The 12 dreaded words that Christians use.

Warning the message here may not be suitable to all viewers and are just a reflection of the OP opinion.

There are twelve words that Christians use that cause Non-believers to cringe and scream. I believe that it is our definition of such words that causes the misunderstandings of what is meant by them in context of scripture.
So here they are for us to look at and discuss. The first definition is from the dictionary and the second is from the Christian perspective. I’ll start with the dreaded S words.

1. Sin = an act, a thought, or behavior that goes against the law or teachings of a particular religion, especially when the person who commits it is aware of this.
Sin= the flaw in human nature that separates man from his Creator. Man tends look at sin/wrong doings as gradients. One sin is greater than another. But God sees all sin as equally abhorrent and therefore not acceptable in His house (heaven).

2. Original Sin= Man was created with perfection. The accuser of the Creator was very jealous of man and the authority he was given over his domain (the Earth). Though Adam and Eve he managed to put the fly into the ointment (Mans fall from Grace in the garden) this did not make man evil by nature but it did affect the relationship from his Creator.

3. Salvation= the saving of somebody or something from harm, destruction, difficulty, or failure.
Salvation= If you adhere to the principle of one God then the Christian God is the same as Judaism and Moslems. Each claiming a direct or though prophets a divine plan for redemption. What separates Christianity’s plan is that the redemption price has already been paid in full by Jesus and not by good works and deeds. So any good works or deeds done by a Christian should be from the goodness of their own heart and not for an eventual reward for their behavior. I emphasize, they should because I know this is not always the case.
4. Saved = transitive verb to rescue somebody or something from harm or danger.
Saved = One who has accepted (the Christian) that Jesus paid the full price of their redemption and salvation upon the cross and all sin has been erased from their individual record at judgment day.

5. Serve = transitive and intransitive verb to be useful or helpful for a particular purpose, to work, or work for somebody.
Serve = To the non believe the word implies servitude as in slavery. To the Christian it implies fulfillment of purpose and destiny. To be both servers of the Creator and in turn served by creation.

6. Sheep = a stocky hooved mammal with ribbed horns that is raised for its wool and meat. Genus: Ovis
Sheep = Often used as an analogy for those that are lost and or brought back within the fold. Jesus is referred to as the good Sheppard who attends to the daily needs and protection of His flock, and rejoices at the return of the ones that wander away.


7. Evangelize = to convert somebody or the people of an area to Christianity, especially by preaching or missionary work.
Evangelize = to the Christian this is to share the gospel or good news of Christ’s accomplishment of redemption by His sacrifice on the cross. It is but a free gift to be accepted or rejected. And part of the duties given to believers for spiritual growth.

8. Hell = according to many religions, the place where the souls of people who are damned suffer eternal punishment after death.
Hell = The eternal separation between the created and the Creator. Our lives are a sample of eternal life and each one has a choice to continue on or not. All those that end up in hell are there because they want to be there.

9. Worship = great or excessive love, admiration, and respect felt for somebody or something. Transitive verb to love, admire, or respect somebody or something greatly and perhaps excessively or unquestioningly.
Worship = Whatever in our live we deem to be most important is the object of worship that is deified. For some it is wealth and power and for others it may be narcissistic or hedonistic. Others choose to worship a deity or person.
One of the most important life lessons is to decide what most worthy of our adoration and respect is.
We need to ask ourselves what is it that we value most in life and does it deserve our devotion and love. Does it serve us temporarily or eternally? Does it bring us joy and fulfillment? Is it self serving and disrespectful of others in our lives? Does it impact others positively? Is it creative or destructive?
This is our spiritual side that will survive the mortal coil, is your choice the best decision for you?

10. Faith = belief in, devotion to, or trust in somebody or something, especially without logical proof.
Faith = Having faith is equivalent to having hope, only it is directed more specifically to a spiritual reason. Many on these forums see the word faith and immediately set out to debunk outright as it is were a fire that needs to be extinguished immediately.
Faith is as simple as believing the sun will rise tomorrow so I make my plans for its eventuality. Yet it is so powerful that Jesus said,” for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you”. Mat 17:30
Why does something that is so simple and yet so powerful causes so much grief with those that do not possess it? Yet those that have it feel they could not get by a day without it.

11. Repent = to recognize the wrong in something you have done and be sorry about it.
Repent = Christianity has been divided on this issue (Catholics and protestants) since the inception of the organized church. Penance is an act of goodness to make up for discretion. While repentance is a complete turning away from transgression and wrongful behaviors.

12. Forgiveness = the act of pardoning somebody for a mistake or wrongdoing.
Forgiveness = The hardest lesson to learn is the art of love and forgiveness. To achieve a state of grace and equally as hard to accept as to receive.
The price paid in full for those that are willing and able to accept it as their own.

These 12 words cause more arguments and discourse between the believers and non –believers only because we seem to have different interpretations of the same word.

Irish

thats pretty interesting. i bet u that there will be more words that people will add when they post on ur topic x). but anyways...thanx for putting up 2 different defs on those words..gives perspective to some of what others things

Perhaps differing interpretations is one way of looking at it Irish.

But some of us don't feel that we need salvation, or to be saved; or to worship, or to repent; or to be forgiven.

Thank you for the definaitions and your take on what they mean though. It is helpful.

One thought occurs though:



If man were indeed 'created with perfection', then it should stand to reason they were INCAPABLE of 'erring'. Your accuser shouldn't have been able to tempt them, no?

Good point JM..In my understanding Religion plays alot on insecurities, which is taught....

perfect for it's purpose? I wouldn't go bowling with the perfect golf ball.

Another word (I'd imagine there are several Hundred words that cause "confusion") is "church". Building vs. the body of believers

oo... or "Body"

Heck... we're having a problem with the word "perfect"

"Created" is another... "Through" as in "Through Him were all things created"

man... like... several Hundred words I'd imagine.

Let me give this one a twist

Genesis 6
5. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.
7. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

my eyes melted while reading this.

נחם
nâcham
naw-kham'
A primitive root; properly to sigh, that is, breathe strongly; by implication to be sorry, that is, (in a favorable sense) to pity, console or (reflexively) rue; or (unfavorably) to avenge (oneself): - comfort (self), ease [one’s self], repent (-er, -ing, self).

Irish


Beresh** - Genesis
5 And HaShem saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
6 And it repented HaShem that He had made man on the earth, and it grieved Him at His heart.
7 And HaShem said: 'I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and creeping thing, and fowl of the air; for it repenteth Me that I have made them.'

The Tanakh

The 3 dreaded words that Christian non-believers use, that really ticks off adherents of the 12 words above, or specific types of christians.


1.) No. An adverb, used to communicate and express refusal, denial, disbelief, emphasis, or disagreement. As in; "No, I do not wish to hear about jesus." "No, I am not a christian."

2.) Happy. - An adjective. Characterized by good luck; fortunate. Enjoying, showing, or marked by pleasure, satisfaction, or joy.
Contrary to the definition, this word inflames many that call themselves christian when it attends the demeanor of those other persons that utter word #1. The condition of unrest is exacerbated if those persons utter word #1, and then incorporate this adjective into a speech to that type of aforementioned christian. As in; "No, thank you I do not wish a tract about jesus christ. I am happy in my own beliefs."

3.) Tolerant/Tolerance. Yet another potentially inflammatory Adjective, when exhibited or used in a sentence, in the presence of the aforementioned christian type, when used in sentences such as; "I am tolerant of others beliefs because faith is strictly personal."
While tolerance would be presumed as quality of a benign personality, it is seemingly not tolerated in circles that are reactionary to words #1 & 2.

4.)Freethinker - A noun, that describes one who has rejected authority and dogma, especially in religious thinking, in favor of rational inquiry and speculation. See: Skeptic.

Where is Mythra when you need him? My understanding (from several discussions with him is that 11 of the 12 words (they have no concept of Original Sin and think it is preposterous) were in use by Mithrans (and partly by Zoroasterians) centuries before Christianity (or Judaism as we know it) existed.....

i have a friend who worked on a large building project and as well built as the walls were, he spent all his time looking for cracks and trying to find errors. he has wasted a lot of his life.

randomhit10

well a building inspector, is only human after all. LOL

I was thinking more along the lines of a 'supreme, perfect, unchanging deity"

At the risk of the analogous relativity to the christian proselytizing model; What you might consider a waste of his life, was perhaps considered time well spent in searching out cracks and errors in the foundation/walls, so as to insure that lives wouldn't be lost.

Ok, I'm going to go beat myself about the head with a Nerf bible now. :




*word omissions edit*

HI IM...how are you today? warm here, how hot is it where you are?

in response to you post, the building my friend worked on was inspected many, many times by experts and built to specs that have been proven effective. my friend was wasting his time trying to find the fault that no one else could find, to be smarter, etc...
wasting his life on an endless search that would be fruitless...can he do this? yes
can he waste his life? yes would he listen to any other ideas? no saved lives? none that i know of...sometimes there are no errors and inventing errors are not answers. most people work in and around that building because the have faith that it will not fall...can it ever fall? yes....have a plan to save yourself if it does.

randomhit10

Hot as all hell here, ty for asking. And since it's warm where you are I figure we're in it together it's just a matter of degrees.


And no worries mate, I have an escape plan. I recognize buildings as buildings, and analogy as analogy. And was given to understand from the moment I walked through the door, it was inevitable I would later exit. No matter how fond I've grown of the decor , and whether I like it or not I'll be tossed out.
In the meantime, I'll venture through the stories as long as I can, because while the building could crumble at any moment it's the time spent before the inevitable, that satisfies the curiosity for what's inside.

Well said my friend!

excellent answer...we are in this together i hope the future gets cooler for the both of us.

randomhit10