In the Beginning Was the Word: Language--A God-Centered Approach Paperback – October 27, 2009

I am sorry. In contrast to the first reviewer. I don't get it.I picked up this Kindle book with high expectation after finishing Poythress' excellent and compact commentary on Revelation (the Returning King).The book covers a lot of ground (416 pages and 36 chapters). The chapters are relatively short and each chapter can be read in less than 30 minutes. The writing style of Prof. Poythress is clear (like his other books). I have however two major difficulties of this book:1. It is full of assertions and not much explanation.Two examples will suffice:Chapter 31 "The Father loves the Son. And love is an expression of the activity of the Spirit. The Father is the agent. The Son is the patient. The Spirit is closely related to the "action" or activity of loving. In the clause "The Father loves the Son," the structure of the clause expresses the eternal activity of the persons in relation to one another. Language in this respect is rooted in God's eternal intra-Trinitarian relations. Specifically, the clause structure is related to God's eternal intra-Trinitarian relations". (I can't see how talking about the Father loves the Son eventually leads to the assertion that language ...is rooted in God's eternal intra-Trinitarian relations?).Chapter 33 "When you use a word, you rely on God. Each word shows God's eternal power and divine nature (Rom. 1:20). Each word comes to you in a situation that depends on God's creation of you and of your environment. In its coinherence of aspects, each word images the coinherence in God's Trinitarian character". (Again, I understand each sentence but the whole paragraph still does not make sense to me?)2. The second point is related to the first. While there are many chapters and they cover a lot of topics, I found not many connections between the chapters. I don't think Prof. Poythress explained his main arguments in a coherent and connected manner.These two concerns may not be a problem for trained theologians and linguists. But for interested layman like myself, I find this book unfortunately difficult to understand.

Thought-provoking

Difficult and deep but worth wading through carefully because of the worship-provoking truths set forth herein. I'm satisfied although I can't say I understood everything he was talking about.

I got this book for a class for college. After reading it, I had such a deeper respect and understanding for how our words affect our life. Overall, a really good book that I've used for reference in other classes.

I used this book for my English 101 class, and it came in great condition!

i need this book for college and i even started reading some pages now it is a great book and im very satisfied!!

In his quest to trace all things back to God he makes several erroneous statements. He ignores basic biblical exegesis for philosophical foolery. I appreciate the effort to write such a book, but you will find better resources elsewhere.

top notch

History of ideas about language and it's implications for culture, science, philosophy and religion. Very accessible to the motivated layman.