Words are not enough to describe ... or are they? pt2

The question then arises about the completeness of such a description, and I admit that there are not enough words to describe God fully. There perhaps are not words yet invented to describe some attributes of God, simply because God is far beyond our understanding. He is full of mystery and majesty beyond any human understanding. So it is here perhaps that one can truly say: “words are not enough” to describe the fullness of God.

However in this case words are not enough only from the point of view that the speaker is trying to explain or communicate something that they themselves don’t know or understand. It is rather a superfluous statement to in effect say: “words are not enough to explain something that I don’t know or understand”. How does a person describe what they have never known?

What we are talking about here are statements of fact, or descriptive phrases, yet some may argue that to speak of emotions is another thing altogether. Lets take the argument that some emotions are inexplicable and cannot be communicated with words. Certainly there is the common claim that there is a language of love that does not involve words, but whether this can be communicated with words is another matter.

Looking at an example may shed some light on this.

“Words are not enough to express the love I have for you”

Now in the western world where we use the word love so broadly and flippantly it is very easy to say that words are not enough to describe love. Perhaps in a sense this is true for many people who are bound by a limited grasp on their language and by the ubiquitous nature of the word “love”, however in Greek for instance, there are four words for love depending on the context. If everyone understood what these words meant, then certainly we would be a step closer to communicating our feelings of love more effectively. In fact, four times closer.

There is another approach to this as well. There are a number of literary techniques that can be used to convey emotion. Use of poetry with its verse and rhythm, metaphor and hyperbole can, through the careful use of words, describe things that a non-poet may struggle to convey with their words.

What about music? Can words evoke the same emotions as a captivating melody? Perhaps not, however that also is surely another question altogether. Words may not be enough to evoke certain emotions, or even to as effectively convey emotions. Music in itself is certainly a medium of communication on a profound level, yet music and lyric perhaps even more so.

I wonder whether from a philosophical level that we understand where a Christian is coming from when they say, “words are not enough” when referring to God.

The following are some possible interpretation that I think might be applied by some people to this statement.

1. A sceptic might say that they are using it as a tool to mystify God so that they can suck people in while brushing aside difficult questions or doubts.
2. One might think that the speaker says this because they are not intelligent enough to explain what they are trying to say, yet which they actually understand (due to limited vocabulary)
3. Perhaps the speaker actually doesn’t know anything worthwhile to say and so they use this phrase as cloak to conceal this fact.
4. It might reveal that the speaker places more emphasis on mystical spirituality than the word of God.
5. It is possible that the speaker understands that God is beyond human understanding and is using this phrase to remind people of just how mysterious and inexplicable God really is. It may also reveal an honest humility at how low we are compared to God. (morally, spiritually, in power, understanding etc)

A point that is pertinent in this discussion is the fact that the scriptures are very clear about the value of the word. When the scriptures speak about the power of Gods word bringing things into being by just speaking, how powerful a word of encouragement or wisdom is, how the word was from the beginning with God and how the word became flesh, it is clear that words are extremely powerful in many ways.

So if God places such importance upon words then surely it makes sense for us to recognise both the importance of words for our own understanding and also how effective they are in communication if used correctly.

We can conclude then that there certainly are things that cannot be communicated through words and that these things are mostly what we don’t know, what we don’t have the skills to put into words, or the listener does not have the language to comprehend.

On the other hand, to not give the word the very extremely important place that it deserves in communicating truth (even profound truth) would be a gross injustice to the word of God, and certainly diminishes the glory and power that is inherent in the spoken word. If anything, we need to dig deeper into the word of God and words in general to enhance our understanding and our effectiveness in communication and teaching. Perhaps on top of this it is also beneficial to develop understanding of each other so that we know at what level we need to communicate, for the specific person and the circumstances that they are in.