Emerging Alphabet/Emerging Church

Intriguing how parallel

the story of the history and "emergence" of the Western alphabet

is to

the story of the history and "emergence" of the church:

John Man's "Alpha Beta: How 26 Letters Shaped The Western World"

is a

good read. Simplicity, emergence, PRACTICAL IMPERFECTION, roots and wineskins...even
fuzzy sets....
sounds like church to me:

"Three features of the idea (of alphabet) stand out:its uniqueness, its simplicity ans its adaptabilo\ity...this is not the simplicity of perfect design...The strength of the idea lies in its practical imperfection...It is a generalist; in software terms, its success lies in its 'fuziness'...It is a good time to examine such things, because the roots of the alphabvet are still emerging "(1-2)

It seems inevitable that in seasons of accelerated cultural change, languages and alphabets shift (4)

The lack of "priesthood' to be gaurdians of the tradition, and to oversee "renewal of form."(32)

The "Working Theories of Script Evolution"(66):

1.In a working system, complexity knows no bounds and it imposes none
.
2.A writing system will last as long as its culture, unless changed by force

3.New writing systems emerge only in new, young, ambitious cultures