Semantics

[TrevorKamal]

This is something I think we could all benefit from being more mindful of, especially before we argue about religious differences.

Words are nothing more than representations of a meaning. Even if we all use the same words, the way we think of the meaning can be very different. A good example of this is the ever so common argument between Christians and Muslims about who Jesus was. Christians say He is the Son of God. Muslims say He is a Prophet of God. This upsets Christians because to most of them the term "prophet" is a much lower and more common title. One thing that doesn't get brought up as much is that in Islam, there are two arabic words that both get translated into prophet in english. The first is more in line with what Christians think of when they think of the term. The second, which is the one that Jesus is called, is of the most high station and is more like a Manifestation of God Himself (God incarnate in a manner of speaking) than a normal human.

I once read something on a Christian website that said that in Islam Jesus is "reduced" to merely a prophet. This struck me as odd because the definition of THAT type of Prophet (capital "P") isn't really a reduction the way I see it. I don't really understand why the concept of "Son of God" is really more exalted than "Manifestation of God Himself". Sonship in itself means nothing. In the human world, simply being the child of a great man doesn't make you great at all if you don't do anything. It is Jesus' pefections of being that made Him great as well as what He did and stood for and taught us. Those attributes are shared by both definitions.

I just think Christians and Muslims could get along a little better if this was brought out into the open more often.

 

[Exegete12]

Semantics is EVERYTHING. Because words give meaning.
We call a chair a chair, because that's what language has taught us to call that item.

By changing the meaning of words, we lose their inherent original meaning.

Take for instance the word GAY:

Gay in the 50s, 60s meant Happy
Gay by the mid 80s and 90s meant Homosexual
Gay today by teenagers means Naff e.g. they go 'oh that's so gay hehehe'.

Same with American hiphop culture where they call something Bad to mean good. And oh that's Wicked, meaning it's great.

The bible warns us about changing the meaning of things and calling bad things good.

Again, we should keep the integrity of our language, to me what happens in the natural then happens in the spiritual. We lose the integrity of our language, then we lose the integrity of our spirituality, just by saying 'oh don't worry it's just semantics anyway'.

Semantics is everything, as language is what gives EVERYTHING meaning to our world. The ideologies, dreams, passions, values etc are all based on semantics. That ability of language to define an understood interpretation. Remove semantics, and even laws can start changing.

 

[9Harmony]

Hi Trevor,

Yes, i agree....here is something i posted about Semantics about a year ago in another forum...
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I believe most of the issues between the different religions would be rectified if we could realize and embrace one possibility.

All of the religions have been around for hundreds of years. All of the scriptures have been through countless revisions through the years. I have learned through the study of my own religion that the Word of God is incorruptible. The true essence of it will shine through. And the Word of God is precise.

But man is not precise, even though we may honestly try, through centuries, things get tarnished.

The scriptures of my Faith were written down in Arabic and Farsi. And those responsible for translating them into English spent years of painstaking work, because words can have many different meanings and as in the case of translating from Arabic to English, the English language does not contain some words that are used in the original Arabic text. So the English translation is not precisely what was originally written. Which obviously will change the meaning slightly. Fortunately, we have this understanding built into our teachings. We understand that the version we read in English is slightly different than the original. Yet, my religion is only 162 years old, and still has the originals themselves as well as the original translations.

Now consider the fact that most religions have gone through this process numerous times, by generation after generation, over the course of hundreds or thousands of years, these things just happen. It's human.

So a word gets changed a little here and there through the centuries. And over the length of time we're talking, maybe 3 or 4 in a sentence may get slightly altered from their original. And then add the fact that some of the newer translations were translated from translations. So the original Word is tarnished a little more.

It is nobody's fault, it is just what happens over time with everything. And it won't make that much of a difference when it's just 'thees and thous' we're talking about, but if this happens to an important key word, then quite possibly we will be unable to see the truth through the dross of what time has done. Another important factor to consider is that the language of God is clothed in human language, human language is wholely inadequate and cannot convey God in all His majesty, but God utilizes the tools available to us.

If we can realize that when we focus on key words which seem to be definitely saying one thing, it's quite possible that our understanding could be flawed by these innocent mistakes of generations past. If we can turn our focus towards the common features of each religion then we can begin to see a glimmer of the same truths enshrined within each. This should be our starting point, this is where God in His infinite wisdom has given us the gift of discerning truth from falsehood. If they all seem to say the same thing, there must be something more to it.

If we can take this into consideration when we read our own scriptures, maybe we can begin to see the truth shine through once more. But it does require a measure of detachment on our part, we can become so attached to our preconceived ideas that it's hard to let go, but i believe once we are able to do that, glimmers of truth will be readily available to each of us.

Truth is One.

 

[Snowbunny]

This is something I think we could all benefit from being more mindful of, especially before we argue about religious differences.

Words are nothing more than representations of a meaning. Even if we all use the same words, the way we think of the meaning can be very different. A good example of this is the ever so common argument between Christians and Muslims about who Jesus was. Christians say He is the Son of God. Muslims say He is a Prophet of God. This upsets Christians because to most of them the term "prophet" is a much lower and more common title. One thing that doesn't get brought up as much is that in Islam, there are two arabic words that both get translated into prophet in english. The first is more in line with what Christians think of when they think of the term. The second, which is the one that Jesus is called, is of the most high station and is more like a Manifestation of God Himself (God incarnate in a manner of speaking) than a normal human.

I once read something on a Christian website that said that in Islam Jesus is "reduced" to merely a prophet. This struck me as odd because the definition of THAT type of Prophet (capital "P") isn't really a reduction the way I see it. I don't really understand why the concept of "Son of God" is really more exalted than "Manifestation of God Himself". Sonship in itself means nothing. In the human world, simply being the child of a great man doesn't make you great at all if you don't do anything. It is Jesus' pefections of being that made Him great as well as what He did and stood for and taught us. Those attributes are shared by both definitions.

I just think Christians and Muslims could get along a little better if this was brought out into the open more often.

could some muslims please discuss the part i emboldend... im kind of curious about what that means. it sounds a lot like bahai...

 

[BruceDLimber]

Hi, Trevor!

I agree about there being two words in Arabic that translate into "prophet" in English!

These are "nabi," a minor prophet such as Jeremiah or Micah, and "Ras'ul," a major Divine Mesesnger.

And while I can't say which of the two Muslims use for Jesus, we Baha'is definitely assign Him (and other Messengers such as Moses, Muhammad, and Baha'u'llah (our Founder) the term "Ras'ul!"

BTW, one of the big sticking points for Muslims is the fact that the Qur'an calls Muhammad the Seal of the Prophets. But in fact, the word used there is "nabi," which means He is the Seal of the minor prophets, and not of the Divine Messengers at all!

Best,

Bruce