The power of Pentecost is that it creates a new definition of community: not defined by any one national or ethnic tradition, but as something universal, available to all people, as they are, and in their language.
Babel
Naming a Virus
As people of faith, we are often faced with the choice between things we have the right to do and the things we ought to do. As people who are supposed to care for the least of these, for the most vulnerable, for those who are marginalized, oppressed, and afflicted, we must ask ourselves, honestly, whether the use of a term that can bring no benefit and only cause harm is the appropriate thing to do, especially when other, more helpful terms exist.
What’s Going On with You and I?
Recently, I’ve noticed an emerging phenomenon regarding the way people use pronouns that suggested to me that I was witnessing just such a change to the language.
Between You and I: Hypercorrection or Sign of Things to Come?
Given the way that language changes and grows, it is clear that before long those speakers who persist in saying, “Just between you and me” and “This is really bad news for him and her” will be the ones perceived to be speaking ungrammatically.
Language, Thought, and White Privilege
I know there are some who doubt that White Privilege is real. But if being part of the group that is the "default setting" for the definition of your nationality is not a privilege, I don't know what is.