Friday, November 14, 2014
Importance of Letters
After reading parts of the New Testament I thought about the importance of writing letters and their purpose. We discussed that in the Old Testament a great deal of value was placed on the spoken word, and how in the Peloponnesian War speeches were important and necessary. However, in the New Testament Paul wrote letters to specific communities, one group being the Galatians. His letters had a purpose and they addressed problems in the regions he traveled to. It is interesting to see how letters were important during a time when long distance communication was difficult. The letters were meant to instruct faith on the people and were a means of communication. I wonder if there is any significance to the practice of writing letters and if it affected the religion of Christianity. Traditionally, information was passed down through the word of mouth, but why do we see letters becoming a large part of the New Testament?
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I think the main reason that word of mouth was so important in the Old Testament was because the majority of people didn't know how to read or write. Since they were illiterate, word of mouth was basically the only way to convey different ideas and stories about Yahweh to others. Once reading and writing was really established, stories started to be written down and it was a much more reliable way of communication. Stories that travel by word of mouth almost always change (usually quite drastically) and is less dependable than written texts. I think that the reason the New Testament has so much more emphasis on letters and writing than the Old Testament is simply because it's a change of times. Oral traditions became written traditions because reading and writing were understood by more people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Cat. I think the purpose of letters in the New Testament is so that God's word would not be changed. Once written down, people can try and change what has been said, but the original words would be present forever. I also think this establishes laws in a firmer fashion. Since words were written, people could always refer to the laws and would therefor abide by them. If ever the same issues were to exist in one area which were explored in Paul's letters, they can be referred to and a solution can be reached. One reason for the introduction of letters may also be that words are no longer enough to convince people. They permanence in written word may be what convinces others of God and of Paul's mission by God.
ReplyDeleteHistorically, people passed things down orally because of lack of a standard written language, and often times if a written language even existed most people were uneducated and illiterate. Therefore things like speeches and stories were important, as they were the only way of passing down what they knew. Once a standard written language was really established and people were more educated, they could start documenting things down, as written word is much more reliable than word of mouth. Most people can only remember so much of what they hear, so stories could change drastically through retellings. I agree that the written word is much more permanent and dependable, which made letters and other written documents more credible sources of knowing what God’s word really was.
ReplyDeleteI think that the concept of writing is a natural and necessary evolution of communication. As the previous comments have said, the written word is more reliable and carries more weight, such as in Exodus, making the Ten Commandments set in stone (pun intended). However, does this all decrease the value of the spoken word? We saw in the Old Testament examples of word and spoken promises, once said, having the inability to be revoked. With the development of writing, are practices like these now virtually extinct?
ReplyDeleteI believe that letters became more important because they began to use this to keep records of the past. For example, the bible is a written record of the time of Christ and before Christ. However, the New Testament is a little more accurate of its context because of the evolution. The concept of communication has evolved tremendously--from spoken to written to what we have now with all the technology. Letters were the only form of communication during this time, and the only record of what happened during the time.
ReplyDeleteLetters become a large part of the New Testament because yes there is the obvious development of knowledge on reading and writing, but also letters are a way of spreading across ideals without them being affected by the tides of oral shifting. In Ancient Greek/Roman stories, there sometimes are many discrepancies with characters as they got told many times again (even though they were written) but since these are direct letters, not much transformation can be done to Paul's messages of God.
ReplyDeleteThat's an interesting point I didn't think of. Yes people did start to become more literate in the New Testament and it was to preserve the word of God so that it could not be changed; however, it is also true that letters were able to be given to people so that they could more widely spread the word of Christ. Letters are easier to send to multiple cities and peoples at a time then to go to each city and preach with all the time it takes to travel and the danger sometimes involved in traveling. A good example is Rome. It's much easier to send letters to Rome in a time when Christians were being persecuted than to go to Rome and preach there.
ReplyDeleteToday we discussed the spoken word versus the written word and how the spoken word resonates in the Bible. Certain words do not need to be written down. We all agree that the written word became more common in the New Testament because people became more literate. However, does this mean that there are more interpretations to a story because they are no longer being spread by word of mouth, rather read on a piece of paper where there are no emotions attached? When stories were told, one could look at body language and tone, but by writing things down a barrier has been created and there can be various meanings to a story.
ReplyDeleteI find it ironic that spoken words were written down as a means of preserving the permanence of direct communication and it ended up adding to the promulgation of people picking and choosing what they want to use to support their arguments. Written word was to be used as a barrier that maintained permanence, and it became a matter of interpretation. For this reason, I think spoken word was so vital, and still remains a powerful form of communication. But like there are things we cannot say in person, there are things we cannot communicate in writing. It is all a big balancing act, and in that aspect letters were a big part of the new Testament in that a new and literary society could exchange these ideas without having them altered through word of mouth but rather by their own minds.
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