About Semantics
SEMANTICS. Remember how "Desiring God" was started off with discussion of prepositions? There can be SO MANY MISUNDERSTANDINGS caused by prepositions! And EMPHASES; DOUBLE NEGATIVES; use of negatives in different languages; statements mistaken for questions and vice versa; sentences interrupted in mid-stride thus incomplete; SO MUCH can go wrong in verbal communication! God did a thorough job at the Tower of Babel. It's often taught as confusion BETWEEN languages; sometimes now I wonder if there wasn't confusion WITHIN languages too, formed when God confounded the languages. (Gen. 11:1-8)
A creative writing teacher used to say it was the writer's responsibility, not to write clearly to be understood, but to write clearly so as not to be misunderstood. Methinks I'm coming to the place where I see that as well nigh impossible. I mean, you'd have to read the entire chapter to know what the author really meant to say in one subpoint, the entire book to know what he was saying; several books to know where he's coming from;...and in the long run, you'd have to know what kind of person the author was to NOT MISUNDERSTAND him.
I think there's a thought in the forming: It is the WRITER'S RESPONSIBILITY, not to write so as not to be misunderstood, but to work in readers' lives so that understandings turn on lights (Eph. 1:18) and even misunderstandings end up working for good (Rom. 8:28). And only Sovereign GOD is that kind of Author. The human writer should know that no matter how clearly he writes--altho' it IS his responsibility to write so clearly it will be difficult to be misunderstood, so long as he's treating things of God, there WILL be misunderstanding. But it won't ever be a misunderstanding God won't be able to handle!
(I'm not putting myself in the same category here, as much of my writing is things off the top of my head, not worked with. So if I were to author a book or something, I'd do much more work on making myself clear than I do with these emails!)
Another thought just hit me: If there were something I REALLY DIDN'T WANT the reader to get a clear grasp of, I would be vague intentionally! Aren't there specifics God DOESN'T want us to get--and He would withhold no good thing from us (Ps. 84:11)--thus doesn't spell out clearly in the Bible? Why should we argue about who the 13th apostle was or who the author of Hebrews was, eschatology, what day of the week Christ was crucified, etc..., when we can be busy enjoying God (I Tim.6:17)?
A creative writing teacher used to say it was the writer's responsibility, not to write clearly to be understood, but to write clearly so as not to be misunderstood. Methinks I'm coming to the place where I see that as well nigh impossible. I mean, you'd have to read the entire chapter to know what the author really meant to say in one subpoint, the entire book to know what he was saying; several books to know where he's coming from;...and in the long run, you'd have to know what kind of person the author was to NOT MISUNDERSTAND him.
I think there's a thought in the forming: It is the WRITER'S RESPONSIBILITY, not to write so as not to be misunderstood, but to work in readers' lives so that understandings turn on lights (Eph. 1:18) and even misunderstandings end up working for good (Rom. 8:28). And only Sovereign GOD is that kind of Author. The human writer should know that no matter how clearly he writes--altho' it IS his responsibility to write so clearly it will be difficult to be misunderstood, so long as he's treating things of God, there WILL be misunderstanding. But it won't ever be a misunderstanding God won't be able to handle!
(I'm not putting myself in the same category here, as much of my writing is things off the top of my head, not worked with. So if I were to author a book or something, I'd do much more work on making myself clear than I do with these emails!)
Another thought just hit me: If there were something I REALLY DIDN'T WANT the reader to get a clear grasp of, I would be vague intentionally! Aren't there specifics God DOESN'T want us to get--and He would withhold no good thing from us (Ps. 84:11)--thus doesn't spell out clearly in the Bible? Why should we argue about who the 13th apostle was or who the author of Hebrews was, eschatology, what day of the week Christ was crucified, etc..., when we can be busy enjoying God (I Tim.6:17)?
Labels: ...just thinking...
posted by Life in Koriyama @ 2:31 PM
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