| | ORIGINALLY POSTED MONDAY JANUARY 28, 2008 at http://www.xanga.com/brokenpiecesoflife
Playing: Pink Floyd - Keep Talking
Update: So I was
listening to my new collection of Pink Floyd songs and I was playing
this one here because it is one of my favorites off of one of their
newer albums....Its on the album "The Division Bell" if you care to go
buy it.
Anywho, the lyrics to the song made me think today.
What
are some of the traits that separate mankind from the rest of the
creatures on this Earth? I suppose the way that question is answered
depends on who you ask and what said person believes. Some would answer
that mankind is highly evolved in the way that we are self-aware. Some
would say that we are the single most destructive force on this planet,
a sentiment that I agree wholeheartedly with. Others might say that
nothing separates us from the beasts that we share the globe with.
Myself and many others with whom I share my belief system believe
mankind to be made in the spitting image of an almighty creator. God,
who made the Earth and all on it set human beings aside as something
special. He chose us as his favored creation and he made us so that we
reminded Him of Himself, that when he looks at us it would be with the
fondness and appreciation that He would have for Himself.
Throughout
history, rulers, kings, queens, and the like all kept images of
themselves in the lands that they reigned over. They did this to remind
those who lived in the land who was in charge and who was responsible
for providing for them and did it as a form of self worship and so that
everyone who saw these idols would worship them as well. Similarly,
when we were created it was so that when we look at each other we were
reminded of where we came from, and what we were hoping that we'd never
loose sight of that which was most precious to us, our relationship
with that creator.
But in time, that relationship did fall apart
with the fall of mankind. Sin entered the world and mankind lost the
intimacy with our creator. Later on, the Earth became abundantly
populated with people, and people spread all over the face of the
planet. People learned to communicate with each other through the
miracle of language. Through language ideas can travel, trends can
emerge, and relationships between people can be built and subsequently
destroyed, and mankind can ultimately lead itself into its own
destruction ironically by our own hand.
Communication has always
been essential to our existence as it allows for the spread of
information. The growing and flourishing of our race is dependent upon
our ability to communicate with one another. Much in the way that all
creatures have some form of communication be it through body language
or through our amazing ability to speak. According to scripture and
other historical sources, it is believed that God in some form feared
us as a creation, that unified, we could accomplish anything, including
a false way of reaching the heavens. That is through means other than
through Him and only Him. He confounded our language and dispersed us
once again through the Earth and made enemies of friends and confusion
and chaos where there was at least the appearance of order and
civilization.
Sadly, as time has gone forward and the various
languages through the world have been translated and are still being
deciphered to this day we have unfortunately lost sight of what once
unified us with a purpose and mission. That purpose being to reach out
to God. Today in a society that places such high value on language and
the different uses and perceptions and meanings that can be derived
from single words. Language is more important than ever and the need to
be able to communicate clearly, and understand and interpret that which
is communicated is even more important. Postmodernist culture has
placed such an emphasis on language that nearly nothing can be stated
in a definitive term as words, phrases and even facts are constantly
being re-evaluated and re-invented into something completely new.
With
this kept closely in mind, there is still hope in sight, keeping close
in touch with the culture and what is going on in the world at large,
one should be able to keep with the trends and fashions that effect
language and communication as information is dispersed at fascinating
rates due to technological advances making worldwide communication a
simple reality in the world that we live. Understanding the trends in
communication is the first step to being able to accurately and
efficiently communicate within that world. Secondly, to be able to
communicate in such fashion means understanding the message which you
are trying to communicate and making it not only relevant to the time
and culture, but make it absolutely necessary for the time and culture.
Beyond that, communication must be dynamic and on that wave of
transition to ensure that the message is not lost in translation as the
culture shifts yet again.. It is through all of these circumstances
that makes the presentation of the Gospel such a hard message to
present. Not only throughout history but especially in the Postmodern
culture of Western minded civilization such as western Europe and North
America communicating what many perceive to be an outdated and
irrelevant message about a god who is unknowable and is seemingly
responsible for some of the most hateful acts of all time is not only a
daunting task but one that seems downright impossible.
This has
led to many Christian leaders within the postmodern Christian movement
to make changes within Christian theology to better fit the ideals of
Postmodern society, a practice which is not only counterproductive, but
also dangerous for those who either don't know what to believe in the
first place or those who believe in truth but lack foundational
understanding and jump on board with incorrect teachings because it is
all that they have available to them. Many leaders also not only change
the theological backbone of the faith but also remove essential parts
from it such as the atonement of our sin through Christ our Lord. This
leads to the third and most essential component of foundational
communication in our culture today. thoroughly know and understand the
message which you are attempting to communicate and do not stray from
its message. Any effective communicator knows that when presenting a
message there will be doubts, questions and ridicule given in the name
of constructive critisism that usually ends up being more destructive
than anything else. With a firm base knowledge of topic one can steer
through this and keep giving the message without being rattled. Not to
say that one without a firm understanding cannot present a message, but
if this presenter is questioned and faulters they may end up doing more
harm than good for their cause and would be better off strengthening
themselves in the topic rather than attempting to bring others to the
cause right away.
While I do not feel that communication is
going away at any near point in time, I do see a problem for
communicating the message of the Gospel. Main problems include, lack of
understanding our own message, lack of understanding communication
styles within postmodern culture and beyond, and teachings that seem to
contradict each other, which goes right along with the first mentioned
problem. These problems can be overcome but it will take time and
effort on the part of those who firmly believe in what the gospel has
to say about itself, those who believe in a "normal" interpretation of
scripture and can interpret and translate accordingly. It is going to
take those people to study for themselves and then to teach those who
already believe and to educate and familiarize themselves with the
culture at large and the communication therein. Finally, it is going to
take a whole lot of patience and tolerance from those trying to teach
and share this message as it will be thrown back into the sharer's
face on a regular basis. All we need to do, is keep talking. Talking,
writing, emailing, videoing, blogging, youtubing...communicating. As
long as we keep communication lines open and understanding available,
the Gospel of Jesus Christ will not be lost to any culture now, or ever.
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| | Posted 1/29/2008 8:18 AM - 21 Views - 0 eProps - 0 comments
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