day no. 17,014: worldsmithing

“Naming is a function of dominion. In Scripture, naming is far more than a simply matter of attaching a label. Naming is an act of authority or, as it may be, an act of attempted authority.” — Douglas Wilson, The Woke Right, Real and Imagined

  

God gave Adam the privilege and responsibility of naming things. This is a authoritative function. Naming things is what an author does. He names His characters and gives names to their lands. He is the author. He has authority.

Ephesians 3:14

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

Every family in heaven and earth is named after our Father in Heaven. Earthly fathers have authority because they have a Father in Heaven who has given it to them. This is why the family has his last name. This is why he and his bride get to name the fruit of their union. Naming is an authoritative act. It is more than just nicknaming. That too has a measure of authority to it, but nicknaming merely declares what we'd like to call something, while truly naming something states what that something truly is.

"The battle (for the dictionary) is over the right to define the world.” -— Douglas Wilson, Same Sex Mirage

Someone will dictate to someone else. Someone will speak and expect someone else to take notes. The only question is who will dictate and who will be dictated to. The dictionary is the dictation of the reigning authority. Dictators are those whose words must be obeyed. In the beginning, God said and it was so. The Word was with God and the Word was God. Words shape the world and they they shape how we see the world, whether it is in keeping with reality or not.

"The battle for the dictionary is the fight over who will be in charge of language and who will be in charge of our ability to describe the world as we see it." — Douglas Wilson, Plodcast Ep. 7

Control the narrative, control the world. 

The author is in charge of world building and gate keeping. He gets to decide what is canon and what is fan fiction. He gets the final word on what the details of the story mean and who the characters therein really are. That is the reality the world of unbelief is kicking back against. That is the button the unrepentant creatures want access to. They want to redefine what is and what is not, but the One who is, and was, and is to come has something to say about that and He calls it what it is: "Shenanigans!"