Read by Robertson Dean

Just as God used words both to create the world and to give us commandments, people too use words for many different purposes. In fact, the same language is used to talk to each other and to talk to God. Can everyday speech, then, be just as important as the words and prayers we hear from the pulpit? Eugene Peterson unequivocally says, 'Yes!' Tell It Slant explores how Jesus used language: he was earthy, not abstract; metaphorical, not dogmatic. His was not a direct language of information or instruction but an indirect, oblique language requiring a participating imagination: 'slant' language. In order to witness and teach accurately in Jesus' name, then, it is important to use language the way he did. Part 1 focuses on Jesus' words in everyday contexts: his teachings to the crowds, the stories he told, his conversations with his disciples. Part 2 shifts the focus to Jesus' prayers: the words he spoke to God the Father. Peterson's Tell It Slant promises to deepen understanding of Jesus' words, strengthen awareness of language as a gift of God, and nurture efforts to make all of our speech convey a blessing to others

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