Resources

Five Principles of a Theology of Language

An initial framework awaiting expansion and elaboration, by Nathan Bierma

1. God created us as linguistic beings, encoding symbolic meaning in our words and actions as "stewards of symbolic reality" (Quentin Schultze, Communicating For Life).

2. Christ's incarnate nature is revealed to us in John 1 as logos, "the word." Here, and in Genesis 1, the word is associated with divine nature and divine action.

3. Our sinful nature leads us to miscommunicate, both deliberately and unintentionally, perpetuating our pride, frustration, and helplessness.

4. We are transformed through Christ to speak the truth, to "echo God's reality," as Schultze says, rather than to use linguistic symbols as tools to serve self-serving ends.

5. Multilingual diversity is a prelude of heavenly community and its songs of praise and confession of Christ's lordship in every tongue.