Back in January, I made a New Year’s Resolution, but I haven’t written about it, just in case it turned out to be like so many other resolutions that last only until someone puts chocolates on the table.

            Fortunately, my resolution wasn’t about chocolates. It was about superlatives.

            To put all of this in a grammatical context, we have, generally speaking, three levels of comparison -- good, better, and best.

            One: this is good. No comparison involved. This chocolate tastes good. This music is lively. This jacket fits well. Unless, of course, you want to imply that some other music is dull, even without saying so.

            Two: this is better. Yes, a specific comparison. You have two things, one of which surpasses the other. In taste. In quality. In fit, or performance, or price…. But you know exactly which two things are being compared.

            You don’t even have to use the comparative if you don’t want to. You can simply declare, “I prefer this one.”

            Third, the superlative: this is best. Or worst, in some cases. Ideally, again, of a number of known choices. The highest score among a specific group of competitors. The fastest time in a particular high school’s track meet. The lowest temperature this winter.

            But that’s not Donald Trump’s style. He chronically uses what I think of as absolute superlatives. Asserting, for example, that he was “the greatest president ever.” Or that something was the “worst trade deal ever made.” Or that Islamic terrorism is “the greatest threat the U.S. has ever faced.”

Impossible claims

            Logically, absolute superlatives cannot be proven. (I was tempted to say “never,” but that is, in itself, an absolute.)

            Consider the “worst trade deal ever,” for example. The only way he could support that contention would be to examine every trade deal ever made by anyone, anywhere.

            I suspect that some nations overrun by Genghis Khan’s hordes might disagree about the “worst trade deal.”

            The absolute superlative is, therefore, merely a rhetorical device, a meaningless assertion, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing. (Shakespeare anticipated Trump.)

            So I resolved not to use superlatives any more.  At least, not unless I could identify clearly the range of alternatives, from which this one stood out.

            I began seeing unsubstantiated superlatives as a way of debasing language.

Compare and contrast

            It’s not entirely Trump’s fault. He has simply taken to an extreme the instruction given by college professors for centuries -- to write an essay that “compares and contrasts” two or more dissimilar things. Like the poetic styles of, say, John Milton and e.e.cummings. Or Newton’s calculus vs Euclid’s geometry.

            Such essays may invoke intellectual gymnastics, but they’re a fool’s game; each element needs to be appreciated for its own value, not whether it is better or worse than something else.

            So I have resolved not to use superlatives unless I can be clear about subjects being compared.

            And I think that so far, I’ve succeeded. Perhaps some alert reader will go back over the columns I have written this year, and prove me wrong. Barring that eventuality, I’m reasonably confident that I can continue to avoid superlatives.

            Care to join me? As an act of protest?

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Copyright © 2020 by Jim Taylor. Non-profit use in congregations and study groups, and links from other blogs, welcomed; all other rights reserved.

                  To comment on this column, write jimt@quixotic.ca

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YOUR TURN

Last week’s column dealt with a survey of over 5,000 Canadians -- with no focus on Christian or other religions, etc. -- done by the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. It indicated, in brief, that 50% of Canadians now consider themselves agnostic, atheist, or “spiritual but not religious.”

Frank Martens celebrated: “Ah -- ha! I’m finally on the winning side, the atheists.”

The survey’s Evangelical Fellowship connection concerned Fran Ota: “If this poll only asked about Christianity or church, then it’s skewed. If it asked only white Canadians, it’s skewed. Or it’s miscast as representing all Canadians. What about mosques, gurdwaras, temples? What about all the other faith groups which make up the religious facets of our nation? In fact they too are struggling, but I’d like to see the figures in a heavily Sikh or Hindu or Buddhist population. What is really like to see is a poll from a good wide cross-section of all our Canadians.”

            If you share those concerns, I can only direct you to the original article at https://www.faithtoday.ca/Magazines/2020-Jan-Feb/Not-Christian-anymore

Tom Watson thought my closing sentence -- “They just don't care anymore” -- summed up the survey’s results.

            He went on, “But I think there are reasons they don't care. When they take a close look under the covers of the church's proclamations, what do they see? One word: hypocrisy. What else do you call the support of a bully president than hypocrisy? What else do you call the continuing suppression of a woman's right to determinewhat happens to her own body than hypocrisy? What else do you call the preoccupation with the preservation of the institution in lieu of giving ourselves away? Oh but, you protest, our particular church doesn't do that. Perhaps not but don't kid yourself, we all get tarred with the same brush.

            “I have gone back to speak at churches where I was once the minister. Congregations much smaller now. I have often gone away thinking: When this place closes - this place that was once a major hub in the community -- will it matter, will anybody care?”

Steve Roney argued that saying “the agnostics are winning” is deeply misleading. “The real growth is in ‘spiritual but not religious.’ The only way to make that oxymoron coherent, it seems to me, is to read it as religious in principle but not affiliated.

            “The fact that megachurches grow exponentially, then decline when a particular pastor dies, illustrates that people want religion, but no longer have brand loyalty.

            One reason is perhaps that people think like consumers, now, and are exercising their greater range of choices in more urban settings with fewer existing social and family ties. Another is that most denominations and clergy have lost their own faith, and so have little on offer. Another reason, I suspect, is that, with growing prosperity and so growing sense of privilege, many people are less inclined to submit to any moral codes. They want a purely ‘feel-good’ religion that does not require anything of them. Moving from church to church tends to preserve that option—of not being bound by anything.”

Wim Kreeft called the column “heart-warming. For too long the church has been an institution unto itself. The church, supposedly, should be about following Jesus. There are many people who have never darkened the inside of a church who are doing the very things Jesus was about -- caring for the poor, bringing wholeness to those who suffered, challenging the status quo, loving those who others rejected, showing people that every person is worthy.  Even though church membership is in decline, many people are doing the work of the church.  They meet together for solace, strength, encouragement, and to challenge one another.  Thankfully there are many wonderful, supportive and nurturing communities around the world, with no religious affiliation whatsoever.”

Bob Rollwagen asked, “Have you ever been on a church committee where one member preached his/her religious literal bible reality? As time moved forward these members remained and the committee became smaller.

            “The one role that I feel has been overlooked by the [new] majority is ‘support community’. A place where individuals or families can gather to share, discuss, inform, support, understand and learn. Social media is starting to recognize that ‘face to face’ is being lost and its absence is giving control of social interaction to one small segment of society that does not represent ‘community’.

            “The rise of loneliness as a negative influence on the community and individual health speaks to this reality. It may be too late. It is another form of “Climate Change” (cooling) that makes it hard to resolve Climactic Warming.”

Laurna Tallman challenged me: “Has it ever crossed your mind that your own inability to understand or believe some things is the reason you attract like-minded people? You and your agnostic readers are outnumbered in the larger world by people who have experiences of the afterlife that are profoundly persuasive. Those experiences stretch back in time and they come to primitives as well as to the sophisticated.

            “As a child, I was afraid of the possibility of encountering a soul without a body but when that happened to me the first time (utterly unbidden)it was not a terrifying experience but a blessing. Like other spiritual experiences I was becoming aware of as a young adult, the reality of ‘otherness’ in that encounter was incontrovertible yet meshed perfectly with the ‘ordinary’ reality we now understand through our elaborate sciences. I am sure there is science in these experiences, too, although we haven't put together all of the pieces yet.

            “Even those who have not had -- or who are unable to have --such experiences surely must recognize that other people who have their heads screwed on straight actually do encounter spirits of the dead. There is an overwhelming amount of evidence to support such claims.”

            That was about the previous week’s column, my skepticism about life after death. On the survey about agnostics, atheists, and non-religious becoming a majority, Laurna wrote, “In regard to your head-count of Christians, I would suggest that vast numbers of people have the laws of God written on their hearts, which was one of the objectives of Jesus's mission to the world. They may or may not be called to stand with those congregations where unbelievers continue to uphold the forms without believing in the content of the services, or who have adjusted the services to reflect their personal limitations. The closing of churches and the answers to questions posed by the evangelical body you quote do not reflect the spirit of Jesus alive and active in our country and in the world.”

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PSALM PARAPHRASE

This week’s lectionary reading probably constitutes an introduction to the rest of Psalm 119.

1          How fortunate are those who have not fouled up their lives!

They can hold their heads high in the presence of Holiness.

2          They are single-minded in pursuing God's way;

They are not tempted to turn aside.

3          They try not to harm anyone;

They follow their Lord's footsteps.

4          For the sacred and holy has gone this way before us;

it will keep going long after we have gone.

5          Spirit of all that’s holy, help me to follow you faithfully.

6          As long as I can keep my eyes on your example,

I will not disgrace myself;

7          My feet will not stumble, and my stride will not slacken.

I can come before you with a clean conscience.

8          I want to walk humbly in your company,

as we seek justice and live kindness.

Please keep walking with me.

For paraphrases of most of the psalms used by the Revised Common Lectionary, you can order my book Everyday Psalmsfrom Wood Lake Publishing, info@woodlake.com.

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TECHNICAL STUFF

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                  I write a second column each Sunday called Sharp Edges, which tends to be somewhat more cutting about social and justice issues. To sign up for Sharp Edges, write to me directly, jimt@quixotic.ca, or send a note to sharpedges-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca

                  And for those of you who like poetry, please check my webpage .https://quixotic.ca/My-Poetry I posted some new poetic works there a few weeks ago.  If you’d like to receive notifications about new poems, write me at jimt@quixotic.ca,  or subscribe yourself to the list by sending a blank email (no message) to poetry-subscribe@lists.quixotic.ca (If it doesn’t work, please let me know.)

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PROMOTION STUFF

To use the links in this section, you’ll have to insert the necessary symbols. Some spam filters have blocked my posts because they’re suspicious of some of the web links.

                  Wayne Irwin's “Churchweb Canada,” an inexpensive service for any congregation wanting to develop a web presence, with free consultation. http://wwwDOTchurchwebcanadaDOTca He’s also relatively inexpensive!

                  I recommend Isabel Gibson’s thoughtful and well-written blog, wwwDOTtraditionaliconoclastDOTcom. She also has lots of beautiful photos. Especially of birds.

                  Tom Watson writes a weekly blog called “The View from Grandpa Tom’s Balcony” -- ruminations on various subjects, and feedback from Tom’s readers. Write him at tomwatsoATgmailDOTcom (NB that’s “watso” not “watson”)

ALVA WOOD’S ARCHIVE

                  I have acquired (don’t ask how) the complete archive of the late Alva Wood’s collection of satiric and sometimes wildly funny columns about a mythical village’s misadventures. I’ve put them on my website: http://quixotic.ca/Alva-Wood-Archive. You’re welcome to browse. No charge. (Although maybe if I charged a fee, more people would find the archive worth visiting.)