Look Who’s Talking—and Writing: The Language of Heaven

Abstract

My thesis is that humans have characterized the Unknown and created gods and heavens with words—figures, linguistic maneuvers of various sorts, and narratives. Prominent in the process of that creation is an implicit denial of human creativity. One finds instead the story of deities who imagine humankind, the natural world, and the things of the world, and speak them into being. Having done so, they then write the story of human history. Everything depends upon god-language.

And God said, “Let there be light….”

Genesis 1:3

This is how God creates what He will: when He has ordained something, He only says, “Be”, and it is.

Qur’an 3:47

Praise be to God, who sent down the Scripture to His servant and made it unerringly straight….

Qur’an 18:1