Dear Elasticus,
The Oxford English Dictionary stretches the meaning of the
word "man", in one of its uses, to include people,
regardless of gender. The liturgy is perhaps - dare one say
it? - both theologically and linguistically sound.
Pax et bonum,
Brian (incidentally, a near neighbour of yours)
On Thu, 28 Sep 2000 10:57:38 +0100 (BST)
=?iso-8859-1?q?Bill=20East?= <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>
> > The feminine demonised again
>
> Con gran' rispetto, it is not the feminine who is demonised.
> Everything evil is always attributed to the male. The services of the
> Church are very bad in this respect. At Night Prayer, I am constrained
> to read:
>
> O men, how long will your hearts be closed?
>
> Why not, O women?
>
> Or again:
>
> The proud have risen against me;
> ruthless men seek my life.
>
> What happened to ruthless women?
>
> Or again:
>
> The enemy pursues my soul;
> he has crushed my life to the ground;
> he has made me dwell in darkness . . .
>
> Why not 'she'?
>
> Or again:
>
> 'Be calm but vigilant, because your enemy the devil is prowling round
> like a roaring lion, looking for someone to eat. Stand up to him,
> strong in faith.'
>
> Why not, 'stand up to her'?
>
> And so it goes on. If I can claw one back with a female dragon, good
> luck to me say I.
>
>
> Elasticus.
>
>
> ____________________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Get your free @yahoo.co.uk address at http://mail.yahoo.co.uk
> or your free @yahoo.ie address at http://mail.yahoo.ie
----------------------
B.Moloney
[log in to unmask]
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
|