- Feb 5, 2002
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Clear thought demands clear definitions.
One day, my 4-year-old daughter found a school headshot of the biological half-sister of two of our adopted children. She asked who it was. I told her the girl’s name and said that she was the half-sister of our two boys.
Then, in a moment I will never forget, she cocked her head to the side, furrowed her brow, and in her totally innocent, totally confused, totally curious, totally 4-year-old way, said, “Wait, she doesn’t have any legs?”
When I recovered from my laughing, laughing into which she joined as well, though she didn’t know why, I explained what it meant for someone to be a half-brother or half-sister. I was reminded, once again, of the importance of defining terms.
It was this recognition that led, in part, to my return to the Catholic faith. It is ignorance of this point that keeps many people confused and in the dark on many important issues. Words are means of communication, and when words mean different things to different people, then real communication, the sharing and discussion of ideas, is not possible. But the defining of words is a place where any conversation can begin because it is the basis of forming a common ground. If common definitions are not in place, there can’t be any conversation at all.
Continued below.
In Talking of God, Our Words Don’t Always Mean What We Think They Mean
One day, my 4-year-old daughter found a school headshot of the biological half-sister of two of our adopted children. She asked who it was. I told her the girl’s name and said that she was the half-sister of our two boys.
Then, in a moment I will never forget, she cocked her head to the side, furrowed her brow, and in her totally innocent, totally confused, totally curious, totally 4-year-old way, said, “Wait, she doesn’t have any legs?”
When I recovered from my laughing, laughing into which she joined as well, though she didn’t know why, I explained what it meant for someone to be a half-brother or half-sister. I was reminded, once again, of the importance of defining terms.
It was this recognition that led, in part, to my return to the Catholic faith. It is ignorance of this point that keeps many people confused and in the dark on many important issues. Words are means of communication, and when words mean different things to different people, then real communication, the sharing and discussion of ideas, is not possible. But the defining of words is a place where any conversation can begin because it is the basis of forming a common ground. If common definitions are not in place, there can’t be any conversation at all.
Continued below.
In Talking of God, Our Words Don’t Always Mean What We Think They Mean
