The Highway Forums General Discussion Open Forum Rant

Tom,

On the rare occasion I get hassled for 'speaking over people's heads', but that is expected when those people only stand 4' tall.

But yes, there is one particular individual I know that sometimes chides me for saying things he doesn't comprehend. The irony is, this person often goes on and on about how much he knows about biblical doctrine. Yet, when I answer a question he asks, which are typically endless, and it goes against something he believes, then that's when I get the chiding and along with it the pseudo admission that he isn't a very educated man, aka: I want my cake and eat it too response.

Most often I try and take into consideration the individual(s) I'm speaking too and adjust my vocabulary accordingly. However, I rarely fore-go using biblical terms, e.g., justification, imputation, foreordination, predestination, etc. I also make it a point when using theological terms, which I suspect will be foreign to the hearer(s) to give a brief definition of it/them as I go along, aka: teach. Yet, what I've found to be true are the following:

1. Most people aren't really listening anyway, or at least carefully so it doesn't matter.
2. Most people won't say anything if they don't understand a word, phrase, concept, etc., and for two main reasons, a) Pride, b) apathy.
3. The few that do speak up and complain about speaking over their heads with $2 words aren't really interested in learning anything about God.
4. And lastly, there are an even rarer few who will speak up and admit they are a bit in the dark but they would really, honestly like you to clarify and expand on what you said because they have a hunger to learn and to know more.

In short, ignore the majority of those who complain about using big words if in fact you aren't using them. Usually, all they want to hear is "God is love and desires to have a relationship with everyone."