Sunday, February 9, 2020

Sunday/Salty Language


                     Sunday/Salty Language

In the gospel today, Christ calls his disciples "the salt of the earth." There is a lot to it. Salt has a number of connotations of value and meaning. The phrase itself raised an interesting concept: Did the spirituality Christ and his followers were offering add an element to mankind or was it revealing mankind's essence?

Christ is certainly saying that the salt is its own essence, its own common denominator. It cannot be flavored.

And the passage has some unfortunate elements too, especially as an "evolutionary" passage. The Catholic Church has tried to update the language, arguing that the bible is not primarily literature.

Compare the original King James with the more accessible version:

"Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? It is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men."
vs.
“You are the salt of the earth. But if salt loses its taste, with what can it be seasoned? It is no longer good for anything but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

How long do you think they debated over "savour" vs, "taste?"

There are sacrifices egalitarianism demands.

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