What We Have Here is a Failure to Communicate

I started reading an article on net neutrality the other day. Within a paragraph my eyes glazed over. Lots of words that I didn't understand passed in front of my eyes before finding a paragraph that was written in human rather than some sort of hybrid tech/legal language. This was not the first time I had encountered a comprehension road block due to language.

Ca 1996
The family and I went to buy some firewood. Dad encountered a worker who spoke only Spanish. Since I was well versed with a semester of high school Spanish, Dad turned to me. I managed to ask him, "Donde es boss-man?" This clearly told him I was fluent, and so he unleashed a fast torrent of his native tongue. Aaaaand failure.

Spring Break 2001
On a trip to Germany with some college friends for mission work, I was constantly approached by the Germans and spoken to as though I were one of them. Maybe it was the black leather jacket and five o'clock shadow from our luggage getting lost that threw them off. I did manage to learn to say "Vo ist de wasser closet?" (which is where is the water closet, because "Vo ist de badenzimmer-bathroom-?" is apparently a hilarious faux pas.)

Anytime Computer People Talk to Me About Computers
C++, API, BASIC, Unix, Root. If it's more complex than keyboard, mouse, or screen- use words that a child could understand. Otherwise, the glazed eyes will return faster than you can say 'motherboard.' Of course it goes both ways...

Comic Books
I try to explain the concept of Green Lantern, or why there have actually been five (or six, depending which series you count) Robins, and my wife goes to her happy place.

Ever since the Tower of Babel and God scrambling our language to keep from trying to overthrow Him, language has been a barrier. More than just the separation caused languages like Swahili and French, it is also the barrier between the way men and women communicate, the way people of different backgrounds and jobs communicate.

The way the Church and the outside world communicate.

I call it "church-speak," and it is very divisive. We have words that we use casually, and frequently and assume others know what they mean. The words themselves are often not the problem, it is the fact that their true meaning has often gotten lost in a fog of traditions and years of mis- and re-interpretations. These are good words, Biblical words. So in an effort to help those who may not understand them- and I believe there are a number of Church-goers who don't understand them, either- here is a brief glossary of terms as I use them.

Salvation- Jesus offers to forgive us of our sins, thus allowing to have a relationship with God starting now and continuing after our mortal bodies die.
Sin- Mistakes we make, anytime we do something that does not line up with what God expects of us, as He lays it out in the Bible.
Sanctification- The process that begins with salvation of cleansing our lives of sin. We are not perfect at salvation, and God continues to work in us through sanctification.
Fellowship- The activities and act of believers living life together, praying for each other, helping each other and being involved with each other. A casserole dish is not a requirement despite the fact that many believe this. And it is not confined to a hall.
Redeemed/Redemption- Jesus traded His life for ours. He didn't deserve to be punished- He had no sin. But we did, so He gave himself for us, and thus gave us value.
Holiness- To be set apart. Untouched by sin and evil. This does not mean that we stay away from sinful people or things- we just need to remain untouched by it. We are reserved for God, holiness is giving ourselves totally to Him, and not our own desires and plans.

So, there you go. A few words I use often and what I mean when I use them. Hopefully clarity will ensue when we have these little conversations. And for those folks that were wondering, the five Robins are Dick Grayson, Jason Todd, Tim Drake, Stephanie Brown (very briefly before Drake took back over), Damian Wayne. The sixth was Carrie Kelly, from the apocryphal Dark Knight Returns. Now, we understand each other.