Thought for Today
Genesis 11:1 Now the whole earth had one language and the same words . . . 7 Come, let us go down, and confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech."
Psalm 114:1 When Israel went out from Egypt, the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,
Acts 2:6 And at this sound the crowd gathered and was bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in the native language of each.
Acts 26:14 When we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It hurts you to kick against the goads.'
Many years ago, I read in an article I have otherwise completely forgotten that English is the second most difficult language to learn. Mandarin Chinese was the most difficult. I suspect that much of the difficulty in learning English is that almost all of our verbs are irregular, cases are indicated by the word’s position in the sentence, and we keep inventing new words almost daily.
Having grown up (?) speaking Texican, a related but totally different language, I am fully aware of the problems in learning English. Having worked with engineers from many English-speaking countries. I am also aware in the truth of “Americans and the British are two people separated by a common language.” Irrespective of who first said that, the sentiment is more accurate than we like to admit.
In college, I was allowed 1 non-engineering elective course. I chose to take a course in sociology and anthropology. I learned about the various theories about the evolution of humans. As we have developed our knowledge and understanding of DNA, RNA and the human genome, I have read several books and articles about the how, where and why of the spread of humans around the world. There seem to be lots of theories, lots of arguments and lots of ‘discussions,’ but no definitive answers.
I don’t know whether Genesis was initially written as a metaphor, analogy, lyric poem or actual, factual history. While I love to read the Bible, I read the Bible as a spiritual textbook, not a history or science textbook.
All of that being said, I’m still fascinated by all the different languages we have developed to allow us to talk to each other. If we evolved from a common ancestor, why in the world did we develop different languages? Why don’t we all think, write and speak variations of some original language? Normal human interactions would seem to me to drive a commonality of language. The inherent dangers of miscommunication should propel us all to speak a single language. Obviously, of course, that language should be Texican.
Some of the differences within the common languages we share are trivial, e.g., a biscuit is one thing in America and something quite different in England. And, many of the words in our common language have evolved from one meaning during my youth to something else entirely different today, e.g., a cookie today can be some mysterious ‘thing’ some websites insist on implanting in my computer, but can also still be the chocolate cookie my mother used to bake for me.
Some days I am amazed that any of us are ever able to convey an idea, share a thought or communicate at all. The plan to “confuse their language there, so that they will not understand one another's speech” was wildly successful.
I read and write a lot about the current state of our divided nation and divided world. It seems to me that humanity has been divided since Cain and Abel could not agree between hunting and farming. “Historians have estimated that during the American Revolution, between 15 and 20 percent of the white population of the colonies, or about 500,000 people, were Loyalists.” (en.wikipedia.org)
As we approach our 250th anniversary celebration, it seems to me that our divide today is closer to 50/50 than the 80/20 with which we began. Is that progress or regression? What might the percentages be were we to all listen to each other and honestly consider the other side’s position?
Maybe the problem is less the differences in language than it is our refusal to both hear and listen. Maybe we are already planning our rebuttals before we even hear the words of those with whom we ‘communicate’ much less consider their words.
Stay safe, stop/look/listen, trust God,
Pastor Ray