Those who study semantics and similar disciplines tell us that an individual or a people can only go as far as their WORDS allow.
Maybe that’s why many RELIGIONS are stuck in the past!
For a long time in my religious journey (which is much different than my spiritual journey) I tried to only use words and concepts that were found in the Bible. Early on that was King James of course and then I discovered the NLT, REB, and other such translations that brought new life and insights to the stories and concepts. Getting hung-up on Strong’s Concordance can be a great hindrance to ones spiritual journey.
While helpful, why should I accept what some author (be it T. Gybson, John Marbeck, or any other individual who decided how a word would be defined and assigned a number) said a word meant?
That’s especially important since how do we even know that the word used in any one translation is the original WORD since we have NO ORIGINALS! Think about it. Wouldn’t it be better to let the Holy Spirit (who is credited with having written the Bible) interpret the MEANING of a story or verse than depending upon someone from ancient history to defined a single word for me?
Strong’s Concordance might be a good place to BEGIN, but a lousy place to END.
And then there are times when NO WORD will ever be enough, when NO WORD can adequately give meaning to an event or story. In that case the best we can do is to us metaphors, similes, and allegories. The point I am making is? Keep adding to your vocabulary. Keep relying upon that inner voice. And, just keep LOVING people without trying to be a know-it-all: because you don’t.
No one does!
0 Response to “Word Power….Or Not?”