Adam and Eve had persuaded themselves that God might not be playing fair with them.

Adam and Eve did what’s so easy to do: They followed their impulses, naively abandoned their trust as though trust were just a trick meant to deceive them. So, they reached out for that one off-limits thing that would prove to be, sooner or later, a terrible blend of heaven and hell.

What is What Language Shall I Borrow: Reflections on Faith?

These are challenging times for the church, and especially for those responsible for a congregation. Ronald P. Byars, a former pastor, teacher, and now pew-sitter, reflects on how the varied “languages” of faith most effectively reach the faithful and the unfaithful in times both unfavorable and favorable.

Byars served as pastor of congregations in Fremont, Allen Park, Okemos, and Birmingham, Michigan; and in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1999 he joined the faculty of Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. He continues to write in retirement, living now in Lexington.