Buzz Words

Got involved, on the sidelines, in an online discussion and critique of a devotional radio talk. What comes up there is similar to much that plagues much of modern Christian discussion, discourse and talk. There are the buzzwords, the struggle to avoid disagreements, the sugar-coating of theological points and all the rest. The "other side" in the thing stood(?), in a word, for sentimentality.

In all this talk of grace, mercy, tenderness, caresses etc. ad nauseam, of late, the actual and very precise theological meanings of the words are swept away to be replaced by a banal sentimentality. This runs the risk of loosing the real sense of the words when they are used properly, Grace and mercy are not permissivness or indifference to sin, as the terms all too often seem to be used like. The various appelations of grace are actual theological realities, reflecting the various ways in which God sanctifies souls. Mercy is not a taking away of obstacles or rules but an undeserved forgiveness and restoration of the state of grace. Sentimentality sweeps all this away and cries out for tender caresses. Everything that is not the right shade of pink has to go. Every experience of struggle, loss or hurt has to be denied or fled from. Witness the way death is dealt with. In this same radio talk there was the example of a father whose daughter is normally encouraged to dance and laugh in church, during services. (A behaviour deserving a post of its' own..) As the service this time was a memorial service she was discouraged, with the explanation that "though the dead are all with Jesus, some of the people here today miss them and are sad" or words to that effect. We cannot know the final destination of loved ones, and though we can hope and pray for their salvation, sweeping statements like this tend more to dismiss the very real sorrow and longing of those left behind. It is sentiment replacing faith, wishes taking the place of hope. It is truth being cut in pieces and fed to the listeners piecemeal, avoiding the harder parts. 

These technical-terms-become-buzzwords, ruin precise theological concepts to satisfy sentimentality and end up presenting half-truths. They take away the faith taught to us by Our Lord and handed down to us through the ages and replace it with a man-made replica which is exactly the kind of crying blanket or crutch that those atheists denying our hope accuse all religion of being. Worse, perhaps thoughtlessly, it replaces the faith revealed to us by the second person of the Trinity with something we make up. It says, "that's all very interesting Jesus, I'll take your teachings but I'll just scrap this part, add this thing I found somewhere else and voilá! Now my version is better than your original one, I'll stick to mine thak you very much".