Language, Culture, Tradition, and God.
“…For the Lord God giveth light unto the understanding; for he speaketh unto men according to their language, unto their understanding.” (2 Nephi 31:3)
This is one of the most meaningful and telling verses in scripture. It fills me with joy and hope, and liberates me from the fallacy of exclusionary religion. Let me explain:
Many churches believe that their proprietary path is the only way, the one true, singular route to God. One true church, one true creed, one exclusive path. At some point, all must conform or be eternally lost. But is that really so?
I have been blessed to visit many different countries in my life. I’ve loved learning of beliefs, cultures, traditions, and religions apart from my own. I’ve met many wonderful people, who have opened their homes and hearts to me. Their experiences with the divine are as valid and inspiring as my own. How they ‘hear Him’ may be different from how I ‘hear Him’, but the effect is the same.
To understand how God speaks to men differently “according to their language, unto their understanding,” let’s define language from an anthropological point of view:
Language is the product of the culture of its users. Language is culture, and culture is language. Learning a language is not only learning the alphabet, grammar rules, and the arrangement of words and their meaning but also learning the behavior of a society and its cultural nuances. Language always carries meanings and references beyond itself.
Anthropologist Mark Wright at Brigham Young University notes that, “Language is not limited to the words we use, but also entails signs, symbols, and gestures that are imbued with meaning by the cultures that produced them.”
The Lord communicates with us according to our understanding. Our ‘understanding’ applies not only to verbal language or modes of expression but also to cultural backgrounds and traditions. And these expressions, backgrounds, and traditions vary widely. What is logical, acceptable, or understood by one group, is different for another.
Although we are all children of the same Father in Heaven, our races, cultures, traditions, and religions are not homogenous, nor should they be. The Lord created race and inspires culture. He is the author of diversity. Is it rational to expect that all peoples of the earth experience God in the exact same way, and conform their lives to the cultural norms of a particular country, race, class, or set of beliefs?
Among the most important institutions of any culture are its faith traditions…the churches people grow up in. Most world religions have elements of truth and spirit, and God uses them to communicate his standards for morality, virtue, and human interaction, along with His great love for each of us. More so than the written word, it is our faith traditions that largely determine how the divine is manifest to us.
How does God speak to those on the islands of the Pacific, on the African savannah, or in the plains of Egypt? How is He manifest to the indigenous tribes in the mountains of Peru, or to the natives of Australia and New Zealand? These diverse peoples, and all men and women throughout the earth, are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Through tailoring His message according to men’s language and understanding, God has set the example for us to follow in both our expectations of others, and our interactions with them, helping us to become more inclusive, more tolerant, more understanding, and more accepting of all people throughout the world. The Brotherhood of Christ is bigger than any single religion.
How right that feels to me.
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Author’s notes: The scriptural reference to “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Ephesians 4:5) refers not to one specific denomination or its rites, but to the Lord Jesus Christ and His interaction with each of us. There is one Lord only, and He is the Savior of all mankind. One faith means a singular belief in Him alone and none other. One baptism represents a personal commitment to follow the teachings of Jesus and symbolizes our entrance into a worldwide community of believers.
In the book of Revelation, John sees the culturally diverse and innumerable hosts of the exalted: “…I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;” (Revelation 7: 9)
TestifyofChrist
September-2022
