Since I’ve started writing more in this past year, I have come to appreciate how hard it is to write well. The skill with which a good writer can weave together words and ideas is comparable to the skill required of a woodworker to build a guitar. Every detail must be carefully addressed, and each small piece must be seen as a necessary part of the whole. The end result may not look much different from a manufactured, formulaic guitar, but the difference is very apparent to a guitarist.

Two of my favorite word-weavers are G. K. Chesterton and C. S. Lewis. Every time I am tempted to think I’ve written something good, I will read a book by one of them and realize that he has already said what I tried to say, only he said it fifty or a hundred years before I did, and used half the words.

Chesterton’s writing is characterized by his wit, while Lewis is more prone to wisdom, though this is not to say Chesterton is not wise nor Lewis witty. What they share in common is the ability to present a compelling argument for anything they believe. Their ideas make so much sense that it is difficult to argue with them.

But good writing can be subversive: There is a tendency on the part of the reader to believe something is true because it is expressed well. We become enamored with the words, and acceptance of the belief comes passively.

Truth is not created by the interrelationship between words. When I go back through and revise this entry for clarity, I don’t make it more true. And if I am unable to express myself clearly or accurately, it does not mean that what I have to say is not true. Truth is independent of words. It’s even independent of our ability to convince others of it.

I have heard it said that the Bible is the greatest literary masterpiece ever written. As a native English speaker who knows no Greek or Hebrew, it is hard for me to understand this when I read the Bible in my own language. Many times I have considered how it might benefit from a good editor: someone to go through and omit the repetition, remove all the content that doesn’t directly foreshadow Jesus, and make the important points a bit clearer so we won’t miss them.

It may be a literary masterpiece for its time, but because its writing does not stand up to modern works like Crime and Punishment or To Kill a Mockingbird, is its truth diminished? Absolutely not. Truth is independent of words.

I don’t think God intended for the Bible to be a literary masterpiece. If it were, many more people would undoubtedly believe it, but for the wrong reasons. God has not set out to convince the world through proficient prose and compelling arguments to trick us into accepting it. He set out to convince the world through grace and truth. And the Bible is full of those. It is not a masterpiece, but a true story about a masterpiece.

Good writing is beautiful for the way in which it communicates ideas. The Bible is beautiful because it is undecorated truth. Enjoy each for what it is.