Posted by:
Nightingale
(
)
Date: May 02, 2020 05:50PM
lisadee Wrote:
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> wow. I do sometimes use that phrase but I've never
> viewed it like that.
It's always useful to hear someone else's point of view. I notice these things because I am interested in language and communication - how can someone completely misunderstand another person's meaning, up to and including provoking war, by mere selection of one's words. I usually try to stop before getting to the war part!
I think it is especially important here on RfM, and on similar web sites focusing on other faiths, as the site is intended to be for those who have left their former faith, not for others to preach them back into it, or any other. For one thing, many have never believed in the religion they were born into - it was just an accident of birth and they left it when they could.
I try not to use language here that is religiously-derived, although it can be difficult if one is still affiliated with a certain faith. We can do it subconsciously or automatically as it is so familiar to us. I used to say "Thank God" a lot and have weaned myself off that phrase, even if at some point I wasn't meaning it literally as I had done previously. But it was certainly an ingrained expression for me and those can be difficult to expunge from one's vocabulary.
I'm not saying one should subsume one's beliefs for the sake of others - it's a free world is a sentiment that should apply equally to all sides. Others are free to choose their beliefs as am I. But it doesn't hurt to be conscious of how we use language and ensure we're appropriate with it. We wouldn't go into a church and "take the Lord's name in vain" as it would be exceptionally offensive to churchgoers. But so too would coming to a site like RfM and spouting scripture at people who not only have no interest in it but have been actively hurt by it.
Those are just some of the reasons that a heightened awareness of language is a kindness to readers and listeners, imho.
> When I use it I mean it as God's grace and mercy
> for such a worm as I.
I understand. Unfortunately for me, of all the creatures in the universe I absolutely cannot stand worms. I can't even stand the name. I cringe at the sight of one, especially in my driveway in the rain. I never get used to it. I never want to hear it or see it or visualize it, not even the word, never mind the actual creature. I couldn't stand it in the more fundamentalist-type congregations I have visited (such as Plymouth Brethren or the more fundy-type Mennonite Brethren churches). Why they have to quote those scriptures or sing that song. Yuck.
The instant I read your post the gospel song sprang back into my mind:
Verse 1:
"Alas, and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For such a worm as I?"
It's derived from the following scriptures, among others:
Psalm 22: 6 - But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. (KJV) (This is Jesus speaking, referring to himself as a worm).
Isaiah 41: 14 - Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the Lord, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel. (KJV) (This is Jesus speaking, referring to Jacob as a worm).
So, in the Bible, the term is used for both Jesus and humans.
Over and above my strong aversion to the very word and image, I could never wrap my head around the teaching. Not only am I not going to call myself a worm, due to the aversion factor, but I can't embrace the concept. I get that it's a metaphor (i.e. "guilt"). Even so, I have always tried my best to be a good person who contributes more than I take in all the venues in my life. I try to think of others first. I exert all my effort to perform well in every endeavour. Even in the face of God, so to speak, I say I am not a worm. As amazing, and silly, as it may sound, I think that one teaching alone accounts for 50% of the reason I could never settle 100% into any congregation in any denomination I have tried out. So, to them, my fault, I'm stubborn, not to mention disobedient and prideful. OK...
> It is also to remind myself that no matter how bad
> things may seem in my life that I still have
> something to be thankful/grateful for.(My mother
> often said,"No matter how bad you think you've got
> it, there is always somebody worse off than
> you.")
>
> It helps me be humble.
I appreciate (as in understand) this point of view. I agree with the sentiment. It's absolutely true. I can whine about not being able to go out to a cafe for a cup of tea with my sister due to the current crisis but somewhere in the neighbourhood someone is battling ill health or poverty or loneliness or loss.
> Yes, in spite of it all, I'm blessed.
I know that often the person using this phrase is not even saying it with a religious intent. It's just a way to say I appreciate what I have, I know things could be worse. It reflects how *we* are feeling, not meant at all to be a reflection on others. But that can be how it comes across.
Again, I appreciate hearing from others how language and concepts come across to them.