2.05.2009

Words vs. Propositions: A Search for Meaning

This simple truth must be remembered when preaching, teaching, studying, and perhaps especially when reading devotional Christian books (ie., Love Life for Every Married Couple by Ed Wheat).

"It must be emphasized, therefore, that the most important parts of a text are not the individual words considered in isolation! Words transmit a concrete meaning to us only when they stand within a concrete statement and are considered as an integral part of that proposition. The smallest meaningful building blocks of a text are the individual propositions within it, not the isolated words."

--Scott Hafemann, in the introduction of a handout on diagramming entitled "Translating and Understanding: The Sentence Diagram"

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