Why is this confusing?

Why is it confusing for folks to see that Jesus is Lord? Why is it confusing for folks to see that the Bible is true and should be totally trusted as the complete and perfect Word of God?

Today let's briefly look at a couple "confusing" kanji! The kanjis that make up the word "CONFUSION!" Kanji may seem confusing but after looking at this today I think you'll agree that this truth has the potential to erase some doubts people may have as to faith in our God.

混乱 [こんらん: KONRAN]  def: disorder, chaos, confusion, mayhem.

Wow!

The first kanji, 混 , means: mix, blend, confuse.

The second kanji, 乱 , means: riot, war, disorder, disturb.

Interesting, huh? I'd say that at the Tower of Babel there was a blending or confusing of languages going on which caused a major disturbance and an unbelievable amount of disorder!!! Can you imagine!?

The people there at the Tower of Babel were not worshippers of the God of the Bible. They were disobedient, rebellious, and humanistic. The Bible tells us in Genesis 11:7 what God did:

Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, 

that they may not understand one another's speech.

So, the work on the tower could not continue. Their plans were dashed!

Let's look at the second kanji a little closer. We have:

Tongue

+ PLUS +

Mystery 

= Equals =

Disorder

I think any fellow Christian would agree that the "tongues," or spoken language, that day became a "mystery" and that "disorder," or confusion immediately followed! 

Drilling a little deeper, the first piece of the kanji (舌 shi.ta) means tongue and is in fact a separate stand alone kanji. If you take that kanji (舌) and add the second piece to it, it becomes "disorder." That second piece (or a "radical" as it's called) is the "fish hook" radical. It means "mystery" or "duplicate" or "strange." (Whew! Deep I know, but important.) I am sure the folks that day at Babel thought things were really STRANGE as the language went from one to many! Ha!

(Wow! I'm back now! There was a little chaos in the kitchen! HA! A kitchen cabinet door was falling off! I fixed it and now can continue this. LOL!)

It is a blessing to see this Bible event implanted in the Kanji used here in Japan and throughout China. Sadly, however, generally speaking, people here do not know historic meanings of kanji. Basically, in school they learn the current meanings and how to draw them. That's about it.

Now I'd like to finish today's post by stating that I am no archeologist, historian, expert linguist, or the like. I am just a believer in Jesus Christ, saved by His blood, and born again praise the LORD! And, I am just a missionary and student of this here language... Japanese. So, my explanations may not be perfect. This language, however, is amazing and unbelievers just don't see this precious meaning embedded in the words so I feel it is worth the effort to expose it!