The Power of Words

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been reading a book called The End of Religion. Yeah, I know it seems a little odd for someone who has started going to church after a twenty-plus year hiatus to read a book by that name, but if you indulge me for a minute, you'll see where I'm going with this introduction.

I guess that I should start by giving a little background about the book. Despite the title, it doesn't advocate atheism. Quite the contrary. The End of Religion proposes that Christ walked the earth with the goal of helping every person to create an intimate, direct bond with God. This bond does not require elaborate rituals, dietary restrictions, rosary beads or adherence to a strict set of rules. It simply requires love... love of God, love of your fellow man, and love of yourself.

Another quick side note about the book before I get on to my main point. The author proposes that religion was originally designed to forge and strengthen a relationship with God, but over time, the rituals, rites and restrictions became the focus, and the actual point -- the relationship with God -- fell by the wayside. Jesus came to Earth with the goal of returning our focus to the relationship with God. A noble goal, indeed. Over time though, we, in our infinite wisdom, founded the Christian religion, complete with rituals, rites and restrictions, which have once again steered us away from our intimate, one-on-one relationship with God.

Now I can get to my point. One thing the book discussed with some detail was the power of words. As one who is kind of proud of my prolific vocabulary, I innately understand how utilizing a specific word can have a tremendous impact on the point being made. Unfortunately however, many people -- especially those in the religious establishment -- fail to recognize this truth. Allow me to illustrate, using religiously-oriented words that impact me, for better or worse.

Saved: This is probably the first word on the list that makes me cringe, and when I explain myself, I am sure that I'm going to piss off a lot of my fellow Christians. When I think of "saved," I have a mental picture of someone who rescues me from drowning, a fiery building, or some similar dangerous situation. I don't tend to think of my spiritual life in this way though. Before returning to my walk with God, I didn't feel that I was drowning. I didn't experience a sense of impending doom. A better way to explain how I felt was that something was missing... life was good, but not quite right... not the best that it could be. I was unsalted spaghetti sauce. To me, "saved" is too black-and-white. Either I'm saved, or I am damned. I wasn't saved, I was enhanced.

Born again: This is another term that kind of chaps my hide. The idea of being born again is that the old you dies, and a new you is born. This kind of indicates a transformation... a metamorphosis. Sorry, that one doesn't click with me either. If I were to be born again in the sense that I understand, I would feel the need to desert old friends and turn my back on some of the earthly things that bring me joy. I believe that God doesn't want me to do this. He wants me to continue loving my friends, and enjoying the pleasures of this world -- as long as they don't distract from my relationship with Him.

Walking with God: This is one that I like. Walking with God feels like a nature hike. Sometimes I stop to take in the wonders of nature while He travels on. Other times, I get a little goal-oriented and drive blindly on, even though He wants me to smell the roses. Either way though, we're always in sight of each other, and He's ready to lend a hand when I stumble.

Religion: Religion feels like adherence to the rule of law. I'm not a big fan of doing something because I've been told that it's what I must do. I like doing something because it feels right.

Faith: Faith is belief in something that can't necessarily be proven or demonstrated. I like faith.

Sinner: This is a double-edged sword for me. I know that I'm not free from sin, but I (usually) cannot in good conscience call another person a sinner. It's too pejorative, and it requires me to assume that I know God's will. Sorry, I'm not that enlightened.

Sin: Another double-edged word. To me, sin means "anything that's not Godly." I'm not that dichotomous in my thinking. I firmly believe that some parts of the human experience are mundane... neither Godly nor sin.

This is a short list of hot-button words for me. There are more, but hopefully this illustrates the power of words, as it applies to faith. It would be good for us all if everyone -- believers and non-believers alike -- would apply a little bit of leeway when it comes to the meaning behind words. The world would be a much better place for it.