No Bible-affirming Christian should EVER use the term “retard,” “retarded” or any other variant of the R-word, no matter how snarky and clever you think it might be. One would think we could be bothered to be literate enough to express ourselves in a more appropriate manner! It is grievously insensitive and hateful to use someone else’s disability as an insult. (here)
Beyond the holier-than-thou attitude, the myth of the “bible-affirming Christian,” is the idea that some concepts are just wrong to use as insults.
The r-word is not in my vocabulary any longer. I don’t like Young Earth Creationism, and feel pity for those who cherish such superstitious anti-biblical concepts, but they are no the r-word. They are wrong, but they are not the r-word.
Let’s do a little better and stop using others as a way to insult someone else, shall we?
Joel L. Watts holds a Masters of Arts from United Theological Seminary with a focus in literary and rhetorical criticism of the New Testament. His interests include exploring the role of mimesis in human civilization, specifically in the study of religion and media, as well as science fiction and the way in which it has allowed mythology to be explored in light of scientific discoveries of the past century. He is the author of Mimetic Criticism of the Gospel of Mark: Introduction and Commentary (Wipf and Stock, 2013) and a co-editor and contributor to From Fear to Faith: Stories of Hitting Spiritual Walls (Energion, 2013).
Website: → Unsettled Christianity
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