In Praise of Clear Speech

The following is a quote from N.T. Wright in The Guardian:

There is a lot about postmodernism I like, but when it comes to the law of the land, I want words that say what they mean and mean what they say.

This is necessary in order to build a society - or, indeed, a church - of trust, the precondition of genuine debate. You have to trust your opponents to say what they mean and mean what they say, and you have to earn their trust by doing the same.

Here again, contemporary culture lets us down. The hermeneutic of suspicion has become our default mode, encouraging us to lump issues into bundles and people into camps. It is much easier that way: it stops you having to think, or engage in real debate.

The Church desperately needs to learn once more the gentle art of reasoned discourse, of respectful engagement, of real debate. It is a better way to be Christian; it is a better way to be human.

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