Of Etymology and Theology

"When I became your Presiding Bishop I called us to conversation. I pointed out the word conversation and conversion come from the same root. By conversion I did not mean one point of view capitulating to another, rather in seeing Christ in one another. Not a change of mind but a change of heart."  Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop, Episcopal Church, during the Joint Session 6/21/06

[Vizzini has just cut the rope The Dread Pirate Roberts is climbing up]
Vizzini: He didn't fall?  Inconceivable!
Inigo Montoya: You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
The Princess Bride

The more the words, the less the meaning, and how does that profit  anyone?
Ecclesiastes 6:11

Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
Matthew 5:37

If there's any word we Anglicans have heard over and over again during the last three years, it's conversation.  Conversation is good, they tell us.  Let's continue the conversation, they plead.  We're going to stay in conversation, they promise.

Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold claims that "conversation" and "conversion" come from the same root, so that somehow makes "conversation," in the sense of continuing dialogue, a religious concept related to "conversion."  To ++Griswold's mind, conversation means a change of heart, much more desirable (holier?) than mere conversion.

But the basic premise he uses to support his position is flawed - as anyone who loves words (professionally and personally) as much as I do knows.  And if his premise is flawed, then so is his practice.

Conversation is a noun form of the verb converse, which in its verb form is derived from the Latin conversr.  That in turn became the Old French converser, which in turn became the Middle English conversen.  The words in their verb form all pointed to the concept of speaking to and associating with.

Conversion, in contrast, is a noun form of the verb convert, which comes from the Latin convertere.  That word became the Old French convertir, which in turn again became the Old English converten.  The meaning?  To turn around.  Sounds a lot more like the word repent than talk (or speak or associate with), doesn't it?

In fact, converse is only related to conversion as a noun (converse as a noun meaning "something that has been reversed.").  Then, and only then, do the words share a common Latin root.

Conversation, contrary to ++Griswold's interesting interpretation, has nothing to do with change.  It's about (endless?) exchange.  And that's really the point, isn't it?  Nothing will change.  The current trajectory will continue without a course correction

What's really infuriating to me is this: ++Griswold & Company's brand of psuedointellectualism and wordplay has nearly crippled the General Convention in its response to the Windsor Report and, by extension, the entire Anglican church.  Words are piled on top of words.  Meaning is obscured.  And the light at the end of the tunnel starts to look suspiciously like an oncoming train.

So much for covering bad theology with bad etymology.

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