Who Are You Speaking To?
by Kayla Reish
No one reads a book or hears a speaker with an open mind. Everything a person hears is filtered through his or her personal beliefs. At the time of Christopher Columbus, people believed that the earth was flat. Everything they thought about travel, science, and any other subject was based on that notion, even though it was wrong. The same holds true in America today, except there is not just one belief that the world or America believes; there are dozens of beliefs about religion, science, ethics, politics, and morality. When those of one viewpoint come into contact with those of another, two different belief systems come into conflict.
Those of different assumptions often do not communicate with one another. Just because people speak the same language, it does not mean they will understand each other. Great Britain, America, and Australia all speak English, but words and phrases have totally different meanings in different countries. When companies send workers from one country to another, they spend thousands of dollars to educate them concerning the differences in culture.
People of different beliefs are as different as people from different lands; we may speak the same language, but we do not mean the same thing. Even among Christians there are multiple assumptions, myriads of goals, and various interpretations of what the Bible means.
Different Assumptions People Make
Premise:
A premise is a person’s most basic and beloved belief. The premise of a Christian’s faith includes the belief in the God of the Bible, the authority of Scripture, Jesus’ atonement for sin at Calvary, and Christ’s resurrection. These are the most important pillars of our beliefs, and everything else rests on them. When addressing a Christian audience, one does not need to try to prove or justify any of them. They are simply believed.
If, on the other hand, a Christian pastor were to start preaching to a group of atheists in the same way he preaches to his congregation on Sunday, there would be a communication breakdown because atheists do not share the same premise of beliefs as his congregation. To the atheists, the foundation is that there is no God. When a Christian tries to talk with an atheist, he must first deal with that basic premise.
A person’s premise is not easily changed. When an atheist even hears someone speak about God, he stops listening, maybe not consciously but sub-consciously; he does not consider the fact that he might be wrong. The same is true of those of other faiths. It takes years of erosion or an act of God to dispel a wrong premise.
Authorities:
People with different premises place a different amount of influence on the authority of sources. To Christians, the Bible is the ultimate authority on any issue. We base our beliefs on what God’s Word says.
Other faiths do not hold the same belief about the Bible. Some respect it, but what is says is not the deciding factor for their faith and lives. If you tell a Muslim, “The Bible says . . .” he might find it interesting, but it will not be a crucial consideration of what he believes. If you tell an atheist, “The Bible says . . .” it will probably not mean anything at all to him.
Whether or not a Christian uses the Bible to persuade people is largely based on what he is trying to persuade someone to and who he is trying to persuade. If a Christian is sharing the good news of the Gospel, he must use Scriptures. But if a Christian is trying to persuade someone who does not believe in the authority of Scripture that abortion is wrong, there are other arguments than the Bible to use that may be more effective, since that person’s premise is possibly different from the Christian’s. Medical research, legal precedent, and social effects are only a few of the many reasons abortion is wrong, and to a Muslim, atheist, or Jew, they are more compelling reasons than, “The Bible says.”
Interpretation:
Even among people of the same faith there are important differences in how we interpret what our faith means. This is why there are so many denominations in the Christian Church. Catholics and Protestants share the same premise, but in the interpretations of what the Bible means, they are drastically different.
What the Bible says about abortion, divorce, and modesty, unfortunately, are not all interpreted the same way in the Church. When a Christian speaks to another Christian, he has the advantage of both having the same basic beliefs. It is now a matter of dealing with the mistakes (or differences, at times) made in interpretation. When speaking to a fellow Christian about abortion, a homeschooler can and should use, “The Bible says . . .” because for both of them it is the ultimate authority.
Interpretations cannot be assumed though. When speaking to a Christian audience, a homeschooler cannot assume that the audience shares his views on issues. They may not. If he addresses a homeschool convention, he can assume that most of the people there agree with his interpretation of the Bible concerning homeschooling. But if he is speaking to a church group, he cannot make that assumption. He has to persuade people that homeschooling is right first, then proceed.
Meaning of Words:
What means something to one person might mean something else to a different person. If a Christian asks the average American if he believes in God, he will say yes. But what does he mean by “God”? Probably not the All-Powerful, All-Loving, King of kings, and Lord of lords a Christian means. A Christian has one definition of who God is; he has another. Before they can talk about God, a Christian must make sure both of them are talking about the same God.
Problems with the meanings of words happen in normal conversations all the time. A few months ago, my family and a friend were talking about a mutual friend named “Joel.” Somehow things were not making sense about what we thought we knew about him (his hometown and family size). A few minutes into the conversation, we figured out that we were talking about two different Joels! When someone says right and wrong, does he think right and wrong are the same thing as we Christians do? Before you can carry on a conversation with someone, you have to know what he is talking about!
Purpose/ Goals:
God gave Christians a very clear purpose in life. We are to love God and love our neighbors, praise Him, serve Him, and follow Him. Others, though, do not share those goals. Some want to be rich; some want to be famous; some do not know for sure what they want, but they do not want to have to go through unnecessary pain.
If you are trying to persuade someone not to steal, a wonderful reason is the fact that someone could be arrested if they did. If someone does not respect Scripture or follow the law, it is still probable that one of his goals is to stay out of jail. People will tend to do things that will help them reach their goals (whatever they are). A Christian’s goal is to follow Scripture, so when he is told about a Scriptural standard, he listens because it is part of his goal. The same is true of those in the world. They want to reach their goals (even shallow ones, such as self-preservation).
Knowledge/ Experience:
When a pastor teaches children’s church, he will use different examples, vocabulary, and attitudes than if he is teaching adults. Why? Because adults and children have different levels of knowledge. Adults have lived longer and have more experiences than children. Messages must be made simpler for children, so they can understand them.
How someone communicates a message changes depending on the knowledge of his audience. He does not want to talk over people’s heads, but he also does not want to talk down to people by explaining things they already know. If a writer writes an article about the rights of a baby in the womb for a medical journal, there is no need to explain what a trimester is. The doctors reading it will probably know that better than the author does.
Biblical Examples
The Bible is full of examples of someone matching a message to his audience. When Jesus spoke to the crowds, He spoke in parables. When He spoke to His disciples, the Bible says He spoke straightforwardly. Jesus spoke differently to different audiences.
In Acts 1 and 17 there are examples of two sermons, one is Peter’s at Pentecost, and the other is Paul’s at Mars Hill. Because Peter and Paul were talking to two different audiences, their messages were different. They both boldly proclaimed truth, but they had to convince their audiences of different things.
Peter was talking to a Jewish audience. The Jews of that day had the right premise of one true God and the inspiration of Scripture. Peter had to explain the right interpretation of Scripture.
Paul was talking to a Greek crowd; they believed in many gods and no one authority on any subject. Paul had to deal with the wrong premise of his audience. Two different crowds both received the message of the Cross, but the preachers had to modify their methods and message to deal with the wrong assumptions of their individual audiences.
We should not lie or alter the truth in any way in order to speak to our audience. Paul did not say what the Greeks wanted to hear, but he explained truth in a way that they could understand. Some still thought he was crazy, some understood but wanted time to think about it, and a few understood with more than just their heads - and believed. Nevertheless, he proclaimed the gospel in truth, without altering it in such a way that he no longer spoke the truth.
When someone writes an article, speech, report, or anything that will be more than simply private usage, he needs to take into account who he is speaking or writing to. He should recognize his audience’s premises, emphasis on authority, and knowledge before trying to communicate.
Questions to Ask to Determine Your Audience:
- What is my audience’s professed faith?
- When my audience says “god,” what do they mean?
- Does my audience believe in the authority of Scripture?
- Does my audience hold the same standard as me on ________(abortion, divorce, purpose of government, etc.)?
- What are the goals of my audience?
- What is the age of my audience?
- Will my audience already know something about the topic?
- Are there any words that I need to explain to make my message clearer?
- Are there any assumptions I need to deal with before I present my message?
- Do the members of my audience have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?