The Attack on Language

 One aspect of the Biblical view, or worldview battle, that has been underway for almost two centuries has to do with the English language itself. The attack on Christian civilization was fought and won by anti-Christian publishers in the area of linguistics, prior to the year 1900. The victory is so complete that very few Christians know about the struggles that went on before the turn of that century.

It was Noah Webster who wrote the first truly American Dictionary, and it was built on solid Christian principle. Prior to Webster the most used English dictionary was a volume by Samuel Johnson published in 1755. What Noah Webster did was to introduce superior scholarship in researching the etymology of the words, and he also built his definitions using Biblical examples. He then went on to eliminate vulgar words explaining:

 “It is questionable how far vulgar and cant words are to be admitted into a dictionary; but one thing must be acknowledged by any man who will inspect the several dictionaries of the English language…Johnson has transgressed the rules of lexicography beyond any compiler; for his work contains more of the lowest of all vulgar words than any other now extant…Any person who will have the patience and the candor to compare my dictionary with others will find that there is not a vocabulary of the English language extant so free from local, vulgar, and obscene words as mine!…”

Webster’s theology led him to create a dictionary that eliminated vulgar words because he believed that his work should direct Christian culture toward nobler ideals. He knew that by eliminating those words from his dictionary he delegitimized them, which would lead to their disuse. Webster’s work therefore carried a moral concern that was designed to push forward Christian civilization. His Biblical worldview was reflected in his work.

There were other important aspects built into this dictionary. Rosalie J. Slater writes:

“Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary remains today the pure repository of three essential ingredients of America’s Christian History. It reflects our Christian philosophy of life, our Christian philosophy of government, and our Christian philosophy of education. Unmistakably it reveals the degree to which the Bible was America’s basic textbook and how it was related to all fields. Noah Webster as a Christian scholar laid his foundation of etymology upon the Scriptures and his research into the origin of language stems from this premise. One cannot read his definitions nor study his discussion of the grammatical construction of our language without encountering at every point a Scriptural Christian philosophy of life.”

upon Christian principle. His dictionary became the measure of the language for decades to come. It helped secure Christian thought as normal for the nation. Of course there were many destructive influences working on American civilization during the 1800s but Webster’s dictionary had a great and positive effect. It helped define the Christian worldview as being ‘American’ and as the standard for our people. By carrying Biblical thought about life, government, and education into his definitions he helped thousands of people develop a Biblical worldview. Our nation is indebted to Webster for his contributions to our spiritual heritage. Excellent Christian theology had been inserted directly into the language itself.

            Webster passed from the scene and the nineteenth century progressed. After the death of Noah Webster the field of linguistics began to be dominated by scholars with a more humanistic perspective. Their desire was to eliminate the Biblical thought Webster had brought forward and replace it with works that reflected their own perspective. When their dictionary first came out in the late nineteenth century it was the subject of great public debate. Newspaper headlines announced the struggle between the new and the old (Webster’s 1828). Scholars understood that the ones that define the words of the culture also define the theology of the culture. They establish the base line from which much thought within the society is deduced. The victor in the battle for linguistics carries forward an advantage that will affect all future discussions within the society. Daniel Boorstin describes it this way:

 “By the mid-twentieth century, new democratic criteria had come into the classroom, changing the notion of what standards, if any, a democratic society could apply to its language. These were the product of a new science of linguistics. Until about the mid-nineteenth century, studies of the origin and development of language had been tangled with theology, philosophy, rhetoric, and logic.” 

 These “Democratic criteria”, e.g. humanistic ideals, have now become the norm as the philosophical underpinning for American English. This condition makes it only more difficult to inculcate Christian thought in our children. It means that in the struggle to impart a Biblical mind in our students we have to go right to the root in everything. Parents may do this at home as a conscious effort to teach Christianity to their offspring. This kind of effort will almost never be attempted at any modern school. How deep does the rabbit hole go? It goes to the roots of the language. Christians have a great deal of work to do to recapture this culture for Christ. This is a part of the struggle to resurrect a Biblical worldview within this society.

For Christian Culture,

Don Schanzenbach 8-18-12

Note: Taken from my book Faithful Parents Faithful Children: Why We Homeschool