X-Disease for the sake of brevity I'm going to abbreviate to X-D which is not to be confused with VD.
X-Disease is any of various usu. virus diseases of obscure etiology and relationships.
In other words, X-D is a disease in which the causes and how it spreads are kind of vague or very little is known about the origin.
I'm going to take a big literary leap here and skip a probably necessary transition but I think it will come together in the end.
Have you ever heard of Xmas? Xn? Xnty? They are abbreviations for Christmas, Christians and Christianity. When Xmas showed up on some Christmas cards and started being using in place of Christmas, there was dissension among Christians. How can they replace "Christ" with an "X"? For some, it may have been seen like society was trying to take "Christ" out of Christmas. It wasn't. But that fear or thought spread through emails, on social networks and verbally and affected relationships. To me this sounds like a Christian X-Disease.
The fear or the misconception wasn't based on truth. It started with an obscure misconception of the truth and spread through various relationships. Scary stuff.
By the time the truth was revealed so many had started to view this as a less than positive or acceptable thing that some of them no doubt still cling to the idea that "Xmas" for "Christmas" is wrong...wrong...wrong. The truth is that X is the Greek symbol for Christ coming from the Greek letter (chi) X and is the initial for Christos or Christ. The sad thing is that by denying Xmas in its true form was actually taking Christ out of Christmas-the very thing they were trying to avoid.
Have you ever clung to an idea even when the truth has been revealed? I think we all probably have.
What makes us do that? Pride? Fear? Insecurities?
If however, we love the truth which comes from God and if we desire to know and seek the truth then we can overcome pride, fear and insecurities.
How? Love!
What you seek; you shall find. Seek truth, seek peace, seek love and you will find truth, peace and love.
God Bless!
JulieD
"Have you ever clung to an idea even when the truth has been revealed? I think we all probably have."
ReplyDeleteYep. This (among other reasons) is why it really bothers me when I hear someone repeating gossip. Once said and heard, things tend to be believed, whether or not they are based in truth.
I’m blogging my way back from Z to A and my “X” post is right here.
X-cellent!! This has been my contention all along. Without knowing the history behind something, people will fear the unknown. Just as the fish symbol was a way Christians in Rome could hide in plain site, as it were, because the X was "converted" into a fish image. Good work, Julie.
ReplyDeleteStopping by from the Z to A in May Challenge. You can find me at:
The Frustrated Foodie
I wrote on this topic for X day in the April challenge. I realize that the X initially signified Christ, but I don't believe that today. To me it's a sign of laziness and those who have taken Christ out of the picture. Those who do not believe in Christ likely wouldn't use Xmas and the like if they knew the real meaning.
ReplyDeleteI’m hosting Z to A in May, but I’m blogging at: Ross County Roundup
Whether it is or isn't offensive in and of itself, I've seen people get upset enough that I don't want to call the holiday Xmas.
ReplyDeleteJoyce
http://joycelansky.blogspot.com