Changes

The term "politically correct" is another example of how language influences thinking.  Without the existence of the term, which did not arise until 1983, the undesired concept it represents was very hard to express and remember.  It was much more difficult to criticize "political correctness" when there was a lack of a good term to describe this concept.

The term "politically correct" is another example of how language influences thinking.  Without the existence of the term, which did not arise until 1983, the undesired concept it represents was very hard to express and remember.  It was much more difficult to criticize "political correctness" when there was a lack of a good term to describe this concept.

All languages develop based on common and basic aspects of life, such as language needed to describe food, animals, daily activities and commerce or trade (like the word "coin").  But much more is needed in language in order to express the intangibles, such as religious concepts.  Christianity could not develop and spread without a language capable of communicating its concepts.  Had Christ come into this world in 2000 or 1000 B.C., would there have been a language powerful enough to express His ideas?  Probably not. Note that even Ancient Hebrew lacked vowels, and most non-Hebrew languages were very primitive.   

All languages develop based on common and basic aspects of life, such as language needed to describe food, animals, daily activities and commerce or trade (like the word "coin").  But much more is needed in language in order to express the intangibles, such as religious concepts.  Christianity could not develop and spread without a language capable of communicating its concepts.  Had Christ come into this world in 2000 or 1000 B.C., would there have been a language powerful enough to express His ideas?  Probably not.  

 

Note that the Ancient Hebrew writing system (although not the language) lacked vowels, (although they could be implied by the letters yud and vav, for instance).   

An example of a concept that Jesus needed to express was the "Holy Spirit."  Few languages can convey the full meaning of this concept.  The Greek words "pneuma" (wind or breath) and "paraclete" (advocate or one who consoles) are what the Gospel of John uses, and those words capture the guiding, driving force of the Holy Spirit.  The English word "spirit" fails to convey the full meaning of the Greek.  Most languages in the world have smaller vocabularies than English, and thus have even greater difficulty capturing the essence of what we call the "Holy Spirit" and other key concepts of Christianity.

An example of a concept that Jesus needed to express was the "Holy Spirit."  Few languages can convey the full meaning of this concept.  The Greek words "pneuma" (wind or breath) and "paraclete" (advocate or one who consoles) are what the Gospel of John uses, and those words capture the guiding, driving force of the Holy Spirit.  The English word "spirit" fails to convey the full meaning of the Greek.  Most languages in the world have smaller vocabularies than English, and thus have even greater difficulty capturing the essence of what we call the "Holy Spirit" and other key concepts of Christianity.