Jesus And The Language Argument

              

Why do Timing Arguments Matter?

 

Timing arguments matter because they show God's perfect knowledge and intelligience. If God really did visit the earth in human form it would be prudent for him to choose an efficient timing to appear to us. In order to act most efficiently with free humans, he would have to appear in the perfect timing to get his message across, if Jesus passes this test, that serves as evidence for Jesus being God. 

 

 Language

 

              The development of language and writing was a necessity for Jesus to spread his ministry effectively across the world. Had Jesus come before language was proper, his ministry would not have been as effective.

 

              Before 3500 BCE: Jesus wouldn’t have appeared before 3500 BCE because his complex nature and teaching couldn’t be communicated in writing. No writing forms existed that could preserve his teachings, and no language could effectively communicate what he wished to say properly at this point. If he had came at this time, he would be nothing more than a folk tale.

 

              3500 BCE: At this point in time, the most ancient writings were called pictographs. They could only describe simple topics because they were visual symbols. These writings were on clay tablets, which were incredibly fragile and would not serve well as the medium required for Jesus’ message. If Jesus had come at this point, very little would be preserved, and complex messages such as the sermon on the mount would not be preserved. We wouldn’t know much about Jesus if he had come then.

 

              3000 BCE: The development of simplified cuneiforms allowed writers to communicate concepts by adding phonograms. This allowed writers to better express themselves, but the clay tablets were still fragile and temporary. This led to the development of writing on papyrus which allowed for information to be passed on more safely. However, language was still not able to communicate complex ideas effectively at this point. More could be known about Jesus at this point, but still not much.

 

              1050 BCE: With the Phoenician alphabet developed, more complex ideas could be communicated. This alphabet had 22 consonants and zero vowels, it became the most used alphabet in the world at this point. It still would have been difficult to communicate complex ideas at this point and most of the world did not speak the language.

 

              800-700 BCE: The Greeks added vowels to their alphabet making it the first alphabet which could distinguish between words like said, sad, and sod. About one hundred years later the Etruscan alphabet developed, and they improved the greek alphabet. At this point, not enough speakers of Greek and Etruscan existed for Jesus’ ministry to take off.

 

              100 BCE: As the Roman Empire conquered most of civilization they taught people to read and write using the Etruscan (later to become latin) language, as well as embracing greek as a common (secondary) language throughout the empire. Only at this point with could the message of Jesus be communicated effectively with a shared language across the world. Had Jesus arrived before this, it would not have been possible. Since Jesus did in fact appear during this time period, we can see thsi as evidence as divine intelligience for the incarnation of God.

 

Source: J Warner Wallace