[CS-FSLUG] Words and the Usage

[Timothy Butler]

On Dec 16, 2010, at 1:37 AM, Jon Glass wrote:

> Here's a question. If we, as believers, not only allow society to
> degrade, but also follow its trends, where does that put us? Ought not
> our lives be a counter-point to the world? In other words, maybe in
> our attempts to be "relevant" we make ourselves completely irrelevant.

I agree. My question was driving in a slightly different direction. If I say "that was a damn good meal," I clearly am not making a reference to the meal's eternal salvation (or lack thereof). The signifier (e.g. the word) does not have the traditional signified. At that point, we might ask whether it is a matter of degrading society or CHANGING linguistics.

Fifty years from now, I wonder if anyone will look at it as a "bad" word at all. And if that is the case, is it still wrong for Christians to use it, since the meaning has changed?

Obviously, a Christian who, in a burst of anger, says "damn you," ought to confess a very serious sin... But, I'd suggest an angry stare without using "damn" would be far worse than someone saying, "You did a damn good job on that work." You allude to this with your emphasis on Christianity being about love. While I think Scripture still makes clear things we ought not to do, I think the attitude matters more than individual words.

	-Tim