The 360 'tag cloud'

This 'tag cloud' is a picture of the Top 50 Texts listed in The 360 Gospel of Jesus, produced by www.wordle.net.

For individuals, groups, and conferences, this picture has been a remarkable tool. It is a discussion starter. Let me explain how it works. The whole list of Top 50 Texts were copied and put in to the software package that checks all the words. The largest words in the picture are those used most often. The smallest words in the picture are those used less often. So, the relative size indicates the frequency of use.

As I say, it is more of a discussion starter than scientific tool, but it does stimulate questions like:

What impression does this give of the Gospel?

What are the most common words?

What is suggested by many words being of similar size?

Are there any words you are surprised to see small?

How might this help you in sharing the '360 Gospel of Jesus'?

Click here for a handout for group discussion.

Remember that this picture is generated by the words put in to the software. The words I put in were the texts I collated in relation to any answers I thought Jesus gave to the question: 'What must I do to inherit eternal life?' or similar. You would therefore expect to see words like 'eternal' and 'life' in large letters. Other words are surprisingly smaller than I expected e.g. 'follow' which indicates Jesus did not use this word as often as I thought! 

On the next page is a report about the word which has caused the most discussion - chiefly as it surprisingly appears to be absent. It is the word 'repent' and deserves and considered explanation and its own web page.