The written and spoken word is perhaps the most important aspect of day to day living for most people. Yet, I’d venture to argue that few people sit down and think about the implications of how language affects their way of thinking. The power of the word is nothing new, and there is a very real reason why Christians often refer to Christ as the Word. The word is, for all intents and purposes, a spirit made incarnate. Language itself is the transmission of intangible concepts from one mind to another.
So what? Why muse about the ‘mystical’ properties of language? While a fair question, I think the answer is simple. Language is how we understand the world. While certainly language does not control what we are able to see, it does absolutely control what we are able to express. Our choice of words also matters a great deal. One has to be careful to select the proper phrase to conjure the most real image in the reader’s mind.
This brings me to the actual issue at hand, which is the current trend of redefining language to suit cultural ends. While the exploitation of language is nothing new, with the use of euphemisms and double entendres being two such examples, I think that the way words are redefined today is worse than the preceding examples. One particular word that comes to mind is “marriage” which historically has been rather consistent in its meaning. However, there is a very real push to change the definition of this word and others, so that the images that they conjure in your mind are radically different. Marriage in particular raises some important concerns about what changing the definition of the foundational unit of society will do to said society. I think if one wants to envision what the future will look like, just imagine the present trends getting more and more pervasive throughout society. It’s up to you to determine if such a destination is desirable.
Given the intrinsic malleability of language, it is unlikely that these terms will come to mean what they meant 100 years ago anytime soon, at least in the cultural consciousness. That’s not to say that the language can’t have its meaning restored. Perhaps the greatest irony is that now “conservatives” are finding themselves using the new language and even holding the beliefs that the new language imposes, so much for ‘conservation.’ Perhaps the lesson here is that language has the ability to change the image conjured even for millenia old traditions, such as marriage, on a timescale so small that it’s like blink in comparison. What is to become of other such traditions is anyone’s guess.
With all that being said, I’d like you, the reader, to reflect on the opening verse of the Gospel of John:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
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