“Unto you therefore which believe (Jesus) is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner. 8. And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.”
I will confess that this is being written a little tongue in cheek but I think that you will agree that it is true. While “ugly” words have become passé on television, in movies, and every other media that we can name, there are some good words that have become offensive and cannot be used in, for example, schools. In fact, there is an attempt to erase them from public discourse altogether. Here is a list of new offensive words that I thought of today. Jesus I have discovered that it is alright to say “God,” “Allah,” “man upstairs,” etc. But when the name Jesus is used, some are heard to say “ewww, that is a no no." Paul wrote that this is a name that is above every name, yet in our politically correct society, it has become offensive. I think that this is because we can interpret “God,” etc. in any way that we want, but when we use the word “Jesus,” we are being very specific. In other words, it is politically correct to be religious, but not to be distinctively Christian. In a sense it is alright to be Christian as long as we don’t take it too seriously and really live the Christian faith on a daily basis. We need to remember that Jesus said that if we are ashamed of Him, He will be ashamed of us. We should never be ashamed of the name of Jesus. Holy Bible I used the word “holy” here because there are a lot of things that are called “bible” today, but the Holy Bible is separate from all of these. We Christians believe that the Bible is God’s written word to us, inspired by the Holy Spirit. We take these words from 1 Peter 1:19-21 seriously: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well to take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: 20. Knowing this first that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation. 21. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” It is not the words “Holy Bible” that offends so much as the presence of the Bible in certain places. For example, a Holy Bible is not supposed be seen in some public school rooms. There are workplaces in America that the presence of the Bible would also be offensive. Christian Witness The word “witness” is not offensive because it is used in several different ways. For example, one can witness a crime and testify about it in court. It is when we put the word “Christian” in front of it that it becomes offensive. We are told to keep our Christian witness to ourselves, at least keep it at church. We might offend someone if we dare to tell them about Jesus. Which leads me to another offensive word that I will include here, i.e., “sin” or “sinner.” If we try to tell some people that they need Jesus because they have sinned, or that they are sinners, they accuse us of judging. They need to understand that we are not judging, because we know that we are “sinners saved by grace.” We really believe what is recorded in Romans 3:23: “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” We do not think it offensive because we believe that it is true of ourselves too, based on the word of God. We can’t witness without talking about sin, and people can’t receive Christ without admitting that they are sinners. I realize that this is not an exhaustive list of “new offensive words,” but I think that you get the idea, and could probably come up with your own list. I think that you will agree with the three that I have listed Bro. Joe
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If people want to demean others when they disagree with them on an issue, they accuse them of some sort of phobia. ("Homophobia" is an example.) I think that I have discovered a new phobia, which I will call "Christophobia" or "Jesusophobia." Have you noticed that people can talk about a generic god, or in our case God, and get by with it? One might even be able to mention allah without raising the ire of the politically correct. But when the name of Jesus is mentioned, all of "the bad place" breaks loose. How dare we mention that Name in polite society? Don't we know that when we talk about Jesus we are revealing that we are a bunch of "hicks from the sticks" who need to be reeducated? I am told that chaplains in the service can no longer pray in the name of Jesus. If they can't do that, then who(m) do they pray through? It is, after all, Jesus who is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. It is almost as if the name of Jesus will bring some sort of harm to the world, and that if His name is mentioned, some child might be misled and go down the path to whatever it is the name of Jesus is supposed to lead to.
Along with "Christophobia" there is also "Crossophobia." A cross standing in a public place is a "no no." I mean atheists are really after getting crosses removed from any public place. It just makes me wonder what harm a cross in a public cemetery will cause for atheists? (It reminds me that a cross is used to stave off vampires. I'm just saying.) In passing, let us not forget "Bibleophobia." A Bible in a public school classroom will cause all kinds of bad things to happen. Then there is "Ten Commandmentsophobia." God forbid that the bedrock of Judeo-Christian law be allowed to be viewed in a public place. What is interesting to me is that those who call all of this unconstitutional could care less about the constitution in many other situations. (I'm just saying.) I'm sure there are other "phobias" that I could mention, but these should suffice. Bro. Joe |
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