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It seems the older I get, the less I understand some things.  Salvation is one of those.  To me, the more I zoom in on it, the fuzzier it gets.  I read No Other Name several years back which opened my eyes to even more questions. Then having kids messed me up even more.

Take Asante (since he speaks in sentences):

He talks to God. He believes God talks to him.  He believes God heals. He enjoys hearing stories of God. He loves (God, Jesus, and other people). He has self-control. He forgives. He has all these characteristics that represent a relationship with God; I surely cannot doubt that he has one.

But whoever heard of a 2 year old being saved? And more than that, there wasn’t a moment where it all changed and he became that way.  From as long as we could communicate these characteristics existed. So what now? He must be a Christian. Of course, he isn’t perfect; we could say he has sinned – he has knowingly disobeyed – but I’m not saying he doesn’t need a savior, it just seems he has always had one.

He came to know God and Jesus like he came to know his parents, we’ve all been there interacting with him, raising him.  But that messes up what I thought I knew salvation meant.

What do you all think? Feel free to discuss openly, even though it regards my own children. If you can back it up, I’d like you to discuss the essence of salvation and the characteristics necessary for those saved.  I won’t for a second fear for their souls.

The only example of dialect shift (if it can even be called that) that I can recollect in my life is the word ramen.  I grew up pronouncing it like raymen, but sometime through college it became rahmen due to the influences around me. I don’t necessarily believe one is right or wrong and I don’t think I intentionally shifted.  As far as I recall, it just happened and now I find myself using a different pronunciation.

Can you think of any words that you now pronounce differently than earlier in your life?

I know it has been said many times over that oral cultures develop their faculties of memory more than literate cultures, but I am struck by it moreso through recent experiences. My two and 1/2 year old Asante sometimes memorizes books before I do.  I think this, strangely enough, means he is interacting with the text more deeply simply listening than I am reading.

Likely he knows (in a manner of speaking) that once memorized, he has unlimited access to the text and no longer must depend on my readings. This freedom gives him more access to the life of the book.  And though I have much freedom afforded me through literacy, memory has ceased to be a natural part of my engagement with the story. If I want the memory I must specifically apply effort, except in the case of extreme repeition (read: Where the Wild Things Are). 

The main point, though, is the internalness which allows one to really live within a story that is not fully our own (one that becomes our own with time) that literacy dependancy has made unnatural to us is a great loss. It prevents us from that instantaneousness in which most of life occurs. 

Some things are better referenced than memorized, but we have caused ourselves to default to reference, and our unawareness of this fact leaves us less connected with the world around us than we might hope for.

When I first heard some Americans up in arms to protect the status of English as the only official (or trying to make it the only allowed in official situations) language I was confused at why it would matter at all.

Upon further reflection I realized that it makes perfect since for monolingual Americans to feel this way based on two paradoxical, but deeply engrained, characteristic beliefs within American culture: Fear and Superiority.

Fear comes in when we hear a person speaking a language we don’t understand, because we are immediately made outsiders (which shouldn’t happen in my own country, right?).  But because we don’t know what they are saying (and they know we don’t know), they are probably talking about us.  Why would they be so secretive if they weren’t?

Superiority comes in upon interaction and runs this basic route.  Because I’m monolingual, they’ll have to speak my language, which they certainly don’t speak as well as me.  They speak so ungrammatically and have trouble expressing more abstract or complex ideas in my language.  I encounter this situation often with children, so I’ll assume they are similar to children.

Do you agree that fear and superiority are American values? Do you think these play into the reluctance to support nonEnglish language use? Any other ideas?

Read and Share Bible: The Jesus Series: Life and Miracles

If you are looking for a visual representation of some written translation of the Bible, then this is not the video you want. However, if you want an interesting and enjoyable video that presents the new testament characters in an accessible way, you may find this video useful. It engaged the attention and emotion of my 2 ½ year old son throughout the 30 minutes. The back of the DVD case describes it well.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com <http://BookSneeze.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Looks like the move to a new host is working well.  Thanks, Bryce.