Click here to read the full article at RENEW.org: https://renew.org/a-case-for-bible-words/ 

This is an audio version of a written Article from RENEW.org

Each culture develops its own language. This is true not only within ethnic cultures but within subcultures. Within the basketball culture there are words such as “cut,” “flare screen,” “zone,” “help-side,” and “pick-and-roll.” In the workout community I’m involved in, there are terms such as “merkin,” “DORA,” and “side straddle hop.” There are terms within the publishing community such as “galley,” “backlist,” and “Query Letter.” Or what about the music industry? “Tempo,” “pitch,” “timbre,” “in-the-pocket,” or “gig.”

In the name of inclusion, church leaders have been instructed not to use Bible words anymore, so that we do not intimidate or isolate someone who is new to the faith, or searching out the faith. However, that was never my feeling when entering the basketball world or music world, etc. Hearing those new words inspired me to learn the language.

We should clarify something: I’m not talking about “Church-ese.” (Okay, I think I just made up a word.) Church-ese is where a person gets on stage and says something like, “Faith Ninjas will be meeting in the 3D classroom during Afterglow to avoid the MOPS group to prepare for 5th quarter.” That kind of language is unnecessarily isolating. Rather, I am speaking of Bible words such as justification, sin, redemption, atonement, salvation, covenant, and propitiation—words that describe the depth and richness of the gospel.

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