thus saith the l-rd

such is the fear of breaking the third commandment any practicing jew will not say, or even write, the word "god"; "g-d" appears instead. there is a reluctance, a hesitancy, about attaching the name of yhwh to any human utterance at all.

the contrast with many evangelical circles, particularly those of a more charismatic flavour, could not be greater. the 'god-language' is used fast and loose. "god says" this, and "god want us to do" that. such language is powerful. as well as encouraging, comforting, healing and admonishing, it can control, oppress, close discussion and promote private agendas.

i have seen the abuse of the 'god language' too many times to enumerate. a guy splits up with his girlfriend because 'god told me we shouldn't be going out together'' - no! he simply doesn't like the girl that much any more. but where's the harm you say. the harm is in the impression left in the jilted girl's mind: not only has she to deal with the trauma of splitting up with her true love, but now she also has residual guilt at having so missed what the lord was obviously saying and at having led her former boyfriend off the straight and narrow path.

i remember being asked for help by the leadership of a church in restructuring leadership tiers and steering a new direction as the church was, in a very literal way, dying on its feet. so i studied for many hours, asked numerous questions and wrote a lengthy analysis and, at an extended leadership meeting, presented the report and answered questions for a couple of hours. of course, no-one was suggesting that every single one of the many recommendations be acted upon, but a real buzz was created and everyone agreed that there were at least some exciting possibilities.

however, things changed dramatically when a week later, someone told the leadership that 'god had told them' that we should ... blah blah blah. this person had not studied the situation in any depth, were completely unaware of systemic flaws and faults within the church structures and, to be frank, were not widely known for their wisdom and insight. but their recommendations were pretty much implemented verbatim and the report shelved.

now, of course, you've got to see an element of sour grapes in this - all the time and effort i had put in -  so i was pissed. but there's more to it. the assumption there was that there are degrees of inspiration and revelation with a "word from god" couched in the heady and florid "god says" language instantly trumping common sense, preparation, analysis, forethought and blatantly obvious recommendations. of course there was little to discuss now and no dissent as the perception was that the argument would no longer be with a mere mortal, but with the god who had 'said'! i still wonder if things would have been differently had i used this 'god-language' throughout my presentation.

there have been a number of times in my life when people have approached me with various 'words from god', with differing degrees of applicability. the worst example came at a time in my life when i was particularly vulnerable. i was thick in the midst of the worst time of my life when some utter muppet i had never spoken to before approached me with a particularly spiteful 'word'. normally, it would have been like water off a duck's back, but this day, weakened as i was, the words fell on me like wet cement. they found their way into the deepest recesses of my suicidal soul confirming my very worst fears.

i returned to my sister and brother-in-law's house where i was staying at the time and hid in a darkened room where they found me in tears several hours later. gently, patiently and with kind persistence they sifted the grain of wheat from the slew of chaff shifting through my mind, prayed with me and put me together again. as it turned out, this guy was notorious for giving these 'prophetic words' and was rarely close to target, so much so that he had been spoken to several times by the leadership of his church.

the next week i returned to the guy's church and sought him out at the end of the service. i told him that i had taken what he had said and had checked it out with family and several close and trusted friends all of whom had confirmed that his words had no validity whatsoever. i then read him this passage from deuteronomy

but any prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, or who presumes to speak in my name a word that i have not commanded the prophet to speak—that prophet shall die. you may say to yourself, “how can we recognize a word that the lord has not spoken?” if a prophet speaks in the name of the lord but the thing does not take place or prove true, it is a word that the lord has not spoken. the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; do not be frightened by it.
~ deuteronomy 18:20-22

so i told him that i was getting a crowd together and we would go outside the city walls where we would stone him to death as he had presumed to speak in the name of god while uttering complete falsehood. the guy visibly blanched. only then did i say that of course we weren't going to kill him, but scripture said we should as he was playing with people's lives and the reputation of the most high.

there is a sadness which sometimes enters the equation when we try to speak of spiritual experiences we have had to apparently cynical or jaded christian friends. we find ourselves accidentally lapsing into 'religious' language and become embarrassed. we are preoccupied with theological correctness as we stumble through our account of particularly significant moments in our lives and become suspicious, timid, wary of the charismata. when good friends talk with me i am capable of interpreting. of course they mean "i felt that god was saying..." when they say "god said..." and so on. they don't need to struggle to say it right all the time every time.

but maybe there should be a struggle and some timidity when we come to speak of these things.

when i throw a kid up i the air now i am consciously thinking about where i touch him when i catch him. when a kid is snuggling up on my knee i am consciously shifting them so their weight is on the end of my knee and not my crotch. when i tell this in the many child protection sessions i have taught some people say that it's really sad that i am thinking that way; that my relationship with the child is somehow sullied and i am not completely in the moment. my response is always the same: when you have heard as many first-hand stories of child abuse as i have these tiny sacrifices don't even seem like sacrifices at all for while i will not take advantage of the kid's familiarity with particular kinds of touch, the next person may well. part of being a grown-up is that i should be thinking about these things so that the kid never has to. although my experince may be slightly altered, the child's remains totally pure and innocent.

it seems to me it's the same with 'god language'. we, who are grown up, ought to be very careful how we use our words. of course complete purity of expression is impossible, but it is still a worthy target. i am not denying profound spritual experiences, that god still speaks today, that miracles happen, that everything should be perfectly reasoned, reasonable and ordered, but am simply calling for caution.

words have power - they can exalt one person over another; make some feel that their individual experience of and pilgrimage with god is somehow second rate. some people seem to have 'words', dreams, visions, 'senses' and 'promptings' a dozen times a day. for me, the count is around a dozen in my life so far. does that mean that god speaks to me, through me, less? that your blogging, teaching, writing is less inspired than someone's message to the church spoken in tongues? perhaps. but certainly not necessarily.

so we must be careful how we speak of god. we are trying to express the inexpressible, to recount the ineffable, to say silence. it is an infinite task, but one which we must struggle to get better at.

so what do you think? how do we speak of our encounters with god? have you been aware of the abuse of 'god language'? or does this piece make you feel sad because we are in danger of losing too much in a vain desire for theological correctness?

Comments

[Nathanael]

Welcome back, brother. I've missed you.
Way to come back with a bang.

I must echo your sentiments. I too have had wonderful, confirming words of knowledge spoken over me. I have also had vague, not-coming-true words spoken over me, though they did not carry the soul-shattering impact that you received.

Preaching needs to carry with it a similar weight of responsibility, if not more. For the preacher reaches more hearers than a solitary word of knowledge given to an individual. When I preach, even though I am not giving a word of knowledge, per se. I am opening the Word of God and expounding on it to the degree that I am essentially saying, "Thus sayeth the Lord..." Is that really what He's saying? Preaching is a grave responsibility. And giving a word of knowledge to a brother or sister is also weighty matter not to be trifled with.

Lord help us!

[shane]

"not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."
~ james 3:1

this verse haunts me every time i teach.

[Sarah D.]

A dear friend and I were just speaking about this today. I am very aware of the "god language" and its ability to impact and manipulate people, which at times is unintentional. I think we do need to be aware that as we use "god language" more and more casually we loose our respect for the power behind it and in turn create apathy. Honestly how hard is it to add a simple precursor line “I FEEL…“Or “I sense …” What has happened to our reverence for the creator and the power of His name and the intimacy of his “voice” when it is extended to us? We have sacrificed it so that we can be taken more seriously and avoid having our faith challenged, because who can disagree with “God Said”

When I speak I want to encourage discussion and growth which means I need to be mindful of the language choices I am making. I have had a few moments in my life where I have felt God’s direction, the rest of my life has been spent stepping out in faith and watching for the closing doors so they don’t slam in my face. That still small voice is just that in my life but precious when I feel as though I have experienced it.

Thank you for the verse it is a powerful reminder! The one in response to Nathans post as well. (I agree with Nathanael that teachers need to be ever mindful of the WORD they speaking and what authority it is given, however “hearers” of the word need to be held accountable for their learning as well.) Blessings

[Nathan Paylor]

hit it on the head, shane.

a few months ago a friend of mine came to somewhat distraught at being told her decision to go to university was questioned by a (bizarre) 'word' of knowledge, telling her that this 'next step' in life wasn't the right thing for her to do.

it is absolutely incredible just how much weight subjectively determined charismata are given within the evangelical church.

one fell swoop of "God has told me..." and automatically the dynamics of debate are not just shifted, but EXPECTED to shift!

suddenly questioning the credibility of said word becomes 'arrogant', 'close minded' or 'stifling'. the questioner becomes 'awkward' and in effect, the big bad wolf. perhaps like you i'm releasing some bile at this point, because i think that problem is made all the more problematic when it is one engaged in leadership and theological reflection doing the questioning (talking from experience). then the questioner is being 'stuffy' and academic, patronising and short sighted.

there's seldom an expectation that proper, scriptural reflection and 'testing' should take place (1 Thess 5:21; 1 Cor 14:29), but instead we are presented with the altogether suffocating expectation that no view or rebuke will/can/should take place.

i've had so, so, so, so many experiences of this - and to be honest, i'm so so so so sick of being the 'big bad wolf'.

i find it depressing that doing what scripture demands of us brings not pleasure and repute among the body of Christ, but scorn and charges of condescension. evidently, the subjective rule of faith that has come to define charismaticism is not to be questioned!

well, after that long rant, i should probably say that after dispensing some more... controlled... advice to my friend, she later came to the perspective that the one giving the 'word' was woefully misguided, and subsequently (and graciously) told him where to go :)

i was then guided to this:

"8 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Do not let the prophets and the diviners who are among you deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams that they dream, 9 for it is a lie that they are prophesying to you in my name; I did not send them, says the Lord" - Jer 29:8-9, NRSV

this possibility of error in prophetic proclamation should scare us to our bones - and bring us back on our knees to wrestle, communally and individually, with God's word in Christ and scripture.

after all, the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom, after all...

alas. i see none of it.

good post, magee! sorry for the rant.

in short: 'i agree'.

[Nathan Paylor]

dear me, the typos are horrific.

"my eyes, my eyes!"