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Date Posted: 02:16:13 08/31/04 Tue
Author: Mike K.
Subject: The basic premise
In reply to: Former UBFin' 's message, "UBF code language" on 13:18:58 08/30/04 Mon

I think it is time for Christians to wake up and realize that if they want to evangelize their secular freinds they are going to have to use language that their pals can understand.

That's what I'd say.

If you look at certain important parts in history:

First - the Lord Jesus Almighty could have taught His disciples the Heavenly language before ministering to them.
But He chose to use parables in a language they could very well fathom.
He didn't say "Now, let me use the word WHAMAHAMAAHAA" to signify the reality of God's preciousness but rather He chose to give the parable of the most precious pearl. He didn't redefine the language with Heavenly terms, He didn't even raise the intellectual level of His disciples before talking to them - no, He used everyday language for the deepest spiritual secrets known to manking.

Second - Martin Luther. His burden (and success) was not that he made yet another scholastic interpretation of the Bible and force people to study it, but that he put the Bible into a language where people could understand it without first having studied 4-5 years of Latin. He brought the Bible into everyone's language, not the other way around.

Third - Hudson Taylor. He didn't know Chinese so well, and he was clearly incapable of teaching Chinese commoners and English, much less Greek or Hebrew. But he used Chinese signs to show to people that even their language contained the message of the Gospel already, that all they had to do was take it. He didn't bring a new language, He used their language on their level to give to them something which they could understand.

Fourth - Mother Theresa. What language did she speak? I think everyone remembers that the words of her mouth never were as important to her as the words her hands spoke. Her actions were her speaking. And she reached an innumerable amount of people that way. No nwe terminology needed.

All that we need to preach the Gospel is in man's heart already - we just need to realize it. No need to define it.

In Christ,
Mike K.

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Replies:

Re: UBF code language -- Tony Lang, 08:38:39 08/31/04 Tue