The language of religion

Like most of you I grew up in church where it was expected for the pastor/preacher to be a craftsman in the cadence of oration. This skill was and is a requirement for success and has been taken a step further in the black church with the addition of a background beat and accompaniment.  While this practiced and polished talent is entertaining and can stir the crowd and has a tremendous effect on a preachers financial success, it is not a biblical requirement for teaching, or for God’s calling(Moses, Paul?),  and shows how important entertainment is to the church/business model.

The similarity in style isn’t the only troubling thing that seems contrived in the professional pulpit;  another is the over use of some words we seldom use in nonreligious conversations.  Hardly a paragraph goes by in a sermon or broadcast without the word “share”. We share the gospel, we share a word, we share our testimony, we share a verse, we share a song. In normal conversation if we share our lunch,  it means we take our sandwich and cut it in half and give half of it to someone. To share implies to sacrifice, doesn’t it? Why has this word become essential in religious speak? 

I remember my first day in english composition. The professor told us to write what we did over the weekend without using the word “I”.  My assignment for you preachers and testifiers is say something without using the word “share”.

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