Table of Contents
Introduction – The Plague Of The Modern English
Have you ever taken the train or the bus to work or even took a stroll down the busiest part of your city and listened in on conversations between people regardless of their age, gender, or ethnicity?
What do you observe?
If you are like me and have a keen interest in developing proficiency in the English language and have a great affinity for it, you may experience the same unspeakable dreadful inward groaning of your soul being exposed to the atrocious massacre of the English language. This is even more prevalent among the youth that seem to be spending inordinate amount of time on looking the part but missing the essential part itself.
They may look intimidating, modern, and chic but you need only talk to them of matters of consequence and at once their incapacity to communicate even the simplest thought or idea is made rather painfully obvious. And their modernity seems nothing more than a mere facade to mask the inability to truly glimmer with fluency of speech and thought.
People spending valuable time on catching up on trends seem to forget that relevance dissipates when one is incapacitated to communicate in English, the language of trade, commerce, progress, and civilization. They try to forge relationships with inconceivable grammar, elementary English, and butchered sentences and what is forged as a result is superficiality and not genuine connections.
It is like a bridge built with rusty iron and shallow nuts and bolts and poor engineering. You may for a time see flamboyant vehicles traverse its path and may even find yourself drawn to its effervescent glory.
But it is soon going to collapse and how grand shall its collapse be. And language will play a pivotal role in its holistic destruction of civil societies and plunge them into a state of regression and moral decadence.
And such is the state of our society where social media galore but deeper meaningful connections seem to be fading into the grave. Why give the graves a bad name for the dead speak with perspicuity than those alive; elucidating complex ideas in the simplest ways that even the laity could understand yet it is not without elegance or sophistication.
Watch this video where Matt Walsh from The Daily Wire who addresses a girl on Whatever Podcast that would make the likes of Shakespear come up from the grave and take notes. And then come back here for a Christian perspective and what the Bible says about this.
Viewer discretion advised due to immodest language (censored) and attire.
I would not be exaggerating when I say that I have heard worse even from those who study at top Universities in the city. Even a simple narration of their morning routine seems to be an arduous task of gargantuan proportions that they should fumble for words to express their musings of the morning.
“I woke at 11 like I was so sleepy like you know like I could not like but I wanted to sleep. Like who cares right?…like…”
There is a study here that gives you a thorough analysis of the decline of English language and vocabulary among American adults between 1970 and 2010. The findings are rather shocking given that the benchmark of 1970s itself is abysmally low. It is most certainly not the peak of the attainment of the English language but was already on the downgrade following the legacy of the previous decade.
Here is an excerpt from the study – “The decline in vocabulary among college graduates may have practical consequences. The average college graduate now has considerably lower verbal ability than the average college graduate 40 years ago. For employers, this means that a college degree does not have the same meaning as it once did for verbal ability.”
The study also suggests that there is going to be a corresponding decline in IQ. Professors and authors are now required to lower their level of vocabulary for knowledge retention and comprehension! To say that we have it backwards is an understatement of colossal proportions.
And here is what the study says about the need to revise King James Version of The Bible – “For example, the Bible has been revised repeatedly to make it more accessible with the King James Version, the most complex and lyrical English language version, being succeeded by the simpler New International Version, Living Bible, and New Revised Standard Version.”
The Bible Gateway which houses a plethora of translations puts the readability of the KJV at age 12+!
We can all agree that there has been a steady decline in the proficiency of the English language among the native English speakers and there are many contributing factors for this degradation.
I must also bring to your attention that there is a direct co-relation between the English language and progress. Here is one such study that demonstrates this.
Evidently, there is no sure way to avoid this fact which is as clear as the bright noon day and that is the proficiency of the English language whether its decline or appraisal has a significant impact on the progress of the society not only economically but also anthropologically.
The questions one ought to ask as a Christian are these-
How do we understand this in the Biblical context?
Does the Bible say anything about this?
Does it have any record of a global language and its relationship with progress?
Does it have a record of its decline and its effects on human civilization?
Does it also give us a reason for the decline?
And to answer these important questions, we must go back to where it all began.
Back to Babel
This Biblical history is found in Genesis 11 which is set in the postdiluvian era. During this time, after God’s righteous judgment over sin, the nations of the earth of one language and of one speech moved towards the plains of Shinar and they dwelt there.
Let us look at the meanings of these words –
Whole – altogether, everyone
Earth – common, country
One – united, alike, a certain
Language – lip as in the actual language
Speech – to act because of commandment, decree, business, or an errand
If you string it all together you get, everyone in that country united, alike, and of a certain language acted in accordance to the resulting common objective led by an authority decreeing commandments understood by all to run a common errand.
It is rather descriptive for a reason.
What you see unfold during this time is great progress in rapidity. And what is undeniable given what transpires in the next verses is that the single element that transformed this people group into an advanced and an almost invincible a civilization is a unified and sophisticated language.
They had one global language that made for efficient trade, commerce, civilization, and progress. They seemed unstoppable given that they also were able to co-ordinate so effectively as to find perhaps the most fertile plain to the east of where they were to not only settle down but to built a mega city.
And as they began to see progress unfold in marvelous ways they began to shed even the faintest acknowledgement of God and his abundant blessings.
And once they realized they were self sufficient through natural and human resources and there seemed to be no dearth of human skills, ingenuity, and talent, they denounced the very God that had previously judged the whole earth for the same spiritual malady – pride.
And in their pride, the whole nation under one supreme leader, Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the LORD, that no man on earth could defeat, relegated the name of God to the dust of Shinar. And instead they asserted themselves to establish their own name above God’s name. Keep in mind that this nation under one leader was a super power.
In keeping with the theme, ‘United we stand. Divided we fall’, they of one accord acceded to the dictate, “Go to, let us make brick, and burn them throughly. And they had brick for stone, and slime had they for morter. And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth” (Gen 11:3-4)
The beginning of verse 3 says, “And they said one to another”.
This perfect synchronicity of thought would have been impossible if it were not for one language. And this as I may have already implied, suggests that they had an advanced language form to transform the plains into a technologically and militarily advanced fortress of a city. A country even!
And they did build a tower and fortify their city. Yet their marked failure to acknowledge God is made evident in his condescension in that He had to come down to see it. And this set off the course of God’s second global judgment after the flood of Noah. And this time the object of the judgment or the means through which judgment was executed was the very facet of a society that unites people for the flourishing of a civilization, language.
Gen 11:5 – And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
Judgment At Babel – Decline Of The Language Of Advancement
God came down to see the tower and the city they had built. And though his condescension is apparent in his denigration of their work, God in his wisdom recognized human potential in their unified front to achieve wonders that could only be marveled.
Yet, God had to bring that to end not because he envied their progress but though he wanted them to flourish; they had abandoned one crucial element and replaced it with something else that could barely leave any lasting legacy on its own.
Crucial element being, God who is pre-eminent and eternal, and the replacement, man who is secondary and mortal.
Equally worse was replacing God who is the righteous judge with man the unrighteous lawbreaker.
God here outshines man by demonstrating his ingenuity in that He honored his promise in Gen 9 in that he would not bring about a global flood as he had done about 100 years before this incident.
God did not have to bring about destruction on a global scale by reducing to waste the material world, but instead wrought destruction of the material world through the immaterial, language.
Either way, just as the material is brought to fruition by the immaterial, so is judgment brought upon the material through that which is immaterial.
And this is where the Biblical history stands relevant to the current modern times of reprobation and delinquency.
Notice once again, that God does not destroy the city here or the tower. But takes away something far more quintessential to development and that is one language of one speech.
The city deemed to be unrighteous God confounds their language and they could no longer understand one another and they leave off building the city because they found each other incoherent and illegible to work cohesively as one organism for a common purpose.
Finding themselves speaking rather strangely, they scatter off to the ends of the earth leaving behind relics of what was once the pinnacle of human civilization.
Civilization reduced from accolade to derision.
The state of the English language among the youth today and the old alike is reminiscent of the Biblical history in the plains of Shinar.
It is in a state of exponential decline and corruption which is a sure sign of God’s judgment upon first world nations that were prime innovators and retainers of modernity, technological advancements, economic growth, affluence, and prosperity, education, and more.
It is this English language that became a powerful global phenomenon that was able to though through many struggles eradicate evil practices across the world and elevate human societies to its intended state of dominion over God’s creation instead of subjecting themselves to it by worshipping the creation.
And it is this English language that was provisioned by God by bringing it to fruition through the translation of his own Scriptures which are God breathed! Scriptures that are profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness so that the man of God may be perfect thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 Tim 3:16-17)
And it is this precious language that is now in an utter state of confusion. In an utter state of Babel as the name connotes.
Consequences of Babel – Confusion
The symptoms of this confusion and erosion of moral acuity in human affairs is made manifest plainly before us. It is made manifest in our inability to articulate with skill, imagination, poetry, and intellect our daily morning routine even, without filler words to add to confusion leaving you heavily disoriented.
Here are my observations of the manifestation of God’s judgment upon “English speaking” nations:
- The deterioration of the language among the youth through lack of appreciation for reading literature of old
- The deterioration of language among people which is directly proportional to their lack of faith in God is manifest in music, movies, arts, and universities
- Consolidation of all the earth’s languages in one place through mass immigration
- Proliferation of regressive philosophies that aid in annihilation of humans, societies, economy, and everything that the English speaking nations once achieved
- Removal of God from societies and the corresponding language that articulates the whole counsel of God
- Replacing the language that brought about widespread evangelization of the Gospel with demonic languages that have their own vocabulary contrary to God.
- Reduced standards of literacy of any kind especially of the Christian faith making one impotent to offer a reasonable response of their faith
I could go on but I will conclude the list with these. This is God’s judgment upon native English speaking nations who have traded God for the devil and his work is evident.
Nations that continue on this trajectory will meet the same fate as that of the city of Nimrod. God I believe has a sense of humor and his judgment is now coming home to roost; coming back to the modern plains of Shinar to multiply confusion.
Absolution For Confusion
There is a way out of this depravity and that way is to go back to the ancient landmarks, the ways of old that we were commanded to not move.
Duet 19:14 – Thou shalt not remove thy neighbour’s landmark, which they of old time have set in thine inheritance, which thou shalt inherit in the land that the LORD thy God giveth thee to possess it.
Though this may be set in the context of literal property boundaries one cannot be remiss of the Spiritual implication in the text.
To keep it is to elicit God’s blessings. To remove the ancient landmarks is to invoke God’s curses.
Therefore, we must go back to the beginnings of the origins of the English language which was intended to cause the plow boy to know the Scriptures as William Tyndale intended.
And what a glorious history unfolded thereafter uplifting many nations and its citizens from the dregs of sin and destruction.
Let us Make English Glorious Again!
Thereby let us make The Word of God which was in the beginning with God, the Word which was God that became flesh be the light in the hearts of all who hear him speak in The Bible.
And may the Word of God dwell in you richly.
God bless!