Final: Essay Based on the Salon

Printed knowledge has been very important in history in relation to religion. The Reformation is a great example of how printed knowledge impacted many people. This being true, I argue that oral and written knowledge has had a bigger impact than that of printed words.  Oral knowledge has a power over people when delivered right. A Great speaker can move many people to action. Written knowledge solidifies what oral knowledge can’t. An idea can be preserved through writing.

                When someone speaks to you with a strong voice, emphasizing a word every now and again, and giving expressions that suck you in, it’s magical. As Brenda Barrow said “Oral knowledge also has a heightened ability to enhance communication with those around us; there is something remarkable about hearing the intonations in peoples' voices and seeing the expressions on their faces that help us truly listen, understand, and communicate better.”  Why do you think that we still have lectures and general conference given orally? We can learn new meaning through the spoken word. During this class, we had the opportunity to learn King Benjamin’s speech from the Book of Mormon and deliver it to each other. Many people from our class have mentioned that there is a spirit that can be felt through the sound of the voice.

                I had the opportunity to research Akkadian knowledge this year. Their knowledge was mostly oral, though they did create a written language of their own. Akkadia conquered many neighboring countries and was able to hold onto them even through rebellions. How did they manage to do this? One way was that they made a universal religion. They combined the different religions of the regions they overtook, making hymns, poetry and stories so that everyone could remember who the gods were. The poetry and hymns managed to catch on throughout the kingdom and with the common religion; it made it harder to rebel.

                Written knowledge has also played a role in keep religion mostly unchanging. As Dr. Toronto said (From Kacee Hill’s Blog post) “[Written knowledge is] a way to be able to preserve and transmit and share ideas. Otherwise, they're lost. And so it's an opportunity to think in abstract ways and symbolic ways that you can't do otherwise, and then to have them preserved and passed on and shared across barriers of geography and time and space. It's essential to the growth of civilization.” The writings preserved are in books or scrolls like the Bible or the Torah. The writings didn’t need to be printed for them to hold an impact. In fact, because most of the people weren’t literate at the time, oral transfer of the information was very important to people. They would have the words of their religion read to them by preachers or religious authorities.

                Printed knowledge has been very important for the spread of religion. It allowed many people to learn about different religions and have their own thoughts and ideas about it. But this printed knowledge needed a foundation and that was given through oral and written knowledge. Without these forms of knowledge, religions would not have stayed.

                With the thought of the spoken word in mind, I would encourage you to see how much speaking effects you and how different speakers can make you react differently. Oral knowledge definitely relies on those who are able to deliver the message well.