourage and challenge the reader to revisit the sacred words of the God that embodies their very essence.
Jonathan says that speaking God is important because:
“Well-chosen words empower us to express compassion and extend kindness.
They equip us to bring out the best in others and our selves.
They help us extend grace when we feel stingy and offer hope when all appears dim.
They help us cross the threshold from how the world is to how it ought to be.
Speaking God matters because speaking always matter.”
My favorite take-away
I have attended a variety of churches throughout the years, but, for the most part, they have all held similar theological viewpoints. Not that this is a bad thing, necessarily, but somewhere along the way I learned that there is one right way to interpret scripture. This rigid thinking poses a problem when applied to the various types of writing throughout the Bible (i.e. poetry, letters, prophecy, etc), and causes friction when the interpretation does not portray the Jesus I have come to know.
Ancient Jews did not treat sacred terms like most modern Christians, as static objects with fixed definitions. Ancient Jews believed words were malleable. (pg. 61)
This idea of words being malleable and fluid rang true, especially in light of Hebrews 4:12 (NASB) that speaks of “the Word being living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword.”
The ancient Jews believed that every word was significant and it was unfathomable to them that any word would have just one meaning. They were open to different ideas and believed that if God put the word there, they were going “to try to get every last drop of meaning out of it.” (pg.61)
I think it is rather pretentious of us to think that we would know the one exact meaning for every passage of scripture, and, I believe, by opening up to this idea that there are multiple meanings for words allows for deeper study and greater revelation.
Who should read this book
Anyone who has been a Christian for a long time.
Anyone who has been a Christian for a short time.
Anyone who has become disillusioned with faith and religion.
Anyone who is passionate about sharing their faith.
Anyone who is still searching for faith.
Anyone.
I think you should add this book to your “to read” list, and actually read it. You might not agree with everything in the book, but it will probably get you thinking about the sacred words of faith in a way that might just spur you on in your future spiritual conversations.
Happy reading!
photo: Jonathan Merritt