Stick to the end and I will tell you who first penned the word gobbledygook. If you live in San Antonio, this is a good bit of trivia for your next visit with friends
I received an offline comment from a friend following yesterday’s post about going to church for the first time. She states that this is exactly where she happens to be and wondered about how to figure out which church to attend.
So let’s go there, shall we?
My advice is coming from a Christian, but if you want to apply it to other religions, I think it is a rational approach. It also works in other academic disciplines as well.
Whoever you are, trust this about your journey. If you sincerely ask, God will answer. In other words, if God exists and is active, he can be sought. Will he appear like the genie in the lamp? I wouldn’t bet on it.
So what does this look like in practical moves you might take?
Let me ask you first. What is it you lack right now to decide?
May I make a guess?
You lack knowledge and understanding in this subject area.
So what you really need are good (in Christianity) Bible teachers. In Judaism, good Torah teachers. In Islam, good Koran teachers. You get my point.
In other words there are two paths into religious studies.
One path is to follow the leader. That’s how people end up in cults. They are instructed to listen only to the oracle. All others are of the devil you will be told.
So if you go somewhere and the teaching is fear and authority based go the other way.
The other way is toward clarity, helpfulness, and making complex things understandable. In other words, you want to find a faith based community where the Bible is taught even to the little ones and it has an atmosphere of encouragement and acceptance. Going this direction encourages you to learn, study, and think for yourself. Does this mean you shouldn’t learn from people who know more than you do? Of course not. At first they all might know more than you do, including the kids. I’m just saying don’t fall under any one’s trance.
Instead as your understanding of the Bible grows, this then becomes your strength and shield against lies and gobbledygook.
So…
Ask for guidance.
Seek to learn.
Look for a community of happy believers who love God and the Bible (if you are being lead to consider Christianity) and
who are not threatened by tough challenging questions.
And avoid fear-based gobbledygook spreaders.
Now to trivia.
As I was writing back to my friend I used gobbledygook in my writing for the first time. I played with how I thought it might be spelled until my spellchecker kicked in. Then I got to thinking, “I wonder what the etymology (origin) of that word comes from?”
Might be thousands of years old. Might be Native American Indian. Might be from Latin or Anglo Saxon.
Well actually it’s from a former San Antonio mayor, Maury Maverick (1895-1954), a grandson of another Maverick I’ll tell you about in a moment.
Before Maury Maverick was mayor he was chairman of U.S. Smaller War Plants Corporation during World War II. In a memo dated March 30, 1944, he banned "gobbledygook language" and mock-threatened that, "anyone using the words activation or implementation will be shot." Maverick said he made up the word in imitation of turkey noise.
Now his grandfather Samuel A. Maverick (1803-1870) was a Texas cattle owner who was notoriously negligent in branding his calves. In 1867, "a calf or yearling found without an owner's brand” became known as a maverick. It has been used by the great cattle ranches of the American West ever since.
Today, however, maverick means more. It describes being independent of influence and doing things your own way.
And finally, because rabbit trails, at times are good for the soul. The TV show staring James Garner that ran for four seasons (1957-1960) was about a gambler by the name Maverick. I loved that show as a kid.
I’ll stop there.
You’re welcome.
A little bit of additional trivia. There are Maverick descendants who are members of our church.
Fantastic read! Gobbledygook trivia was good too! 😊