For Pete's Sake!

“For Pete’s sake!  Would you please stop doing that?!”

“For Pete’s sake” is an idiomatic exclamation in English which expresses annoyance, irritation, or frustration with the actions of another person or with a situation.  It is considered to have originated as a substitute for “For Christ’s sake!” which many considered to be an irreverent use of the Lord’s name. This substitution is called a euphemism (from Ευφημία (Greek:  Eu: “good” or “true” plus phemi: “speech, speaking”).  The idea od the word is the opposite of the word “blasphemy.” (Βλασφημέω (Greek:  Blaspho: “I injure”).  A euphemism substitutes a mild, indirect, vague, neutral, or inoffensive word for one which is considered to be rude, harsh, blunt, offensive, profane, vulgar, uncomfortable, insensitive, socially unacceptable, or blasphemous.

“For Pete’s sake! ” instead of “For Christ’s sake!”  The derivation of this substitution is not at first obvious until you realize that “Pete” probably refers to Peter the Apostle.  Many Christians would still find this phrase to be offensive.

A few examples of English language euphemisms:

“Fallen asleep” or passed away” instead of “dead.”

“In trouble” instead of “pregnant.”

“Weiner” instead of “penis.”

“Getting laid” instead of “having sex.”

“Bloody” instead of “God’s Blood.”

“Dang” or “darn” ” instead of “damn.”

“Gosh” ” instead of “God.”

“Gee” ” instead of “Jesus.”

“What the heck?” instead of “What the Hell?”

“Rosebud” ” instead of “anus.”

“Pardon my French” instead of “Excuse my use of profanity.”

“Mary Jane” instead of “marijuana”

“SOB” instead of “son of a bitch.”

“Take a dump” instead of “defecate.”

“Drinking” instead of “consuming alcohol.”

“Visually impaired” instead of “blind.”

“Not the brightest light bulb” instead of “stupid.”

Although this particular post is English-specific, euphemisms are used in most, if not all, languages.  Many consider the Tetragrammaton, YHWH, to be a euphemism which is used to ensure that the holy name of God is not pronounced out loud because of its extreme holiness.  Jews regularly substitute the word “Adonai” (Lord) in place of YHWH.

Temple of the Vampire

I had an experience a few years ago which was somewhat unnerving at the time, though I soon realized that the people actually meant me no harm.  I work a second job on the evening shift and, one night on my way home, I stopped at a red light.  Suddenly beside me was a black hearse with darkened windows.  Then they appeared; white faces pressed against the inside of the hearse's windows,  mouths open with fangs exposed, and white eyes with pinpoint pupils.  When the light changed, I drove away.  I imagine they had a very good laugh. 

They were probably members of a subset of the Goth culture which has an ultra-dark look and worldview with its own traditions, music, clothing, literature, etc.  Many are "closet" Goths, only dressing up in their makeup and costumes to be with their friends.  The more hardcore really live the lifestyle.  Not all Goths consider themselves to be vampires and not all vampires consider themselves to be Goths.

The Temple of the Vampire (http://vampiretemple.com/) is a religious organization founded in the United States in 1989.  It is officially recognized by the United States government as a religion.  The group has members in the United States, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, England, and Australia.

The group claims that its members learn to gain real control over their lives by understanding the higher powers of the vampire.  The group promises that members will gain willpower and mental strength, learn how to influence and control other people, achieve improved health,experience financial freedom, and attain a prolonged lifespan.  The philosophy is similar to but not the same as the Church of Satan: neither God nor the Devil actually exist; the self is exalted; we are better and stronger than mere humans. 

The Temple strongly rejects one misconception about themselves; they do not engage in physical blood drinking or criminal assault.  Members do openly declare that they are an elitist secret society and consider themselves to be living Gods.

Some other vampire churches: Order of the Dragon, The Vampire Church, House of Kheperu,and  The Vampire Grove.  There are several types of vampires: Lifestyle Vampires (Real Vampires would classify these as "Vampire Lite"), Real Vampires (some consume real blood, others say they consume the life energy of others), and those who claim to be actual Undead Immortals.  There are estimates that the number of vampires worldwide is about 300,000.

Women

"If God made anything better than women, he kept it for himself."  Kris Kristofferson (b. 1936, Texas)

Book Comment: If the Church Were Christian, Chapter 2, Part 1

If you are joining this book review series mid-stream , you can read the comment from the beginning by going to the LABELS section following the last post on this page and clicking on PHILIP GULLEY.

Gulley, Philip, If the Church were Christian. Rediscovering the Values of Jesus (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2010)

CHAPTER 2: Affirming Our Potential Would Be More Important Than Condemning Our Brokenness

Pastor Philip Gulley says,”I am weary of the church’s efforts to manipulate and shame me.” He believes that the church is a shame-based culture which uses embarrassment and disgrace for control of its followers. “For God to be good, we must be sinners in need of redemption.” This elevates “God at the expense of humanity.“

In his excellent (I highly recommend it) book, After You Believe, Bishop N.T. Wright talks about the type of religion against which Pastor Gulley is in revulsion: a Rules-Based religion in which you are saved by grace and then immediately go back under the Law, trying to live up to your new position as “saved.” People in this type of faith live in constant dread of inadvertently stepping out of line, of any small lapse of protocol and watch other people’s behavior for lapses which they can point out. They think God has a little scorecard He keeps on each of them.

Pastor Gulley calls this a mental illness. Bishop Wright wouldn’t say that, but he would agree, as I do, that it is a perversion, a total misreading of the purpose of the Christian life.

Pastor Gulley insists that salvation is not about “going to Heaven” but is about how we live here and now.  Well, salvation ultimately results in eternal physical life in a place prepared by the Lord (look it up), but Pastor Gulley does have a point.

This is part of a continuing chapter-by- chapter response to this book. More to come.

Book Comment: If the Church Were Christian, Chapter 1, Part 4

If you are joining this book review series mid-stream , you can read the comments from the beginning by going to the LABELS section following the last post on this page and clicking on PHILIP GULLEY.


If the Church Were Christian. Chapter 1, Part 4; in a chapter by chapter series of posts in response to the book by Pastor Philip Gulley. Chapter One: Jesus Would Be a Model for Living Rather Than an Object of Worship.


The reason Pastor Gulley and others of his persuasion question the divinity of Jesus is that their primary source for interpretation is not scripture, but human reason and the wisdom of Christ is folly to man.


To Pastor Gulley, most Christians spend so much time worshipping Jesus ("believers") that they forget to follow His example ("followers"). This is a valid criticism but the question has already been resolved. James and Paul went round and round about it, coming at it from different angles and arriving at essentially the same conclusion. Both were correct. We are saved by faith ("believers") and not by works; faith without works ("followers") is dead. One without the other is deficient.

Abram to Abraham; Sarai to Sarah, Part Two

     The renaming of Abram and Sarai occurred during the time when God told Abram/Abraham that his beloved late life (very late life) son, Ishmael, the son of Sarai's Egyptian slave, Hagar (Genesis 16), would not be the promised heir.  The heir would be another, yet unborn, son with the infertile and aged Sarai as the mother.

     Light on the meaning of this may come post-biblical Jewish tradition.  In the midrash, Bereshit Rabbah (68, 11f), Rabbi Nehemiah said, "The Holy One, blessed be He, united His name with Abraham; with Isaac too he united His name."  

     One of the names of God is "Yahweh" (in biblical Hebrew this is represented as HWHY, read from right to left).  Remember that the ancients believed that names and even the letters of which the names were composed carried meaning and power.

     When God confirmed His covenant to Abram by declaring that Sarai's son would be the long-promised heir, He inserted himself (the "H") into their names, giving them new and suddenly different lives.

     Through their son, Isaac, Abraham and Sarah were made the ancestors of multitudes and the human ancestors of the Messiah, the Redeemer of the world.  God's name, inserted into their own, was the divine confirmation of this honor.