Quote:
Originally posted by brianna
the argument that the word "god" can refer to anything you want it to seems a bit naive -- couldn't the same argument be used to defend any potentially inflammatory word? you cannot separate the intention behind someone's speech from it's meaning and it is somewhat patronizing to tell people that they should feel fine when Christian beliefs are forced upon them since they can just pretend that the intention behind the words covers all religions. how is this different than telling someone to ignore a racial slur by pretending that it's really a compliment?
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Not to be inflammatory, I am not intending offense by this word just to prove a point.
Bitch, in my value system is always derogatory yet there are women and men who call others bitches in a loving way. It is the value they put on the word.
My Irish ancestors when they came over were called Mick, which was very derogatory, yet today has no meaning. Why? Because they Irish chose not to give the word meaning.
Same with a lot of derogatory words. They lost their meaning when the group that was aimed at chose to say the word had no value.
There are still words out there aimed at groups but when said it is up to that group or individual to put value on it. If they choose to keep a negative value on it, that negative value stays and stays until the individual and eventually the group choose not to value that word.
What Christian beliefs are being forced down upon you, by the government? Please do tell, perhaps I will then understand your argument better.
True story, when I was in the Navy my best friend was an African American. We were tight and we had each others back even when the other was wrong we stood by each other. We were effectively brothers from a different mother. Anyway, one night I got totally blitzed I mean out of it, and joking around I called him nigger (I had just seen other AA's calling each other that and him and I as close as we were I didn't think about it in a negative way, but in that way). He could have done many things, ended our friendship and beat me to a pulp, walked away and never talked to me again, etc. Instead of negative, he chose to tell me (when I sobered up) how that no longer offended him, he chose to devalue the word. But I had better never call anyone else that.
It's not naive, it is a way of life and of inner peace. When you devalue a word to mean nothing or only what you choose it to mean, then that word will never bother you.
I was born pre-marriage and my mom married someone not my biological father. He chose to adopt me and give me his last name. For years as a teen and in my 20's I was very, very touchy about the word bastard. It's used to cut people down, "you fucking bastard...." . I would get close to fighting anyone who called me that. Then I realized it is a word. I am a bastard by definition, BUT I am not the negative nor is my mother the negative that gives that word value. Now I hear the word and I say, "yes, I am, but in being that, I ended up with a great dad, who raised me as his own and never thought of me as a bastard."
Going to school we learned Norse, Greek and Roman Mythology in Jr. High school. Zeus, Thor, Venus, etc . WERE ALL TAUGHT TO US TO BE CALLED GODS.
The value of GOD at that moment meant the mythology we were studying, not the Judeo-Christian God.
If you are successful in taking out GOD because you have a value on it to believe it is Judeo-Christian only. You in effect take out the word GOD for everyone and therefore the Mythologies cannot be taught (as they were ivery religious based), you cannot teach about the Celts, as they were very religious based. You cannot teach many sciences as they were religiously inspired, you cannot teach history period as much of it is religious in some form. You would not be able to teach Euclidian Math as some out there believe Euclid to be a GOD.
In other words just because the religion of the majority offends you and you choose to want to get rid of anything religious, in doing so you take out all other religions.
It's a catch 22, you take religion out of government, government does not recognize any religion and eventually laws will be passed to persecute those that are religious, by taking away rights to practice in public. Because right now a vast majority of companies won't allow anyone any religious artifacts in their workspace because they fear lawsuits. Yet, they are sued because they don't allow recognition of religion.
I really truly have no understanding for those that want to take out religion so badly. It is what this country was founded on, the government has bent over backwards to recognize any and all religions the mind can think of and yet NOT BEING FORCED TO SAY A 3 LETTER WORD IS CAUSE TO ABOLISH ALL RELIGION. Makes no sense at all.