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SPEAKING CHRISTIAN Understanding traditional religious language and new ways to state our faith Çoncepts help us consider religious questions and controversies,

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Presentation on theme: "SPEAKING CHRISTIAN Understanding traditional religious language and new ways to state our faith Çoncepts help us consider religious questions and controversies,"— Presentation transcript:

1 SPEAKING CHRISTIAN Understanding traditional religious language and new ways to state our faith Çoncepts help us consider religious questions and controversies, and show how us to speak with an open and caring Christian perspective St. Timothy’s, April 2015 Matt Jones

2 SPEAKING CHRISTIAN Week 1: Words and the Word of God – Understanding the vocabulary of religion Week 2: How language shapes our faith – Do we know what we are saying to others? Week 3: Reclaiming our message – Rescuing Christian meaning from popular culture

3 Words and the Word of God
”Keywords” of the Bible Antiquated terms Religious symbolism Myths and facts Sources of our assumptions

4 ”KEYWORDS” OF THE BIBLE
God and Jesus: unique or interchangeable terms? Sin and Salvation: old concept = “wrong’” new thinking = ”separation” Forgiveness and Faith: repentance and redemption = transformation Virgin birth and Born again: Hebrew ”virgin” = young maid; Jesus says: “born from above” Atonement and Resurrection: Jesus as our replacement for sin; “rasied” in the body or the spirit?

5 ANTIQUATED TERMS? God’s Kingdom: ”Kingdoms” today = country, corporation, college, etc? Prophet, Messiah: Charismatic leaders today Ghandi, King, Mandela, etc? “God the Father”: And mother? And brother? Sacrificial lamb: Today’s “sacrifices”= taxes, military service, etc? Heaven and Hell: Metaphysical states or metaphors of spiritual conditions?

6 RELIGIOUS SYMBOLiSM Numerology: 40 years, 12 tribes, Trinity, 7 days of creation, etc. The Temptation: What would tempt Jesus today? Midrash interpretation: Retelling of old into new covenant The Trinity: God/Sophia/Son Revelation: Modern examples global warming, financial meltdown, etc.

7 MYTHS AND FACTS Evangelism vs reporting: Gospels written “so that you may believe” Parable vs. literal: Moral of the story vs. factual account Theology vs history: Jesus of faith vs Jesus of narrative Believing vs seeing: Faith by testimony vs faith by experience Spiritual vs science: Intuition vs investigation

8 SOURCES OF OUR ASSUMPTIONS
The canonical gospels vs “lost” scripture: Who decides what’s holy scripture? Paul’s teachings: ”God’s salesman First liturgies: Based on eye witness accounts of Jesus Early doctrine: Writing the creeds to define faith Church tradition: Interpreting Jesus life over time

9 Next week … Week 2: How language shapes our faith –
Do we know what we are saying to others? Understanding how to “Speak Christian” to those who don’t know the language.

10 How language shapes faith
Bible-speak Christian jargon Televangelist pitches Sermon sayings Prayer language

11 BibLe-speak Which translation? Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, Latin, English, other Who wrote gospels? “Schools” of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John Edited scripture: Midrash re-telling Heresy & scripture: Church rejected but popular tales Experience & scripture: Feeling vs dogma

12 Christian Jargon By-the-book literalism: Do Bible stories hold up to modern science? Marketing Jesus: Talking points about Jesus Christian cliches: Phrases that generalize the Christian truth Bumper-sticker theology: Promoting Jesus with slogans

13 TELEVANGELIST PITCHES
Captivating catch-phrases Conversion closers Reaction over reflection Speaking in tongues

14 SERMON SAYINGS What can/can’t be shared
Preaching and personal connection Spontaneous insights God is speaking Seeds are planted

15 PRAYER LANGUAGE The nature of creeds Communal prayer Unspoken prayer
Waiting for words Answers to prayers

16 Next week … Week 3: Reclaiming our message – Rescuing Christian meaning from popular culture

17 Reclaiming our message
The Jesus of culture End Times message God is dead God, tech, and the future

18 The jesus of culture Jesus in the movies The politics of religion
Church clubbers New Age Jesus Spiritual chic

19 End times message Instant conversions ”Chosen” people The Rapture
Jesus vs nonbelievers God condemns world

20 God is dead Science and religion Bible is outdated Culture as God
Competing religions Redefining God

21 God, tech, and the future What is ”human”? God in the machine?
Biblical ”code”? Perpetual prophecy

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