Good Questions – Does the Word Communicate Well?

Good Questions – Shouldn’t the Word Communicate Well?

“You can tell whether a man is clever by his answers.

You can tell whether a man is wise by his questions.”

– Naguib Mahfouz

I continue to ask the questions in this series. Many would believe that these questions make us bitter or that we’re just causing problems by asking them. I hope the questions help us evolve into a better state of being. Being outside of organized religion, I can finally hear the whispers and observe the drumbeat of the universe, along with the peace and comfort that I find. I find my comfort not in a finalized belief statement, but in a way of being that continues to question everything.

4. If God exists and wants to communicate with us, shouldn’t he have done a better job?

In the Bible, John refers to Jesus as the Word of God (logos, Gr.). Additionally, some Christians call the Bible, compiled hundreds of years later, the Word of God. It’s very confusing to talk to a Christian about this, especially if they believe that either of these is perfect or without error. If Jesus and the Scriptures were God’s primary attempts to communicate with us, shouldn’t they have done a better job?

Vocabulary.com gives us this definition of logos, a term that predates Christianity.

“Philosophers have used the term logos since ancient times. Aristotle was the first to define the word ‘reasoned discourse’ and considered it one of the major forms of persuasion. Christians adopted logos to mean ‘the word of God,’ and Jungian psychology labels the rational part of the human mind as logos. Logos is a Greek word meaning ‘word, discourse, or reason,’ and it’s the root of logic.”

Some things, like Love Your Neighbor and the Golden Rule, are straightforward. My problem is that if Jesus is the Logos, the reasoning of God, then His case should be much clearer. I assumed that Jesus brought us a simple, clear message, but it was our fault for messing it up and not comprehending what He was saying. It was my natural defense when I was a Christian to dismiss all things that were hard to understand as my littleness compared to God’s bigness—how could I possibly comprehend that?

Although I agree that we have added things to Jesus’ message and complicated our spirituality with organized religion, I don’t think that way anymore. If God exists, and Jesus is His “reasoned discourse,” they all could have communicated better. Jesus never wrote anything down, hardly answered questions, and spoke in riddles and parables. If the Bible is God’s anything (guide, word, message) to us, it should be clearer and recorded when it happened, not decades later. The canonization of the scriptures took 400 years to assemble, which means it had a long time to be reinterpreted by those in power.

“If you can’t explain it simply,

you don’t understand it well enough”

~Albert Einstein

I agree with Einstein; this is how I approached my deconstruction. I looked for the simple, stated truths that seemed powerful in their simplicity. I found a few of these in Christianity, along with extra material piled around these simple truths. I discovered the same powerful truths in other traditions as well. I am grateful to people like Thich Nhat Hanh, who make their traditions simple and provide reasonable, validating, and helpful comparisons.

One of the outcomes of my deconstruction is that I am learning to appreciate nature and what it reveals (or you might say ‘reasons’) about the universe. Nature is almost like a drumbeat or a rhythm that repeats its history, demonstrating its intentions and even communicating with other parts of the whole. The fact that it doesn’t have the capacity to write books or enunciate a compelling speech doesn’t limit it from showing us what is true about the universe in which we live.

I sometimes say that I have learned more from nature than my theology books.

I don’t see myself as a Christian anymore, and I know enough to know that I can’t be definitive about God or the afterlife. I also don’t want to tell someone else what to do with their journey. But I will strongly assert that one of the worst ways to learn more about the universe, or even God, is to go to a building and listen to a person pontificate about an imperfect book and an imperfect Messiah who couldn’t communicate well.

I’m not saying Jesus wasn’t perfect, but the literature he endorses doesn’t seem to meet the standard of effective communication. I’m not the greatest speaker in the world, but I worked hard to transform from the kid who hid under the coffee table when people came over into a competent preacher. It doesn’t take long for me to become frustrated with ineffective communicators, and few things thrill me more than a great speech or a well-written song. Both can communicate deep truths with simple messages. I hoped for that when I started studying the Bible deeply, but it only caused me to feel increasingly disappointed in a system where I couldn’t express my concerns.

If the Bible is helpful to you and you can overlook its inconsistencies and errors, I won’t tell you to stop. But if you’re like me and holding tightly to one piece of literature only causes confusion or reminds you of when people misused it, I hope you will set it aside for a season until reading it no longer brings you anxiety.

It’s an important piece of literature, but it is not the only one!

If there is a Word of God (logos) in the universe, I hope I can hear and understand it. But I’m sure it won’t be where I initially expected it. I’m still unsure why we have trouble finding it if it’s real, but I find reasonable and pure discoveries when I ask good questions.

Discourse and reason are good things. I believe the adventurous will find this inclination of the universe to communicate if we open up and stop trying to put a new spin on our old theology. We must remove our idols from our immediate gaze to see what we have missed; for most Christians, the Bible is their biggest idol.

Keep asking good questions!

Be where you are, Be who you are, Be at peace!

Karl Forehand

Good Questions – Part 3 – Is Church Necessary?

Good Questions – Part 2 – Get Rid of Satan?

Good Questions – Part 1 – A Good Father?

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Karl Forehand is a former pastor, podcaster, and award-winning author. His books include Out into the Desert, Leaning Forward,  Apparent Faith: What Fatherhood Taught Me About the Father’s Heart, The Tea Shop and Being: A Journey Toward Presence and Authenticity.  He is the creator of The Desert Sanctuary podcast and community.  He is married to his wife Laura of 35 years and has one dog named Winston.  His three children are grown and are beginning to multiply! You can read more about the author here.