Hopewit

"Swimming in the same chaotic sea" - Taboga I’m halfway through rereading Stuart Murray’s, The Naked Anabaptist. As is often the case—I suspect with most people who have spent years studying and teaching the language medium—my mind wanders into the area of words, sentences, paragraphs, grammar, connotation and denotation. Why did Murray use that word? What connotations does this sentence carry that may be unintended? Murray’s use of the English language is generally above serious criticism; he was, after all, born and raised in England where education has tended to emphasize language-arts as core . . . at least historically. Without even having thought about it much, nearly all of us—I think—have come to know that semantically, words that end in ist are usually nouns and words that end in ic are generally adjectives (words that modify the meaning of nouns). In the sentence, “He’s a sarcastIC AnabaptIST,” the last word categorizes the person, the former adds

There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines. (I Corinthians 12:4-11, NIV) The summer edition, 2017, of History Manitoba contains an article called “ Evangelization, not Legislation ,” by Nolan Bro

   . . . for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Gal. 3:27-9, NIV)  One new humanity out of two, or three, or 2 million?? For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. (Eph. 2:14-16, NIV) South Korean born American citizen, Euna Lee, was captured by North Korean border guards as she was filming in a remote area along the Chinese/North Korean border. Imprisoned fo