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#etymology

Repugnant

repugnant (adjective)
exciting distaste or aversion

synonyms
abhorrent
abominable
obnoxious

Middle English, opposed, contradictory, incompatible, from Anglo-French, from Latin repugnant-, repugnans, present participle of repugnare to fight against, from re- + pugnare to fight

Merriam-Webster

My wife and I were talking about someone’s actions the other day and I described his actions as repugnant. The nerd that I am, I connected this word to pugnacious which I wrote about a couple months ago. Same origin: fight. Yes, the guy we were discussing is pugnacious as well. Language is a powerful tool.

Christo­fascism: A Follow-Up

Christo­fascism: A Follow-Up

Yikes. Some people cannot read more than a word or two.

  1. Christofascism isn’t a political ideology, movement, etc.
  2. Christofascism isn’t fascism. Never was.
  3. Christofascism is an insult coined by a liberal Christian to insult and shame orthodox Christians into shutting up.

Now that you have a summary, read the post.

Christo­fascism

Christo­fascism

I learned a new word this week: Christofascism. This term was lobbed my direction. So, like any curious person does, I looked it up. Modern argumentation is heavily reliant on insults and pseudo-insults that make people not want to engage in argument or to recoil and defend themselves. Look at any of the recently concocted phobias. It is a way of saying “there is no debate allowed.” Christofascist looked like one of these terms, so I looked it up. And it’s a curious one.

First, it was coined by Dorothee Sölle in the 1970’s. She was a liberation theologian. To most Christians that know their history, that is a heretical Marxist break-off from Christianity that has spun out many dangerous— and theologically grievous— cults that are in no way orthodox Christianity. Just look through her Wikipedia entry and you’ll see we wouldn’t allow her anywhere near a church conference.

Second, the term was specifically coined to describe “fundamentalists” and frankly, orthodox Christians. Tom F. Driver stated that “[w]e fear christofascism, which we see as the political direction of all attempts to place Christ at the center of social life and history.”

Third, the term was described by George Hunsinger— a reformed theologian— as “a sophisticated theological attack on the biblical depiction of Jesus.” He criticized the theology of opponents of Christofascism as extreme relativism that reduces Jesus Christ to “an object of mere personal preference and cultural location”.

So to be clear, this term was coined by liberation theology Marxists to insult orthodox Christians. And the insult comes down to “you ugly!” It doesn’t actually criticize orthodoxy, it just coins a new term for it.

“You don’t want to be a fascist, do you?! Then you cannot believe in a Jesus that is the only way to Heaven or should be King of all, center of social life and history. That is fascism. Don’t be a fascist.”

I’m gonna break it to you lightly, “NUH-UH!”

These childish neologisms to shut down conversation and shut down debate by guilting people into shutting up are tiresome. Christian, be curious and keep debating.

Christo­fascism

Christo­fascism

I learned a new word this week: Christofascism. This term was lobbed my direction. So, like any curious person does, I looked it up. Modern argumentation is heavily reliant on insults and pseudo-insults that make people not want to engage in argument or to recoil and defend themselves. Look at any of the recently concocted phobias. It is a way of saying “there is no debate allowed.” Christofascist looked like one of these terms, so I looked it up. And it’s a curious one.

First, it was coined by Dorothee Sölle in the 1970’s. She was a liberation theologian. To most Christians that know their history, that is a heretical Marxist break-off from Christianity that has spun out many dangerous— and theologically grievous— cults that are in no way orthodox Christianity. Just look through her Wikipedia entry and you’ll see we wouldn’t allow her anywhere near a church conference.

Second, the term was specifically coined to describe “fundamentalists” and frankly, orthodox Christians. Tom F. Driver stated that “[w]e fear christofascism, which we see as the political direction of all attempts to place Christ at the center of social life and history.”

Third, the term was described by George Hunsinger— a reformed theologian— as “a sophisticated theological attack on the biblical depiction of Jesus.” He criticized the theology of opponents of Christofascism as extreme relativism that reduces Jesus Christ to “an object of mere personal preference and cultural location”.

So to be clear, this term was coined by liberation theology Marxists to insult orthodox Christians. And the insult comes down to “you ugly!” It doesn’t actually criticize orthodoxy, it just coins a new term for it.

“You don’t want to be a fascist, do you?! Then you cannot believe in a Jesus that is the only way to Heaven or should be King of all, center of social life and history. That is fascism. Don’t be a fascist.”

I’m gonna break it to you lightly, “NUH-UH!”

These childish neologisms to shut down conversation and shut down debate by guilting people into shutting up are tiresome. Christian, be curious and keep debating.

Pugnacious

pugnacious (adjective)
having a quarrelsome or combative nature

Pugnacious individuals are often looking for a fight. While unpleasant, at least their fists are packing an etymological punch. Pugnacious comes from the Latin verb pugnare (meaning “to fight”), which in turn comes from the Latin word for “fist,” pugnus.

Merriam-Webster

I love looking up words that I come across. Looking into the origins. And then you’ll catch me laughing because your said porcelain. I know, I am weird. This word came up in reading through an old Spurgeon sermon this morning.

Destroy

“Do we have time for a y-o-r-t-s?” my wife asks to avoid the kids understanding us.
“Yorts?” I respond.
“Backwards.”
“Stroy,” I respond.
“I suck at this.”

And this brings us to “stroy,” which is the opposite of “destroy,” right? So if destroy means to break, stroy has to mean to build. Etymology time!

Middle English, from Anglo-French destroy-, destrui-, stem of destrure, from Vulgar Latin *destrugere, alteration of Latin destruere, from de- + struere to build

Merriam-Webster

So there you go. Go forth and stroy!

Rigmarole

Edward I of England, also known as Hammer of the Scots, forced members of the Scottish nobility to swear fealty to him by signing oaths of allegiance that were collected on a number of parchments that together made up what came to be called the Ragman Roll (or Ragman Rolls, or Ragman’s Roll).

Over time ragman roll, for a long roll of parchment full of “nonsense,” eventually became rigmarole, a long, unnecessarily time-consuming hassle. No doubt a word that has always been useful.

Mental Floss