Language Mavens, Unite!
by Tom Neven on 01/03/2008 at 12:01 AM
Suzanne beat me to the annual list of worn-out clichés, but there's a variation on this that drives me absolutely batty: Christianese.
A few morsels I detest are just, share (as an intransitive verb), and using the preposition of in place of from.
The word just seems to have become a mere filler word uttered almost exclusively during prayer: "Lord, I just want to ..." What you're saying, whether or not you realize it, is that this is the one and only thing you want to pray about. (And what's with everyone's lapsing into King James English when they pray?)
Share is a transitive verb, meaning it needs an object. You share cookies, a room, and even jokes. Never say share when you mean told, talked about, or discussed. I almost fell out of my chair when a well-known Christian author wrote, "We spent the evening with our friends and just shared."
Using of instead of from seems to be a particularly bad habit among a lot of Christians. "This is of God," they'll tell you. Set aside for the moment the theological presumptuousness of this; this misuse of language led to this jewel of a church-bulletin blooper: "Please pray for those who are sick of our church." This usage, I'm guessing, is an attempt to sound like you're speaking in the aforementioned King James English, but even good King James did not commit this error.
A few other hackneyed expressions are out of my comfort zone, I feel a burden for, and traveling mercies. Our emergent friends have already run missional into the ground, too. I'm sure readers can come up with more.
Why does this matter? Am I just being a picayune language nerd? I don't think so.
First, it smacks of being inauthentic if we speak one way with one group of people and another way with everyone else. And I'm not talking about, say, speaking more formally to your boss or professor than you would with your siblings and friends; that's perfectly appropriate. No, I mean resorting to an apparently different dialect. How much worse, then, when we adopt inauthentic language when speaking to God? Do you think He is really impressed with our use of thee and thou?
Second, the use of jargon and clichés smacks of group-speak. And while it really doesn't matter if computer nerds lapse in jargon and insider language, it does matter if people who are supposed to be winsome and open to the world speak a language that many find foreign and off-putting. I wonder how many people have dismissed Christians, and Christianity, simply because they've been turned off by this apparent cliquishness?
Sound far-fetched? Well, take my example. I'd been a Christian barely a year when I found myself, a rough-around-the-edges former Marine, plunked down into evangelical-central, Wheaton College. I heard all these people (students and adults) speaking in a way that I didn't. And while it might sound silly now, it actually caused me to question my faith. After all, these people were surely super-Christians, having been raised in Christian homes and all that, so if they spoke and acted a certain way and I didn't ... well, you can see where an insecure young believer could go with that. I never want to be a stumbling block to a new believer or someone the Lord is wooing simply because of my manner of speaking. (I realize, too, that some might include stumbling block on this list, but (a) it has the benefit of being biblical and (b) a good metaphor, unlike any of the above.)
Yes, this is probably a battle already lost, but perhaps I can inspire a few small islands of resistance. Language mavens, unite! You have nothing to lose but your clichés!
1. DannieA said the following at 12:09 AM on Jan 3:
I guess I don't get the whole "traveling mercies" being bad.
2. Rachael said the following at 12:41 AM on Jan 3:
I actually don't think I'd ever heard "traveling mercies"...sounds it must have a nice meaning :). And about "shared"... when it seems people are using it in an intransitive sense, isn't it just that the object is implied...? I realize it wouldn't sound quite the same if we just implied the object with transitive verbs such as "discuss" as in "we just discussed"... :) Actually I love language and I think its evolution and usage is beautiful. I think I'm more of a descriptivist at heart, though I often act like a prescriptivist when teaching grammar :)
Let's just discuss...
3. Matthew said the following at 1:29 AM on Jan 3:
The movie "Saved" has many good examples of this...or rather, examples of what not to say.
4. Bill said the following at 5:22 AM on Jan 3:
This is the first I've heard of "traveling mercies." What does it mean? Mercy that travels? Mercy upon traveling?
5. Joy said the following at 5:48 AM on Jan 3:
I've always wondered what the origin of "traveling mercies" was -- it's a turn of phrase I never heard until I began attending Baptist/Baptistic churches. At least it makes some sense grammatically.
I'm with you, though I can guarantee you're going to catch it from those who believe us language mavens to be snobs. (I've posted about this before and was very surprised at the angry responses!)
6. Colin said the following at 5:57 AM on Jan 3:
I couldn't agree more. Christanese has become (or always was) a way for us to seem religious without letting ourselves be known. When you use your own words, you reveal yourself, rough edges and all.
As for "traveling mercies", it has become a default prayer whenever someone is going somewhere. It prevents use from actually thinking through the challenges that the person might have on their trip and praying with specificity. I would go so far as to say that it is a lazy prayer.
7. John said the following at 6:24 AM on Jan 3:
Amen, brother, preach it. Alright, alright.
I can't stand when people use God's name as a punctuation.
As in: Dear God, we just want to thank you God, for your blessings Father. God, we just, pray, God that you Father, would bless us, God.
OMG! I "just" want to break in and say please simply speak normal.
The whole King James Praying is beyond me as well. It is as if these people believe it is holier than thou (Man that fit so well) to pray that way.
It sounds pretty and is beautifully written English, but when people pray that way, it simply sounds phony or as if they're trying too hard.
8. Melanie said the following at 6:57 AM on Jan 3:
I don't care much for "traveling mercies" because it gets overused severely. To some one outside the church (and many in it) it sounds as if the pray-er is using some special spell to invoke God, and only the "magic words" will work.
Why not mix it up and pray more specifically? Pray for blessings on the journey (or its end result). Pray for safety, for a quick eye and stable hands for the driver/pilot, prompt connections, etc. "Traveling mercies" is becoming pretty standard for being so vague. If you surveyed people about what it meant you'd probably get lots of different answers.
9. Loris said the following at 7:31 AM on Jan 3:
I'm with you completely! Christianese is cheesy and comes off sounding very shallow.
As for "traveling mercies," it could be construed that you are asking for the mercies of (yes, "of") the travel, such as clean hotels, good traffic, genial hosts, etc, when what you mean is that you want God to protect them while they're away. While those things can be related, they're not the same.
10. a sassy sister said the following at 7:48 AM on Jan 3:
Dear Tom:
Got a couple of quick questions:
1.) If this is such a deep concern for you, how are you modeling the "proper way" for Christians to speak? How would you correct those who speak "churchy", as some would actually call it?
2)How would you balance this speech with those who go so far in being "authentic" that all tact and maturity is lost in their tone?
3.)It seems in your post that the language issue in the way Christians talk is actually a symptom of the deeper issues you mentioned. Why didn't you submit a blog post on those two issues, instead of using the language issue as a source of contention?
4.) What does an "authentic, real Christian" look, talk, walk, speak, and think to you, and how does that shape the post you gave here?
Just to add, I do agree with you that Christians should not have code language with each other. I think that in some ways it makes Christians look like groups of exclusive social clubs or cliques. However, I would hope that you are approaching "violators" of said language and theological lapses with a degree of grace and humility. Since we are men, we are fallible human beings. While I am not in any way endorsing reckless or impudent behavior, I would hope that others would see the love of God in your efforts, and not a self-righteous attempt to make others talk and behave as you do.
11. Jennifer Thomas said the following at 8:19 AM on Jan 3:
Tom-
As we say in the 18th century reenacting world, "Huzzah!" meaning, a shout of positive affirmation, as in, "Hooray!"
Oh, wait. I just engaged in a form of group-speak. ;)
And in case my attempt at humor didn't come out sounding like such, I must say thank you for your post, as I am in complete agreement with you. It drives the English teacher in me nuts when we Christians (Yeah, I'm sure I'm guilty, too.) use "church jargon". I appreciate how you said what's been a sore spot for quite some time.
12. Patti said the following at 8:41 AM on Jan 3:
Agreed! May I add "praise report" and "unspoken request" to the list?
13. Andrew R. (aka Canadian Boy) said the following at 8:45 AM on Jan 3:
I'm not the only one who is utterly confused by the use of "just"!
"Lord, I just want to thank You for this food, and we just pray that You bless it. Also God, please-"
"Hang on, you said you were JUST thanking Him! Stop tacking on more prayers!"
14. Marilyn B. said the following at 8:52 AM on Jan 3:
I always enjoy an animated discussion about grammar. I am no grammarian but think my skills exceed those of the general population. I see usage errors increasing in publications the editors of which should know better and (pardon the departure from propriety) it *bugs the daylights out of me*!
Thanks for *sharing*. (tongue in cheek)
15. Cresanna said the following at 9:05 AM on Jan 3:
Amen!
Using "just" in prayer ... in a request, it sounds as if we're afraid of overtaxing God ... "This is all I want God, 'just' this, hope it's not too much for You." I know I do it myself sometimes ...
Also agree on 'traveling mercies'. And 'unspoken requests' drive me crazy. If it's 'unspoken', don't say it! If you want to share, you can be non-specific ... like saying you have a health concern, concern for a family member, etc.
16. Gina said the following at 9:54 AM on Jan 3:
Well said, Mr. Neven. And while we're at it, could we please ask our pastors to throw out the old sermon illustrations and get some new ones? I heard a pastor use one this week (anecdote withheld in case he reads this, but I'll bet 95 percent of the people here know it), and the entire congregation made an "Oh boy, here it comes again" sort of laugh/groan. Personally, it must have been at least the fourth or fifth time I'd heard it.
17. Carrie (the original) said the following at 10:17 AM on Jan 3:
As far as the traveling mercies go, for years I thought it was a stupid and trite thing to pray. Then . . .
- I was stranded on I-64 in St. Louis when all of St. Louis was under a tornado warning. The interstate became a parking lot and was partially closed down for 1 - 1 1/2 hours. I was looking around for a place to take shelter, but there no ditches close by and it was raining heavily.
- I drove through the worst snow storm in Ohio in 20 years without knowing how dangerous conditions actually were. My car radio died in northern Kentucky.
- I lost my car keys in GA when I had to be in MI the next day to give a presentation at church.
- I was lost for 2 solid hours in China, less than a week after arriving in the country for the first time. I couldn't speak, let alone read, any of the language yet.
Sometimes you don't know what you should pray for and a blanket "traveling mercies" prayer isn't a bad thing because God knows what you're about to enter it even if you don't. I got a little tired of it during my youth group days, but I've grown up enough to know better now.
18. ernesto said the following at 10:30 AM on Jan 3:
hey and how about
"Brother and Sister" which apparently is a big cliche of evangelical groups here in Mexico and being in a church that don't call ourselves that way (yet have other christianese expresions i must admit) you see some unbelievers not liking it much, stereotyping as you said.
Don,t get me wrong i sometimes privately call my good friends, brother and sister, but the way is done in church events well sounds just like jargon (or worse as a way to say: "I don't know your name", X) ) and not true affection, as i believe it was first intended.
19. Patricia said the following at 10:34 AM on Jan 3:
I agree that Christianese can be troubling and prevent engagement with non believers. What really irks me, though, is the use of adjectives by Christians to mark something as positive or negative. Something "biblical" is good and something "worldy" is bad. Often I hear people use these words as a way to justify their position either for or against something without explaining why their view.
20. ernesto said the following at 11:17 AM on Jan 3:
Patricia, hi, happy new year!
i don't agree with you because the Bible clearly states in 1st John 2:15-17 that worldly things are not to be loved, not because they are bad, but because that they are not of the Father, that alone disqualifies worldly things, which defined by the Apostle John are: the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does.
On the Other hand the Whole Word of God is, according to Paul in 2. Tim 3:16-17,:
God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
there you have it, i believe this asumption of things biblical being good and worldly things being bad is not man made, but God's.
God Bless thee and keep thee (for those king james lovers, :lol)
21. Daniel from the Maritimes said the following at 11:39 AM on Jan 3:
George Orwell (the author of 1984) wrote a brilliant essay titled "Politics and the English Language" in 1946. It's still copyrighted, so I can't provide a link for it, but I recommend it to anyone who cares about the English language. His point is that our increasing fuzziness in speaking and writing--and he noticed it over 60 years ago--leads to (or follows from, it's a cycle, really) fuzziness in thinking. One of the highlights of the essay is when he paraphrases http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes%209:11;&version=31;>Ecclesiastes 9:11 in modern English:
Objective consideration of contemporary phenomena compels the conclusion that success and failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account.
He points out how his paraphrase (which is close to the style I try to use for essays and technical writing, to be honest) has fewer words and more syllables than the verse has in the KJV [I assume that's the translation he's comparing to]. The paraphrase also has zero concrete illustrations.
I realize this is a little off the topic of "christianese,' but it fits into the whole language/grammar theme.
22. Justice said the following at 11:48 AM on Jan 3:
Ernesto,
I don't believe that is just a Mexico thing, some of my friends and I call each other 'brothers' and we are mostly free of Christianese language!
I think another one that still makes me feel weird is when people talk about their 'intimate' relationship with the Lord. I know what they are talking about, but I just watched a promo video for a school of worship and it was just a little erie and cultish sounding.
23. Tom Neven said the following at 12:05 PM on Jan 3:
Everyone is raising good points. I want to stress that I am not bothered by the sentiments expressed by the various Christianese terms: it's good to pray for safe travel. But as Colin said, sometimes just using the pat catchphrase is a form of laziness.
Daniel from the Maritimes has cited my favorite essay of all time, and I highly recommend it. In the essay, Orwell says,
That's powerful stuff. Lazy language leads to lazy thinking!
This can also lead to a very poor witness. Back in 1988, when the movie The Last Temptation of Christ was released, one major Christian leader (I no longer remember who) derided the producers as "un-Christian." Now in our groupspeak, we understand he meant someone who had not professed Christ as Lord and Savior, but to the outside world, it was taken as an anti-Semitic slur, especially since the head of Universal Pictures at the time was Lew Wasserman, who was Jewish. This is a classic case of how our Christianese can get us into trouble and trip up people who don't understand our insider language.
24. Tami said the following at 12:37 PM on Jan 3:
My vote for "soon-to-be-cliché Christian term" is "Christ follower." I’m amazed at how quickly that caught on. And personally, I don’t really care for it, maybe because that “Christ follower” in those “Mac vs. PC” parodies comes off as so smug and self righteous (while, ironically, the “old fashioned” Christian seems like a good-natured guy). Also, “Christian” was the name given to believers in the Bible, so I’m OK with using it. The people who know me know what kind of believer I am, and I guess I don’t care about the rest. Besides, they understand what “Christian” means. Calling myself a “Christ follower” is not going to clarify anything for them, and calling myself a “Christ follower” among other believers seems to imply that I’m making some sort of judgment about my authenticity in comparison to others’.
[Note, I know some of you on here use “Christ follower.” I’m not picking on you, or saying *you* are self righteous. But hey, I put in prayer requests for “travel mercies,” and I “share,” so I guess you can pick on me for that. :)]
I also just heard an ad on the local Christian radio station for a church that has given itself a new name. The name is really long and kind of cumbersome, and I am guessing that it probably makes little sense to anyone other than the people that attend that particular church. If it’s meaningful to the members of that body, that’s important (and who am I to make that call), but as an outsider, I wonder how it’s helpful or meaningfully descriptive to those outside that local body.
Sometimes when we’re trying to replace terms that have lost their meaning (or have taken on unintended baggage), we lose a lot of history and meaning in the process. In many cases, it seems that we try to come up with new words when really, we should just try to live the old ones in truth, with the intended meaning.
25. Olivia said the following at 12:41 PM on Jan 3:
This has never occurred to me before! I've grown up in a Southern Baptist culture (I was utterly shocked when I started taking college classes and met people who didn't believe in God or at least go to church three times a week...), so I thought it was completely normal to talk in this fashion. ;-) As an impressionable kid listening to the adults pray in small groups, I naturally thought talking in "Christianese" (using God, and the word "just", as punctuation in prayer, "sharing" praises, etc.) was a sign that the speaker was a mature believer. Imitation was only inevitable.
Only now has the idea occurred to me that such Christianese perhaps belies superficiality and/or cliquishness. Thanks for the thought-provoking post. I'll definitely have this on my mind.
26. Tami said the following at 12:42 PM on Jan 3:
Sorry, I realized this phrase in my last post could be construed really negatively: "...I guess I don’t care about the rest."
Of course I care about them as people, and I care about their salvation. I also care that they percieve the true Christ in me. But I can't worry about it if they think by being a Christian that I'm a polyester-wearing, out-of-touch nerd, or any other negative, superficial, and untrue stereotype.
27. DannieA said the following at 12:44 PM on Jan 3:
Well no matter how much it upsets the masses,
I believe in praying for traveling mercies anytime I go out...not because I'll invoke a magic spell and nothing will go wrong, but because to me it shows respect for God knowing what we will encounter along the way, good or bad.
And guess what, it's a heartfelt prayer, not lazy!
28. Patricia said the following at 1:13 PM on Jan 3:
Ernesto-I agree with you that the things the Bible describes as wordly are bad and that the Bible is God's word. But what I see as the problem is when people drop the terms "worldy" and "biblical" in front of nouns constantly simply to make their position look correct. For example, once I had someone claim eating sandwiches at a Christian meeting was biblical. People often claim certain books, movies, music, etc is "worldy" without explaining how. That's what I object too.
29. Dan Gill said the following at 2:29 PM on Jan 3:
Certainly, the Christianese cliches are overused, by definition. But we need to lighten up, people. Some of these phrases are simply fillers while people pause for thought. I have two friends who use "Lord" at the end of almost every sentence in prayer. These are Godly, righteous, thoughtful believers. Yes, it's a bit annoying. So what? Does it mean that they are somehow lesser Christians?
Some of these phrases are simply speech habits picked up over the years. The "just" habit is one of these. We have a young preacher in our church who uses "like" repeatedly. I tease him about it, but his sermons are still powerful, even if he overuses the word.
Not everyone has excellent verbal skills.
This post and many of the comments are distressingly elitist.
30. Susie said the following at 2:46 PM on Jan 3:
First off, can I just say AMEN to this blog! I'm glad to know that others feel the same way about some of these cliches.
John-People using God's name as punctuation in prayers has been a long-standing personal pet peeve of mine too. I know that it sounds rather irreverent, but I must confess to counting the number of times someone said "God" in one prayer, and sometimes God's name was used 20+ times!
Re: the whole "traveling mercies" term. To be honest, I don't care much one way or the other, although I do admit to disliking the generality of the prayer. On the other hand, I do sometimes pray asking God to "bless so-and-so", which in practice means to me, "God, I don't know what is best for so-and-so's life right now, but please provide or develop that for/in them."
31. Rachael said the following at 3:03 PM on Jan 3:
Just a few more thoughts. I guess I kind-of wish people, myself included, would feel free to use a bit MORE "Christianese" (albeit cliche or more of an original sort, which, I guess in the latter, would not classify as "Christianese") spontaneously in regular conversations, in place of or in addition to small talk. Not for the sake of using "holy seeming lingo". And not just to put on a good front. But if the heart and intentions are in the right place as best as we can help it, it would be just so...beautiful!
It just seems that conversations of a spiritual nature are sometimes few and far between in group settings, and often tend to come out just at the times when talk of spiritual matters is expected. I just wonder how it can come out more spontaneously and naturally in group settings, in the 'small talk' times...but I suppose this is a digression.
Back to the topic at hand. One phrase I'm not quite into is: "Bless this food to the use of our bodies." But if it's meant with a thankful heart, then it would be much more meaningful than simply saying "thank you" with no heart.
32. Stephen said the following at 3:56 PM on Jan 3:
I feel the same way Tom does about the filler “just,” the overuse of “share,” and the vagueness of “travelling mercies”; and I agree with his two points about inauthenticity and group-speak. I just have a minor point: using “This is of God” to mean “This is from God” is an archaism, not a misuse of the language. The translators of the King James Version do indeed use the construction, I John 4:7a being probably the clearest example: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God.” Now I’m not defending the use of archaisms among modern English-speaking Christians, but merely pointing out that this particular archaism is perfectly acceptable English style, not a “misuse of the language.” But on the whole, it’s a minor point about an excellent post.
33. Amber said the following at 5:44 PM on Jan 3:
"Certainly, the Christianese cliches are overused, by definition. But we need to lighten up, people. Some of these phrases are simply fillers while people pause for thought. I have two friends who use "Lord" at the end of almost every sentence in prayer. These are Godly, righteous, thoughtful believers. Yes, it's a bit annoying. So what? Does it mean that they are somehow lesser Christians?"
I totally agree with you Dan. These clichés really don't bother me and if they do for whatever reason, the people who are praying are not praying to me so who am I to be overly critical. Well, atleast they are praying. It might not be perfect, but God knows whether they're sincere or being fake.
34. John said the following at 6:39 PM on Jan 3:
"traveling mercies" isn't bad, it's "just" nonsensical.
"Just" pray for safe travel.
I guess praying KJV "just" doesn't bother others the way it bothers me.
How many Christians know the two meanings of Amen?
How about tongues? Talk about group speak!
35. Andrew R. (aka Canadian Boy) said the following at 8:49 AM on Jan 4:
On the topic of cliches, can I (just) say that there are a few hundred verses in the Bible that say the message behind John 3:16 better than John 3:16? I grow weary of people who say that John 3:16 is their favourite verse- to me, it says that they haven't really explored the other great verses of the Bible.
36. whs said the following at 10:23 AM on Jan 5:
DannieA,
Good for you. This post was obviously not meant for you.
Eat the fish and spit out the bones.
37. Sophy said the following at 3:59 PM on Jan 5:
I'm not sure this is a discussion we ought to be having. When someone prays, he's praying to God, and we should NOT judge how he speaks to the Lord unless it is sinful. If it *is* sinful, then you should confront him privately, as in the Scriptures, not discuss it with others. Each of us should be careful with our own words to God, but don't take something that "bothers" you and condemn it.
38. John said the following at 5:46 AM on Jan 6:
It's not about "verbal skills", it's about expressing ourselves clearly.
Saying "like" every other word means you're speaking to dang fast to express yourself clearly.
Saying "just" in every sentence is a poor verbal habit that simply sounds silly when you pray.
Saying God, Lord, Father God, Jesus, etc at the beginning and end of every sentence is redundant and silly.
Why pray foolishly if we don't talk to one another that way.
Would you start and finish every sentence with God if you were having a casual conversation with someone?
This post is pointing out that people need to slow down, think and then express their thoughts.
There is no condemnation here, simply edification. Iron sharpens iron.
But please, please, avoid the King James English, you don't talk that way, why pray that way? It does not increase the effectiveness of your prayers!
39. Elizabeth H. said the following at 6:07 AM on Jan 6:
What's wrong with "unspoken request"? It is because a request implies something is verbalized? Some issues are between an individual and God, but we can still intercede for him/her. We are not always capable even of voicing our own requests to God, but we can still pray about them.
I think that in prayer with other believers we will naturally be more relaxed and let go of our grammar. I do use those "annoying" phrases and I wish I didn't, but I know God knows what I mean and no one will condemn me for it. I do use them as fillers sometimes because I struggle a lot to find words in praying out loud. Saying the Lord's name helps me stay focused on Him and not on being nervous. As for "just," it may be overused, but can be interpreted as simply adding emphasis or sincerity.
With non-Christians, however, I do agree that it's important to not be lazy and to search for more precise ways to explain things. This is also true in edifying other Christians.
40. Chelsey said the following at 7:52 AM on Jan 13:
Regarding repeating the Lord's name over and over again in prayer, I was convicted a few years ago about that when I heard a sermon preached on not taking God's name in vain. I always thought of that to mostly mean you shouldn't say in exclamation, "Oh my God!" or anything like that, but the preacher was talking about how when we use the Lord's name anytime and it isn't used for a good reason, then it's taking His name in vain. I think I was definitely doing that during my prayers, and so instead of saying the Lord's name as a filler, I try to just be silent.