Tag: Christianese

Christianese and Techno-garble

Common Craft shares a great video highlighting the features of Rockwells Retro Encabulator.

Be sure you watch this one. The technology is amazing!

Ok… did you watch it? Truth be known, it’s a hoax.

Behind the announcer is simply a bank of large circuit breaker panels. You can find these in any large building. This is a hoax video produced by Rockwell for a sales meeting.

But it got me thinking – is this what we sound like when we talk Christianese to “non-believers?” Is this what I sound like when I talk government and history to my wife? Is this what I sound like when I talk about technology to my friends and family?

Consider the audience.

While terms like Son of God, kingdom, good news, Messiah, Parousia (or presence), Savior, faith, Lord and Emmanuel may have been familiar to Jews and Romans in the time of Christ (see “Jesus for President” p.67-69), they may not carry the same meaning or understanding for folks in our day.

While I’m not suggesting we change all our terminology, I think we need to be careful to explain and share our understanding of the terms and ideas that those outside (and maybe even inside) the church aren’t familiar with.

Otherwise, to them it may feel like standing in line at Starbucks for the first time, hearing folks in front of them rattle off, “Venti, skinny, 2 shots, no-whip, Cinnamon Dulce Latte.”

The Gospel according to Mike Huckabee

From NPR:

If you heard Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee’s victory speech on Super Tuesday, you may have noticed him speaking in what is almost a separate dialect. Some listeners have even asked us what he was talking about. So NPR headed off to the National Mall in search of people who understood Huckabee’s biblical allusions.

It proved almost as hard as getting a camel through the eye of a needle.

Seems like much of Huckabee’s Christianese may be confusing people. What about our our language and conversation. Are we using terms that others may not know?