The Biscuit Problem: Why Words Matter in Faith Conversations

Words can create confusion when we use the same terms but refer to different concepts, particularly in religious contexts where cults and false teachings adopt Christian terminology while describing non-biblical beliefs. 

• A personal anecdote about misidentifying a highlighter color
• Compared to how Americans and British people use "biscuit" differently
• Discussed how various groups use Jesus' name but describe someone different
• Specifically mentioned Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses borrowing Christian terminology
• Cautioned about some portrayals of Jesus in media like "The Chosen"
• Emphasized the importance of comparing descriptions to Scripture
• Recommended knowing Scripture personally to avoid confusion
• Suggested being part of a church community for theological guidance
• Mentioned the value of understanding church history

Be careful out there.

Chapters

• 0:00 The Highlighter Misunderstanding
• 1:24 Different Meanings, Same Names
• 2:18 False Versions of Jesus
• 3:54 Know Scripture for Yourself
• 5:06 Ensuring Biblical Accuracy

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:20

Tara and I once had a silly disagreement involving a highlighter. I said the highlighter's color was green. Tara correctly understood and knew that the color was highlighter yellow. We were talking about the same thing, right, but only one of us was right in describing it. Now, me getting the color wrong didn't change the nature of what we were talking about. It was still just a highlighter, even though I got the color wrong.

Speaker 1: 0:51

But sometimes, though, people can be using the correct name but be referring to two different things. What I call a biscuit is not what someone from England calls a biscuit. One's a fluffy, buttery, delicious breakfast bread. The other is a hard cookie, which I'm sure is fine, but it's not my cup of tea, which is a slight joke. So wherever you are, you can laugh. Same name, but different thing.

Speaker 1: 1:23

This can happen when people talk about God and or Jesus. There are plenty of religions and cults that exist, have existed, that talk about Jesus. They even have used some of the same language to describe him like we describe him in a traditional church setting. The problem is, when you start drawing a portrait of who their Jesus is, based on their own descriptions, you're going to find that as you create that image, it doesn't match the image that we have in God's holy word, his scripture, new Testament and Old Testament. We're using the same name, but clearly we're not talking about the same thing.

Speaker 1: 2:08

Be careful, be very careful, not to fall prey to people who use the same language and terminology that the traditional church might use. That's going to be familiar to you if you grew up in church, but in all actuality, they are not talking about the same thing that you're talking about. It's not the same thing. Their biscuit might not be your biscuit. For example, we have Mormonism and Jehovah's Witnesses. They have borrowed a ton of Christian terminology and language to describe things in their religions or cults that are not actually Christian. Now, from a cultural perspective and from a moral perspective, as they walk through their life, they might not seem so different than you. They might believe and want the world to run. Pretty similar to say, a Baptist church wants the world to run. Their vision, their version of Jesus and their version of God are not the same as what we find in Scripture, though. I'm not just calling out Jehovah's Witnesses or Mormons because I think they're horrible people. They're not, but they're not Christian, okay.

Speaker 1: 3:20

And yet people could easily think otherwise based on the words, just the words that they use, without recognizing that those words are actually describing something that is not what's found in Christianity or found in the Bible, and there are countless historical heresies from the early church that this would apply to. That we could talk about, about even some versions of Jesus that we might find in popular media, like the Chosen. Sometimes, keyword is sometimes error in this way. Usually because of creative choices, they end up depicting Jesus in a way that we don't really see Jesus as in Scripture. But if someone is talking about Jesus, if someone is talking about God, if someone is talking about God, if someone is talking about Christianity, you better make sure that their description matches the scripture. You better make sure that your biscuit is the same as their biscuit, if you know what I mean.

Speaker 1: 4:16

Now, from a practical perspective, this means that we ought to know and read scripture for ourselves. We got to know it ourselves. We have an obligation and responsibility to read the Bible and put it in our heart, put it in our mind. It also means that we ought to be a part of a church family, a church community that we can be together with and guard ourselves against possible confusion. Maybe you're confused by something and you've got a friend or two that can help point you in the right direction, to sort of move you away from the confusion. It's sort of like guardrails and also if they are heading a certain direction, because you know scripture and because it's in your heart and mind, you can help them in the same way they might help you.

Speaker 1: 5:02

And just because I'm a history major and I like history, I will say knowing a little bit of church history wouldn't hurt in guarding our minds either from this problem. So just when you hear people talk about church, god, christianity especially, people talk about Jesus, lots of people like Jesus. Make sure who they are describing is actually the person that we find in Scripture and make sure that they are describing a Jesus as Jesus would have described himself in the Gospels and as Paul talks about him Peter James, all of them. Okay, I love y'all. Be careful out there. Bye.