Over the centuries, the Bible has contributed many familiar, everyday expressions to the English language—far more than most 21st-century unbelievers would be prepared to credit. For example, there’s the expression ‘a house divided’. In 1858, Abraham Lincoln gave a speech at the Republican State Convention in Illinois in which he said,
A house divided against itself cannot stand. I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved—I do not expect the house to fall—but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.
When he spoke those words, Lincoln, undoubtedly, knew that he was quoting Scripture. In Mark 3:25, the full expression is “And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand”. (The speaker is, of course, Jesus, responding to the Pharisees’ claim that he casts out demons by the power of Beelzebub.)
But the knowledge shared by Abraham Lincoln and most generations (before the present one) of the words of Scripture seems now to have largely evaporated. When a modern subeditor headlines a factional battle within a political party as ‘A House Divided’, they (mostly likely) think they are quoting a proverbial idiom, but have little notion of its origin.
(Interestingly, The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations lists ‘a house divided’ under three sources: the original biblical source, the Lincoln quote, and as a proverb common from the 11th century.)
So how do we respond (if at all) when the words of the Bible become common idioms (e.g. ‘go the second mile’, ‘turn the other cheek’, etc.)? In a culture aggressively uninterested in Christian things, do such expressions in a conversation present us with a small window of opportunity? It all depends, of course, on the context and the situation (and wisdom is called for). But how might a colleague, friend or relative react if you responded to their use of ‘a house divided’ by saying, “Nice to hear you quoting Jesus”? Would they be amused? Irritated? Or would it kick off a conversation?
It’s at least worth thinking about.
