To this end, they concoct various madcap schemes. When Gulliver journeys to the floating island of Laputa, he discovers a land populated by “natural philosophers” (or scientists), heirs of Sir Francis Bacon and, like Bacon, obsessed with the project of perfecting language. Let me illustrate this point with an anecdote from Gulliver’s Travels. It is, moreover, critical to any discussion of historicity, lest we mistakenly suppose that a verbal representation of the past is fully identical with the historical experience it describes. The distinction between res and verba (or signified and signifier) is a perennial and fundamental philosophical concern. Language is representational it re-presents the world in words. Thus I am not my name, but my name points to a real person. Words ( verba) are not the things they stand for ( res) but point beyond themselves. My title “The World and the Word” recalls the ancient distinction between res and verba-between things and words. as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet. ![]() As Peter states, scripture is given to “holy men of God. The proper way to read scripture is neither as history nor as literature alone, but as scripture. ![]() Whether, however, one attends to the historicity or textuality of scripture, due deference should be given to scripture’s special authority. Scripture’s textuality may be appreciated in many ways, including through literary analysis. When we allude to scripture’s textuality, we refer to the attributes it possesses as a verbal artifact. Scripture is also inherently textual, consisting of words that inscribe sacred experience. When we speak of scripture’s historicity, we refer to the truthfulness of its factual claims. Scripture is overwhelmingly historical, for the most part describing people and events that existed in time and space. Sound scriptural exegesis should give due weight to both the historicity and textuality of the word of God. My basic point is simple: scripture has textual as well as historical dimensions, and these twin aspects of scripture are not necessarily in opposition, although they are often complexly related. I have entitled my essay “The World and the Word” because I wish to focus on the relationship between sacred events and their representation in sacred script. Often those objectives are not seen fully without reading the scripture as sacred literature as well as history. To be understood properly, scripture requires both the companionship of the Holy Ghost and a keen sensitivity to the inspired objectives of the author. To read the record without feeling the testimony is to misread. The aim of the writing of sacred history is different from that of history writing in general, because scripture seeks to bear testimony while it seeks to preserve events. ![]() But because they are written, scriptures are also inherently textual, possessing literary qualities that contribute to their witness. ![]() As sacred texts, our scriptures are overwhelmingly historical, presenting factual accounts of things that happened in time and space. Words alone, however, cannot contain the full reality of the worlds they represent. Scriptures are by nature preserved in words. Tanner was a professor of English at Brigham Young University when this was published.
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