Francis A. Schaeffer on Theological Terms
The God Who Is There, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1968), p147.
If we wish to communicate, then we must take time and trouble to learn
our hearers' use of languages so that they understand what we intend to
convey. This is particularly difficult today for us as Christians when
we want to use a world like God or guilt in a strictly defined sense
rather than as a connotative word, because the concepts of these words
have changed universally. In a case like this, either we must try to
find a synonymous word without a false connotation, or else we have to
define the word at length when we use it, so that we make sure our
hearer understands as fully as possible what we are conveying. I
suggest that if the word (or phrase) we are in the habit of using is no
more than an orthodox evangelical cliché which has become a
technical term among Christians, then we should be willing to give it up
when we step outside our own narrow circle and talk to the people
around us. If, on the other hand, the word is indispensable, such as
the word God, then we should talk at sufficient length to make
ourselves clear.
Making the Case for Faith

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