#in language

So I just saw a TikTok of an interview with Andy Burnham, who stutters from time to time, as well as pauses between words a lot when speaking. I wouldn't even say his stutter is particularly bad in comparison to how a lot of people stutter, and it definitely does not make him incoherent.

A commenter, when asked why they dislike him so much, said it's because "He doesn't have a clue what he's saying, he can't string together a sentence without stopping or stuttering".

STUTTERS ≠ NOT BEING INTELLIGENT

...and nor should people with a stutter be seen as 'poor public speakers'.

As someone who has quite a stutter in most conversations (I don't experience it to the extent where it's every sentence, or at least as far as I'm aware, but it's still a very present part of my speech), the way I speak is not a reflection of my intelligence. In fact, I study English Literature and English Language. I got 9s in both at GCSE, and am on track for/currently achieving A*s at A Level in both. It is a similar situation for every other subject I have studied, yet I have a stutter that impacts every conversation I have, sometimes to the point where it prevents me from being able to say a word at all (despite being good at pronouncing complicated words across multiple languages).

Better yet, I am also a confident public speaker who has participated in various competitions, as well as stood in front of a crowd of ~60 judgemental teenagers to do a lecture at my old highschool. Did I stutter during these moments? Yes, to an extent. But did that make my topics any less researched, well-structured, or beneficial?

Absolutely not. It was the same content as it would be if I didn't have a stutter, just including an extra few repeated letters or words here and there.

I'm not saying you have to see Burnham as some kind of political saviour for Labour and the government, nor am I saying that you have to agree with his policies.

What I'm saying is that you should NEVER hate or disapprove of someone based on the way they speak, as it is something that for some of us cannot be easily changed, nor should it be, when it is something that does not massively impact on life.

“Through the mind, the heart can be inflamed.” ~R.C. Sproul

Theology is not a mere intellectual pursuit. Theology is not a hammer with which you attack others. It can be, and God forbid that happens to us! But rather, theology, at its core, is really the pursuit of God. May we long for a deeper knowledge of God, for it is through it we gain a deeper understanding of His beauty and magnificence, of His grace, of who we are in Him, of assurance in our state of grace. It has been said that nothing could ever reach the human heart without first coming in through the mind.

A high theology will lead to high doxology. We cannot rejoice in, treasure, and love Whom we do not know.

this has such a early poor farmer son vibe to it 

What is English? Ask any speaker of English, and the answer you get may be “it’s what the dictionary says it is.” Or, “it’s what I speak.” Answers like these work well enough up to a point, but the words that make it in the dictionary are not always the words we hear being used around us.