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Christianese
by James Peter Jandu In every war the enemy first attempts to destroy the communication systems of the opposition. This is the reason when one nation attacks another they first bomb the TV and radio stations. Once communication is destroyed the whole Country is weakened. Our incorrect thinking destroys our communication skills through the use of religious jargon. Many Christians use certain words, theological terms, and catchphrases in everyday conversation in ways that are not comprehensible to outsiders. They make no sense to anyone unfamiliar with biblical texts and Christian terminology. Our insider lingo is confusion to the outsider. You may not have noticed you have adopted this insider language and maybe have become so fluent you are oblivious to how incomprehensible you sound to non Christians. Unlearning it will take time as you educate yourself to cease using terms and phrases that have meaning only in the Christian subculture. Here is how a conversation between a Christian and a non Christian may turn out: Christian: Brother, I felt like I was really backsliding, so I crucified my old man and put on my new man, and now the fruit of the Spirit is evident in my life! Time to go in my prayer closet. I need an open heaven over my life. I need to confess my sins and the blood of Jesus will wash me, He will do the same for you too! Non-Christian: What the hell did you just say? Christian: Brother, you need to ask the Lord for revelation so you can repent. Seek the face God, humble yourself under his mighty hand. Man, just get ready because the rapture could happen anytime. These are the end-times; can you not see the signs of the times? Non-Christian: Come again? Christian: Not come again, born again! You need to be born from above. Time is short, man. The antichrist is already here. You need to get right! Christ has redeemed you. Salvation is so sweet. Accept Him and crucify your old man! Non-Christian: Kill my dad? Ermmm ok?.Whatever! Bye! If we are to be positioned in influential positions in society it will be necessary that we learn a new vocabulary to be able to give a crystal clear presentation of the gospel. "And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ.Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone" (Colossians 3:4-6). Our preaching should not be just to the choir. Remove the letter 'p'from the word 'preach' and you get the word 'reach.' Remove the 'r' and you get the word 'each'. Preach to reach each. Skills in PR (personal relations) make a huge difference. "So if you speak in a way no one can understand, what's the point of opening your mouth? There are many languages in the world and they all mean something to someone. But if I don't understand the language, it's not going to do me much good. It's no different with you. Since you're so eager to participate in what God is doing, why don't you concentrate on doing what helps everyone in the church?" (I Corinthains 14:9-11 The Message). If you asked an individual with no Christian background, "Would you like to be saved?" Their response may be, "Saved from what?" They struggle to understand Christians. I have heard a lot of preaching that I barely understood; the un-churched would have no chance! In some church circles they still speak King James English! "Excusest me, canest thou tallest me the wayest to the toiletest?" Might as well just say, "Blah, blah, blah." Here are a few alternative ways to express what the Bible teaches: Amen: Yes! That's so true! I agree. Anointing: You have special abilities and chosen to be gifted. Backsliding: The Christian who seems to be losing their faith. Blessed: God has done something good for you. He has good plans for you. Bondage: Trapped. Held back. Born Again: Someone who has experienced a spiritual rebirth or awakening. Brethren: Christians. Called by God: Destined and chosen for a special task. Cleansing: Changes need to be made in you life. Need to give up old habits. Fellowship: A sense of belonging, socializing usually with other Christians Made right with God: Refers to the "reconciliation" of the believer with God. Can refer to an individual's initial religious conversion or to a backslider's recovery of faith or principles. Mission: Christian activities which serve the church or the community. This can include "outreach", "servant-evangelism" or any other activity which seeks to interest non-believers in Christianity. On fire for God: Excited about Christianity/God. Outreach: The process of taking the Christian message to people who are not Christians, usually with the connotation of doing so through servant-evangelism-like activities. Redeemed: The verb redeem is used in the sense of "free, rescue, ransom". The speaker believes that his or her faith in Christianity has "rescued" them from the spiritual consequences of their actions or previous lack of belief. Saved: Spared from the consequences of sin by a belief in Christianity. Sanctified: The common dictionary definition is "to make holy or purify"; in Christianese this is usually applied to individuals rather than objects. Often a synonym for born again or saved. Slain in the Spirit: An experience in which belief in the physical power of God causes people to fall to the ground. This is an important part of Pentecostal beliefs, but it is not included in the doctrine, experience and language of many other Protestant denominations. Signs of the times: Current world events associated with certain passages of the Bible, which are interpreted as prophecies indicating the second coming of Christ. Walk with God: The practice of applying Christian principles and beliefs to everyday life. Witness or Witnessing: Telling someone how and why you are a Christian, generally on a one-to-one basis. Here are a few more words that you can attempt to rephrase: Deliverance: Discernment: Disciple: Edification: Enemy: Flesh: Fruit: Fruit of the Spirit: Grace: Hard Ground: Holiness: Justification: Led/Felt led: Lost (The): Mantle: Ministry: Old Man: Prophecy: Prophesy: Prophetic: Quicken: Rapture: Repent: Revelation: Salvation: Sanctification: Saved: Scripture: Steadfast: Stronghold: Strongman: Tarry: Unction: Vision: Washed with the Blood: Washing with the Word: Wilderness: World/Worldly: Zeal: Having journeyed through a process of unlearning Christianese, I no longer use the word 'hallelujah' nor many of the Christian vocabulary generally used. If required I am capable of speaking Christianese for the sake of communicating to those who speak no other language., though I do detest it. Here is small exercise for you. The next time you are talking to a Christian or sitting in a service, listen out for words that maybe difficult for the un-churched to understand. Put yourself in their shoes. You will be surprised how bewildering our speech can be to them. You may also find it helpful to read a modern translation of the Bible. Modern translations will phrase Biblical verses using modern vocabulary. It is an excellent way to retrain oneself on how to speak the Christian message in a contemporary manner. For your amusement here is some humor related to Christianese. Christianese: "That's not my spiritual gift. Translation: "Find someone else." Christianese: "The Lord works in mysterious ways." Translation: "I'm totally clueless." Christianese: "Lord willing . . ." Translation: "You may think I'll be there, but I won't." Christianese: "I don't feel led." Translation: "Can't make me." Christianese: "Got a 'check' in my spirit about him." Translation: "Can't stand that jerk!" Christianese: "Prayer concerns" Translation: "Gossip" Christianese: "In conclusion . . . " Translation: "I'll be done in another hour or so." Christianese: "Just put it in God's hands." Translation: "Don't expect me to help you." Christianese: "God wants to prosper you!" Translation: "Give me all your money." Frequently Christians speak in an overly unrealistic tone of kindness and love. The "Oh bless you" type of Christian is so fake that their photo is displayed under the word 'fake' in dictionaries. Preachers use a 'fake tone' of voice to appear sincere. Some even imitate other preachers. Be yourself. You can be imitated but you can't be duplicated! I have often been accused of being rough and tough in speech. It is true that I can be a little rough when I minister to people, but at the same time I use a lot of humor. Naturally could not tell a joke to save my life, but when God does it even I laugh! I remember an incident many years ago when a Christian attended a service I was conducting and complained there was too much laughing! Often when I preach people will comment they had never laughed so much (or was it that the preaching was a joke?). I recall well the time I entered a new dimension in worship. During a Sunday service I had a guest speaker. As he ministered at the close of the service I was in the presence of the Lord, suddenly I smiled as I saw the glory of the Lord. This was the first time I had smiled in worship. Ever since then I have not stopped smiling! Have you noticed when most people praise and worship God they look like they have just sucked ten lemons? Sincere as they and I were, there should be joy in the presence of the Lord, not constipation faces. Our body language speaks volumes. It is another form of Christianese. It was with my roughness towards 'religion' that people would react with hostility, though these same people accuse me of being too graceful! I am accused of being aggressive and too direct in confronting the religious practices in Christianity. There came a time that even I became somewhat concerned, until one day during 2007 just before I was about to preach a conference I bowed my head as I was being introduced and I silently prayed "Lord, help me be nice!" As soon as I took the microphone the Spirit of God spoke to me and said, "You are like John the Baptist, rough and raw, be yourself." Since then I have a God given gift, which is I don't care what people think of me or say about me! I know Him and there is nothing anyone can do about it! Those who know Him have that security. Thank God I delivered from religious Christianity. I have known Him decades - He has known me for eternity! I speak the words He gives me. Romans 11:22 speaks of the "goodness and severity of God." There are times God permits us to experience circumstances that are severe. His severity is for our good. Severity for the sake of severity is barbaric. I am convinced that some preachers are severe just for the sake of being severe. Their doctrine is flawed, their image of God is twisted and so they reflect that image in their preaching and teaching. Many people have been offended by strong confrontational preaching, usually because weak people are easily wrongly offended. Christianity is often so prim and proper that it seems unreal. Hearing the truth can often hurt and good strong preaching is good for us. I often see people behave so natural and real outside a church a setting and once they enter a church environment they become all soft and religious. When Christians speak to God in prayer their voice suddenly assumes a sanctimonious tone. It sounds like they are reading the prayer. This false mellowness coupled with flowery love can be repulsive. At times being overly nice can be patronizing. Christians seem to think they are to behave as just described. 'Rude' Preachers: You will enjoy this section that deals with one of the errors in Christian circles which is the teaching on anger, when suppression is taught as the only answer. We will observe that Christians do not have to be 'soft' all the time. Wrath (fits of rage NIV) is clearly listed by Paul as one of the works of the flesh. However, anger is a God given gift that used in the right way, provokes us to action. Hence, Paul writes about the subject to the Ephesians church, "Be ye angry, and sin not; let not the sun go down on your wrath; neither give place to the devil" (Eph 4:26-27). Paul's warning not to give place to the flesh implies that unrestrained anger will expose us to attack. Dr Lloyd Jones, the famous preacher from the last century, sums up the meaning of these verses: "Anger is something that is placed in us by God; it is a capacity within man which results in his being roused by the sight of certain things. And the result is that it is a priceless and precious thing" Lloyd Jones, Darkness and Light, (Edinburgh, UK and Carlisle, PE: Banner of Truth Trust, 1982), 227 The gospels record an occasion when Jesus became angry when He observed what was happening in the temple, and it certainly provoked him to action!!" He plaited a cord to whip the people and overturned tables! What if He had done this in your church? The apostle Paul admitted he was rude and direct in speech. "But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things" Apostle Paul, Book of II Corinthians 11:6 "Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction" Apostle Paul, Book of II Corinthians 13:10 "This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority--the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down" Apostle Paul, Book of II Corinthians 13:10 (NIV) Paul said of Peter, called Cephas: "When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision. The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy." Apostle Paul, Book to the Galatians 2:11-13 Opposing people to their face is not considered very Christ like in the modern church. We like to behave so prim and proper. Paul then went on to speak in language most churches would not find acceptable: "Why don't these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves! Apostle Paul, Book to the Galatians 5:12 Yes! Your read correctly, he told them to go cut off their crown jewels! Not only would this type of language upset modern Christians it probably raised a few eyebrows in the early church. People thought Paul was forceful and demanding: "For even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than pulling you down, I will not be ashamed of it. I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. For some say, "His letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible". Apostle Paul, Book of II Corinthians 10:8-10 "For some say, "Paul's letters are demanding and forceful" Apostle Paul, Book of II Corinthians 10:10 "Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness [boldness] of speech" Apostle Paul, Book of II Corinthians 3:12 There is nothing unbiblical about being firm, direct, honest and to the point when it is with the intention to bring genuine change for the good. Strong language is found in the Bible. Consider the following strong language: 1. Paul described himself and the other apostles as the filth and offscouring of the world (I Cor 4:9-13). 2. He slurred a whole nationality the Cretians for being "liars, evil beasts, slow bellies" (Titus 1:12). 3. Paul called Christ's enemies "dogs,' "the concision," and belly worshippers (Phil 3:2,19; Rom 16:17-18). 4. Paul called all his past religious experiences dung in comparison to Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:3-8). 5. Paul told the Corinthians they could stay ignorant, if they didn't like his doctrine (I Corinthians 14:38). 6. Paul wrote against Hymenaeus and Philetus (II Tim 2:16-17) and Alexander the coppersmith (II Tim 4:14). 7. Paul wrote to a church and publicly told two of the members to be of the same mind (Philippians 4:2). 8. Paul said the Galatians were foolish and had been bewitched from the gospel by their teachers (Gal 3:1). 9. Paul wrote the Galatians and dressed Peter down publicly before the church and all saints (Gal 2:11-14). 10. Peter called evil workers, "brute beasts"; and he called backsliders, "dogs" and "sows" (II Peter 2:12,22). 11. John the Baptist, Jesus, and Paul were described as mad by critics (Matt 11:18; John 10:20; Acts 26:24). 12. Jesus Christ in prophecy used the term "dogs" to describe his persecutors at the crucifixion (Psalm 22:16) 13. Jesus spoke of unbelievers as "dogs" and "swine," and the Gentiles as "dogs" (Matt 7:6; 15:26). 14. Jesus used "hypocrites," "blind guides," "fools," "serpents," and "vipers" for religious leaders (Matt 23). 15. Jesus made a scene in premeditated anger, drove insincere worshippers from the temple, threw out their money, and overturned their tables in anger and showed zeal for the proper worship of God (John 2:12-18)! When He was told His preaching was too difficult, He repeated the message to the crowd (John 6:60-67). 16. With love John openly criticized and condemned a fellow preacher Diotrephes of pride (III John 1:9-10). 17. God's ministers are occasionally rude because they have this treasure in an earthly vessel (II Corinthians 4:7). In other words they are human like you! 18. The very gospel has been designed to offend the learned wisdom of the world (I Cor 1:17-25). Are you offended by strong language? 19. The word "bastard" appears three times in the King James Version of the Bible. In Deuteronomy 23:2 and Zechariah 9:6 the Hebrew word is "mamzer." It is clear then that strong, direct and challenging language is acceptable. The Word 'Shit' in the Bible This section examines a shocking word. I have included this since the Bible itself contains this word. The word appears in Philippians 3:8. Here it is in the original Greek (for those of you who may be Greek experts!): ἀλλὰ μενοῦνγε καὶ ἡγοῦμαι πάντα ζημίαν εἶναι διὰ τὸ ὑπερέχον τῆς γνώσεως Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ κυρίου μου, διὃν τὰ πάντα ἐζημιώθην, καὶ ἡγοῦμαι σκύβαλα, ἵνα Χριστὸν κερδήσω I haven't got a clue what is written; including it here in Greek text makes me appear intelligent! On a more serious note the word we want to take note of is 'σκύβαλα'--pronounced 'skubala.' Here's a literal translation of this verse: "But indeed I also consider everything to be loss on account of the surpassing knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, on account of whom I forfeited all things; and I consider them shit so that I may gain Christ." Yes, you read correctly - Skubala literally means shit, human excrement and carries the same connotation. It's truly a crude, vulgar and offensive word. Paul would not have used it in mixed group unless he fully anticipated a reaction. It's not easy to find Christian sources that talk about skubala, but its use in ancient writings outside of the Bible makes clear that it was considered incredibly impolite. In the leading Modern Greek lexicon, BDAG, it defines skubala as "refuse," "garbage," "human excrement," "crud," and "crap" very strong words for this Christian scholarly book. As we can see the original text of the sacred Scripture contains words that people find controversial. The religious mind finds this difficult to deal even though they would deny this their struggle. Even Bible translators struggle with this word. English translations don't like this word. They take the bite out so as not to offend. King James: "...Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ..." New American Standard: "...Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ..." New English Translation: "...Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things indeed, I regard them as dung! - that I may gain Christ..." Revised Standard: "...Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse, in order that I may gain Christ..." It's noteworthy that all these translations dilute the original crudeness. Why would they do this? It is not uncommon for Christians to dilute their language in order not to offend the religious mindset; both their own religious mind and the religious mind of others. There are various kinds of people reading this. Some will be asking, "Why have the translators been sanitizing the Bible? If Paul said it, surely it's not our business to modify it." The other type of person will ask, "Why even write about this? Why air this dirty laundry? How is this helpful to Christianity?" The answer to these questions lies in Philippians 3. Paul uses this word with a motive. Note Phil 3:4-9: "If someone thinks he has good reasons to put confidence in human credentials, I have more: I was circumcised on the eighth day, from the people of Israel and the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews. I lived according to the law as a Pharisee. In my zeal for God I persecuted the church. According to the righteousness stipulated in the law I was blameless. But these assets I have come to regard as liabilities because of Christ. More than that, I now regard all things as liabilities compared to the far greater value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things indeed, I regard them as dung! that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not because I have my own righteousness derived from the law, but because I have the righteousness that comes by way of Christ's faithfulnessa righteousness from God that is in fact based on Christ's faithfulness." The link between the use of this world and Paul's comments above is legalism. Legalism is simply a pretense that some human beings are nicer while others are bad. They presume there is a standard of 'normal' Christian behavior that separates the decent from the dirt-bag. The Philippians Church began to adopt this theory and so they needed a rude awakening! Paul gave them a severe shock so they would realize the truth of the matter. He basically said to them, "Don't even inconvenience yourself trying to be 'decent': I've had a go, but you will still end up a dirt-bag. If you want to be righteous, it's going to take divine intervention." Just to make sure they understand his point Paul uses the 's' word. Jesus said something similar: "Woe to you, experts in the law and you Pharisees, hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs that look beautiful on the outside but inside are full of the bones of the dead and of everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you look righteous to people, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness." (Matthew 23:27-28) The prophet Isaiah uses another crude expression when referring to this same topic: "We are all like one who is un-clean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a menstrual rag in your sight" (Isaiah 64:6). In other words, what human beings perceive as righteous behavior, God compares it to a soiled tampon. If you never knew this was in the Bible I would love to see the expression on your face right now! I have met numerous non- Christians who felt terribly awkward when attending churches. The looks and stares were deadly enough to kill. It is not uncommon for Christian people to struggle to socialize with non-Christians as one human to another. The Old Covenant instructs "come out from among them and be separate", the New Covenant says, "Go into all nations, societies and groups of people and proclaim the gospel" We only seem to approve of selected types of people. If a person smokes, cusses, smells of liquor or dresses seductively they are viewed as questionable, inferior, deviant and an outsider. You're only permitted into the church clique if your shirts are starched, you have a cheesy smile with teeth which are whiter than white and your speech is inoffensive, prim and proper. Jesus hung out with "sinners" including tax collectors, drunks, and prostitutes, to such a great degree that the 'holy religious people' of his day accused Him of being a depraved party animal (Luke 7:34). Can you imagine how deluded these religious people were to conclude that the one who never sinned was a chief sinner? If you could travel in time and visit the early church you would discover they were a right bunch of 'ordinary' people, not the refined clean middle-class stereotype found in most modern evangelical churches. It is interesting to discuss the reasons for the change. Some have speculated that answer lies in the reason why we go to church. They believe today's average Christian attends church to 'connect with like-minded people' in order to form a community for fellowship and receive support. We make the weekly trips to church so that our children will be in a loving, safe setting where they can learn about God and family values. These are noble goals, but do they have any relation to Jesus hanging on a bloody cross? Did our Lord hang on a bloody cross to provide us with a super clean, extra safe, child-friendly social club where we can hold hands and sing, "kumbaya my lord" with like-minded family-values-oriented people? Or did he hang on a bloody cross to utterly transform our crap lives? Jesus said: "Those who are healthy don't need a physician, but those who are sick do. Go and learn what this saying means: 'I want mercy and not sacrifice.' I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners" (Matthew 9:12). Does 'righteous' here refer to those who are genuinely righteous? I think not, I am convinced there is a tone of sarcasm here. It is a reference to those who think so highly of themselves, but camouflage it with false humility. This type cannot comprehend grace. They are in Christians churches all over the world belting out thunderous sermons on holiness and using feeble proof texts to support their own self righteousness. So the Bible used words like "shit" and "soiled tampon" because that's what the Bible thinks of how good we are, though your translation may read "dung" and "filthy rags" because Christians are still trying to whitewash the truth in an act of self righteousness It is true that once we come into Christ, there is a transformation. It is also true that Jesus found it necessary to speak very aggressively with the religious people of his day. Allow me to close this chapter with a prayer: "Father God in the heaven, you are omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient in the Spirit realm. I eternally praise and thank you as I lift up holy hands for your saving grace through faith in thine only begotten Son Jesus Christ, the Savior of mankind. Manifest your wisdom from above and equip us for evangelism so that we may bring salvation to a lost world through anointed words they can discern the meaning of by your precious anointing from the third dimension" Perhaps this prayer is too heavily loaded with Christianesewhat is your (C) James Peter Jandu. Maybe be used in magazines and websites with full website and contact details included of author. www.jamespeterministries.com Email: [email protected] Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |