by Doy Moyer<\/p>\n
We need to get past the constant criticism of CENI (Command, Example, Necessary Inference).<\/p>\n
The problem with CENI is not that it is a failed hermeneutic. The problem is that we have clouded the terminology so much that we have forgotten what basic communication is all about. CENI is fancy talk for the basic principles of communication — what we use anywhere at any time for everyone. How so?<\/p>\n
When you want to make your will known, how do you do it? May I suggest one of three ways?<\/p>\n
This, of course, is the simplified version of CENI. When people disparage CENI, I don’t think they’ve really thought this point through. Attacking CENI is attacking the foundation of communication. And it won’t logically stand.<\/p>\n
Here’s the kicker: the whole principle (what I refer to more appropriately as “tell, show, and imply”) is self-evident. Anyone who wants to deny this is free to try it. But if you do, please do not tell me anything about it, show me anything about it, or imply anything about it. To do so would be self-defeating.<\/p>\n
In other words, “tell, show, and imply” is logically necessary. It is the way we communicate anything. Now I realize that this doesn’t get to the nuts and bolts of application, but I do think we need to get past this constant criticism of CENI. Perhaps we should lose the CENI terminology, but the principle that underlies it is logically necessary. In my opinion, our mistake has been that we haven’t explained that fundamental communication process – we’ve skipped right to the fancy talk and left people wondering, “where do you find that in the Bible?” You find it right where you find it anytime someone communicates anything. It is a fundamental starting point, and I don’t believe anyone can logically deny it without defeating their own denial.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Doy Moyer We need to get past the constant criticism of CENI (Command, Example, Necessary Inference). The problem with CENI is not that it is a failed hermeneutic. The problem is that we have clouded the terminology so much that we have forgotten what basic communication is all about. CENI is fancy talk for…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[37,981,529],"class_list":["post-43794","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-apologetics","tag-communication","tag-hermeneutics"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2317,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/it-is-written-reflections-on-authority-ceni-and-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":43794,"position":0},"title":"“It Is Written”: Reflections on Authority, CENI and Grace","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer Those claiming to be Christians will make the claim on the basis of what they believe the Scriptures teach. This is so, regardless of how far right or left on the spectrum of thought they find themselves. This is not to say that all interpretations are correct\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":38299,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/on-some-nebulous-coc-thing\/","url_meta":{"origin":43794,"position":1},"title":"On Some Nebulous “CoC” Thing","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 9, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer I often see discussions where people keep referencing some \"CoC\" position, or \"CoC\" tradition, or \"CoC-er\" or whatever. So\u2026 here are a few thoughts about that adapted from a previous discussion. What exactly is this CoC to which people keep referring? Is there some particular local group\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43792,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/foundational-terms\/","url_meta":{"origin":43794,"position":2},"title":"Foundational Terms","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 1, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer \"The process of conceptual clarification always begins with ordinary usage of the concept to be clarified, so our conception of the truth ought to sound a lot like what you already believe the truth to be.\" (Dolores G. Morris, Believing Philosophy, p. 50). That quote captures one\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/lego-300x196.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":55825,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-despised-ceni\/","url_meta":{"origin":43794,"position":3},"title":"The Despised CENI","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 15, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"by Dale Smelser There is a concept being promoted that God's will is transmitted\u00a0by commands only, and thus relative to the Lord's Supper it is neither confined to nor necessarily observed on, the first day of the week. Before getting to the kernel of controversy, I recalled all this on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25877,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-indirect-communications-wrong\/","url_meta":{"origin":43794,"position":4},"title":"Is “indirect communications” wrong?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 31, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question about communication. What does God say about indirect communication? I recognize that some cultures in the world speak to each other indirectly and they sometimes or often may not tell a straight forward answer to a question asked by a direct communicator. It can seem\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":89036,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/communication\/","url_meta":{"origin":43794,"position":5},"title":"Communication","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 29, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton A profound shift has occurred in the way we communicate. At one time, a speaker had something to say and would relay it to a listener. Basic communication, I know. \"Teaching, in its simplest sense, is the communication of knowledge.\"(1) There has to be a source\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43794","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43794"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43794\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43794"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43794"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43794"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}