Recon Newspeak
"Newspeak" is the term used by George Orwell in his oft-referenced novel 1984, and it describes the systematic undermining of human thought by means of reducing and contracting words. By the elimination of words, the concepts behind the words cannot easily be entertained. It's one thing for the statists of Orwell to engage in such subterfuge, it's quite another thing when we do it to ourselves.
I spoke with a dear Reformed brother recently who did not desire to use such terms as "theonomy" or "reconstruction." He felt that he could convey the ideas in other ways. How exactly, he never explained.
If we eliminate words that carry such broad meaning, we make it difficult for people to conceive the ideas behind the terms. As the words go, so goes the meaning; as the meaning goes, so goes the ideas themselves. We are left with nothing resembling any orthodoxy of the original idea. How then can we expect Christians to sustain the praxis?
When everyone else is going the other direction, the best choice is to stay faithful. You cannot go wrong by taking your stand upon the law of God and it's application to every sphere.
I spoke with a dear Reformed brother recently who did not desire to use such terms as "theonomy" or "reconstruction." He felt that he could convey the ideas in other ways. How exactly, he never explained.
If we eliminate words that carry such broad meaning, we make it difficult for people to conceive the ideas behind the terms. As the words go, so goes the meaning; as the meaning goes, so goes the ideas themselves. We are left with nothing resembling any orthodoxy of the original idea. How then can we expect Christians to sustain the praxis?
When everyone else is going the other direction, the best choice is to stay faithful. You cannot go wrong by taking your stand upon the law of God and it's application to every sphere.
