Monday, January 09, 2012

A firm foundation

It occurred to me while I was sitting in church a week ago that people often talk about basics of the Christian faith in ways that make me think that we just aren't speaking the same language. This is more glaringly evident here in Botswana, where people are often using English as a language that is not their primary or best understood one. But I can remember many times in North America where I realized that people were using religious terms in ways that made me think that communication was probably not happening as well as we were all pretending that it was.

Which brings me to where I'm at right now: looking to build a firm foundation. I mean, I say that I am a follower of Christ. What does that mean? What are the Scriptural criteria for being a follower of Christ? I should probably figure that out, eh? And I don't think that I should do it by reading books that other people have compiled on the topic. I think I should do it by reading through the Bible and looking for specific passages that directly - not metaphorically or indirectly - refer to basic faith terms. These are what are known as key terms in the field of Bible translation. For example, as a Christian, I should probably try to please God. But "without faith it is impossible to please God". So, what does it actually mean to have faith? Don't answer that; I'm not looking for pat answers here. I'm looking forward to implementing my own process of reading, absorption and synthesis to thesis.

This is not a work exercise, specifically, though key terms are something that need to be dealt with in my project even within this year. This is me figuring out what I mean when I say I believe certain things by figuring out what the meanings of the terms are that I am using to describe my belief.

Wow. I feel somewhat dense for not having realized that I should do this sooner. But, then, life is primarily just a big series of "Doh! Why didn't I think of this sooner?" moments, isn't it?