In the beginning was the word

Language is not only the centerpiece of our everyday lives, but it gives significance to all that we do. It also reflects and reveals our all-sustaining Creator, whose providential governance extends to the intricacies of language. Writes Vern Poythress, "God controls and specifies the meaning of each word-not only in English but in Mandarin Chinese, Hindi, Italian, and every other language. When, in our modernism or postmodernism, we drop him from our account of language, our words suddenly become a prison that keeps us from the truth rather than opening doors to the truth. But we will use our words more wisely if we come to know God and understand him in relation to our language."

It is such biblically informed insights that make In the Beginning Was the Word especially valuable. Words are important to us all, and this book-written at a level that presupposes no knowledge of linguistics-develops a positive, God-centered view of language. In his interaction with multiple disciplines Poythress offers plenty of application, not just for scholars and church leaders but for any Christian thinking carefully about his speech.

Commendations

“In this remarkable volume, Vern Poythress takes the reader on a theological ad
venture into the depths of language, showing that God’s gift of language reveals
important things about humankind and about God himself. Poythress argues that
the intricacies of language present both a general revelation of the triune nature
of God and the means for special revelation of himself in the words of Scripture.
The complexities and sophistication of human discourse reflect the inherently
communicative nature of God, in whose image people are created. The gifts of
language and Scripture are testimonies to God’s love and are tools for sharing that
love in every language and culture of the earth.”

Richard Brown, International Translation Consultant,
Wycliffe Bible Translators

“If you were to ask me to propose one person to guide me through a thoroughly
Christian view of language, Vern Poythress would be my first choice. His detailed
knowledge of both the Bible and linguistics, his creative ability to see connections, his
determination to be true to God, and his engaging personal manner, all come through
in this book. I came away with a fresh appreciation for our creaturely dependence on the
triune God, and renewed thankfulness to God for his remarkable gift of language.”
C. John (“Jack”) Collins, Professor of Old Testament,
Covenant Theological Seminary

“This book represents a lifetime of theological thinking about the significance
of language: about God’s involvement with language, the nature of language
itself from phonemes to literary genres, and the diverse ways humans interact
with one another, and with God, through language. Here one finds not only a
biblical but a systematic theology of language built on the insight that human
language reflects the triune God, sometimes in surprising ways. And, as if thirty-
six chapters were not enough, Poythress includes significant appendices analyz-
ing language in postmodernism, translation theory, speech acts, deconstruction,
and more. There is nothing like this book on the market!”

Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Research Professor of Systematic Theology,
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

“Vern Poythress presents a compelling, textured Biblical theology of human
and divine communication. By looking through the right end of the telescope,
starting with God rather than human understanding, he plumbs the depths of
God’s role as guarantor and sustainer and as the locus within which meaning
and interaction have their being. Poythress’s treatment is woven together as
what appears to be an exhaustive corpus, analyzing multitudinous facets of
God’s role in language and how this role affects how we should understand and
practice communication. He brings added depth through rigorous analysis of
theoretical and philosophical developments relating to the study of language
and culture.”

Chris Simmons, Executive Director, The Gospel and Culture Project

“This fascinating and remarkably insightful book is the product of a lifetime of
profound thinking about the amazing complexity of language as created by God
to reflect his own character and give him glory. Poythress’s multiple perspectives
on language will enable readers to understand the Bible more deeply and also to
avoid the mistakes of various non-Christian theories of language that influence
society today. This book is a wonderful resource in many ways.”

Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Bible and Theology,
Phoenix Seminary

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: The Importance of Language 11

Part 1: God’s Involvement with Language
Chapter 2: Language and the Trinity 17
Chapter 3: God Speaking 23
Chapter 4: God’s Creation of Man 29
Chapter 5: God Sustaining Language 39
Chapter 6: Creativity in Language 42
Chapter 7: Exploring Examples of Language 50
Chapter 8: The Rules of Language 60
Chapter 9: God’s Rule 64
Chapter 10: Responding to God’s Government 78

Part 2: From Big to Small: Language in the Context of History
Chapter 11: Small Pieces of Language within the Big Pieces 85
Chapter 12: Imaging 91
Chapter 13: World History 97
Chapter 14: The Fall into Sin 103
Chapter 15: Redemption through Christ 116
Chapter 16: Peoples, Cultures, and Languages 124
Chapter 17: Principles for Cultural Reconciliation 131
Chapter 18: Good and Bad Kinds of Diversity 138
Chapter 19: Human Action 149

Part 3: Discourse
Chapter 20: Speaking and Writing 163
Chapter 21: Analysis and Verbal Interpretation 170
Chapter 22: Interpreting the Bible 180
Chapter 23: Genre 186

Part 4: Stories
Chapter 24: Storytelling 195
Chapter 25: The Story of Redemption 206
Chapter 26: Many Mini-redemptions 209
Chapter 27: Counterfeit Stories of Redemption 219
Chapter 28: Modern Reinterpretations of Redemptive Stories 229
Chapter 29: Stories about Jesus 234

Part 5: Smaller Packages in Language: Sentences and Words
Chapter 30: Sentences in Use: Foundations in Truth 243
Chapter 31: Foundations for Meaning in Trinitarian Inter-personal Action 251
Chapter 32: Subsystems of Language 259
Chapter 33: Words and Their Meanings 270
Chapter 34: From Words to Perspectives 280

Part 6: Application
Chapter 35: Truth as a Perspective 289
Chapter 36: Living in the Truth 297
Interaction with Other Approaches to Language
Appendix A: Modernism and Postmodernism 303
Appendix B: Doubt within Postmodernism 311
Appendix C: Non-Christian Thinking 320
Appendix D: Platonic Ideas 326
Appendix E: The Contribution of Structural Linguistics 332
Appendix F: Translation Theory 338
Appendix G: Symbolic Logic and Logical Positivism 350
Appendix H: The Theory of Speech Acts 353
Appendix I: Reaching Out to Deconstruction 370
Supplementary Reflections
Appendix J: Special Cases of Human Speech 385
Bibliography 391
General Index 401
Scripture Index 411