I just started a book called War of Words, by Paul David Tripp. The gals in our church agreed to read it this summer and get together now and again to discuss it. Our first meeting is tomorrow morning, so I figured it was time to get reading. To be honest, I'm struggling with it, so far. (I'm only in the second chapter.) I'm not struggling with what he's saying so much as how he's saying it. He's making claims and failing explain or back most of them up. (His entire first chapter is devoted to how wonderful words and communication were in Genesis chapter 1, yet he doesn't refer in detail to any part of the chapter, nor does he quote from it. He does, on the other hand, include a long (3 page) quote from the book of Isaiah. In other words, he's saying things that he could pretty easily and quickly make a decent argument for, and he doesn't. I find that ridiculously distracting as I read.)
But I finally hit an idea (as opposed to a writing style) that made me wonder. He claims that, "Every word we speak is rooted either in the truth or in a lie." (p. 23) What do you think of that? If I say that dinner's ready, and it's not actually on the table, nor even out of the oven, but I know that by the time everyone reaches the table it will be, does that mean my speech is rooted in a lie? Is it even helpful to think of statements like that in that light? Or what about my statements in the second paragraph of this post? Are they rooted either in a truth or a lie? Is it helpful to look at them in that light?
It seems to me like this guy likes to make grand statements. He over emphasizes things in one direction or another in order to make his point. And yet, in talking about lying, does the fact that he over states himself mean that he's speaking from a position of lies rather than truth? Can you truthfully overstate truth?
"Every word we speak is rooted either in the truth or in a lie." I don't think words are that simple. I don't think people, or most other things in our universe, are so clear cut. What do you think?
(For those of you going, "Bu..bu..but what about absolutes? you might want to read this post.)
page 30. He just just used the word "images" as a verb. *sigh*
ReplyDeleteHe'll have a very interesting time with the Temptation in the Wilderness....
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on this, Meg, I don't think it's as clear cut as all that, and I think that over-emphasising something that happens to be true is a prime example of how some of the things we say can actually be a mix of truth and falsehood.
ReplyDeletealso, sometimes we say things because, at that particular moment, we believe them to be true (even though they're not). so we're not lying, in the sense that we are not deliberately saying something false, but we're not speaking the truth either.
I think he's stating something that's very obvious: all exchanges involve a truth value, and that truth value is either true/truth or false/lies. Is there some third value that you can name?
ReplyDeletelol!!! i love you S's. i think the author is also an S.
ReplyDeleteso, D, what is the truth value of me saying that dinner is ready even though it's still got a few more minutes on it. but i know it will be ready by the time everyone's at the table. is that a T or an F?
oh, the truth value in strictly logical terms is always either T or F, sure - with Meg's dinner example, it's an F because at the moment she is saying that sentence, dinner is not ready.
ReplyDeletebut talking about our statements being rooted in either truth or lies - that sounds different to me, that sounds like a moral statement rather than a logical one. it speaks to me of intentions, of what's in our heart and mind. and in her heart at that moment she's not seeking to mislead, she's actually using a shorthand for saying: dinner is nearly ready and will be ready by the time you lot get your act together and turn up at the table.
False, of course. Dinner is not in fact ready, so saying that it is is a falsehood. The truth would be say "Dinner is almost ready". Your goal is to get them to the table with the announcement, right?
ReplyDeleteyes.
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite Schwarzenegger movies ....
ReplyDeleteBut seriously, the old saw about the Devil being able to quote scripture to his own ends...
Assigning a "Truth Value" to every statement is the height of Hubris.
And thinking that we as humans can know what that value is ... yer MAD.
hmmm. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111503/ got squelched somehow. True Lies.
ReplyDeletewell, i think that goes without sayin'. as long as there's no foam dripping from my mouth, i think i'm alright.
ReplyDeleteah, now there's an interesting distinction. I have no problem accepting that in purely logical terms each statement has a truth value, but I am absolutely definitely certain that we humans can't always know which it is, not for each and every statement.
ReplyDeletewhich kind of connects with what I was saying earlier about making a statement which at the time you believe to be true - so you're not lying (in the sense of deliberately saying that which you know to be untrue) but you're speaking falsehood.