Thread by @dianabutlerbass

Words do matter. Deeply. Profoundly.

The biblical traditions that have shaped western cultures insist that words have both creative and destructive power.

In Genesis, God spoke creation into being.

Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light.
And God said, ‘Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let it separate the waters from the waters.’
And God said...

The world came to be.

Indeed, God speaks humankind to life:
Then God said, ‘Let us make humankind* in our image, according to our likeness.

Much later, John retold the creation story this way: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

That's the opening to the Gospel of John.

The word, the "logos" was with God at the beginning and through logos all things came into being -- all light and life and goodness.

This speaking of God, these words and the Word, intertwine with wisdom as “the breath of the power of God, a pure emanation of the glory of God."

Breath. Word. Wisdom. Logos and Sophia. The creative power of the divine.

Thus, our words are a reflection of these words. Our words create. Beauty, compassion, community, wonder, joy, hope, justice. All these things echo the creative power of the divine, the source of all things.

If words create, they also destroy.

We might call this use of words the "anti-word," or "anti-Christ." (That's not the way we usually think of "antiChrist" but I think it is an interesting and imaginative theological possibility).

The Bible is quite clear about the evil that can be done by words:

"There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing." Proverbs 12:18

Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. Proverbs 18:21

A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Proverbs 15:4

Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Ps 34:13

With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor, but by knowledge the righteous are delivered. Proverbs 11:9

Who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows. Ps 64:3

Your tongue plots destruction, like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit. Ps 52:2

There are many verses like this.

The NT carries on the tradition:

Like this from Jesus: "Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person."

Also James 3:6: "The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one's life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."

More James: "No one can tame the tongue—a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing."

So, James says, "Do not speak evil against one another, brothers and sisters."

Words create worlds. For good or for ill.

To fail to recognize this is foolishness. To refuse to be responsible for one's harmful words is sin.

Speak a world of love and justice into being. Speak up. Speak out. Speak compassion. Speak joy. Speak truth.

It isn't about "toning down" or "toning up" our words. It is about what comes from our hearts. What is spoken is a reflection of our souls, of the world of which we dream, of our power to create love or create fear.