It is instructive to consider Newspeak because it can shed light on some of the difficulties Christians face when attempting to speak or write on important issues in today’s often Orwellian world. Those in power and those seeking power in various cultural realms often hijack language and redefine words and concepts in an attempt to control what they deem acceptable thought and speech.

In his book 1984, George Orwell introduced the fictional language he called “Newspeak.” The totalitarian party that ruled Oceania created Newspeak in order to limit and control the thought and language of the people and to keep them in line with the party’s ideology.

One of the most recognizable quotes from 1984 is the series of slogans printed in huge letters on a government building:

War is Peace.
Freedom is Slavery.
Ignorance is Strength.

These statements are a prime example of Newspeak. They illustrate the idea of stating and claiming to believe inherently contradictory ideas. By controlling and redefining the words its citizens use, the party in Orwell’s dystopia is able to control thought itself. Those raised on Newspeak lose the very ability to think outside of the categories of the party because the words required to do so no longer exist.

It is instructive to consider Newspeak because it can shed light on some of the difficulties Christians face when attempting to speak or write on important issues in today’s often Orwellian world. Those in power and those seeking power in various cultural realms often hijack language and redefine words and concepts in an attempt to control what they deem acceptable thought and speech.

This takes different forms, depending on who the hijackers are, their ideology, and the nation in which they live, but the phenomenon itself has been widespread, especially since the beginning of the twentieth century. Christians need to be aware of what is going on and the way language is being used and abused in ways that undermine the very ability to think.

If Christians remain unaware that the contemporary purveyors of Newspeak are changing the meaning of the words and concepts we use, it is very easy to go along with those new definitions without realizing it. If we go along with the Newspeak, however, we are in serious trouble.

Christians must become more conscious of the ways in which the culture is re-defining words and concepts and the way it is using these re-defined words and concepts to enforce “goodthink” – or in contemporary terms, political correctness. If we do not become more aware of these things, all we are going to do is contribute to the current chaos and confusion. We will not be able to clearly communicate the Gospel with the lost, and we will cause confusion when we attempt to communicate with other believers.

Because so many Christians are unaware of how the culture is redefining everything, we have become thoroughly confused about when, whether, and how to answer some of the questions our neighbors are asking us today. The equivocation, contradiction, and confusion inherent in Newspeak makes Christian discourse in a culture infected with it extraordinarily difficult. Difficult, but not impossible.

In order to give true and biblical answers in our conceptually and linguistically confused culture, we need to step back and take a deep breath. The world isn’t going to let this be easy. But there are a few things I think we can consider.

First, whenever we are dealing with difficulties, let us start with an examination of our own hearts. What is going on in the world around us can easily make us frustrated and angry, and when we become frustrated and angry, we can easily slip into a self-righteous Pharisaism. We have to stop, look in the mirror, and by God’s grace discern our own sins and repent of them before we can even begin to consider those in the world around us.

Second, and closely related to the first, we need to be slower to judge our brothers and sisters in Christ. The chaos caused by the purveyors of contemporary Newspeak makes it very easy to misunderstand and to be misunderstood. Let us make every effort to listen to our brothers and sisters with a judgement of charity, rather than publicly jumping to conclusions about what they “must” mean by this or that comment. What we say online to and about other Christians is visible to the entire world.

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