PC Christmas at Church

[Camarynne]

How in the world are we supposed to teach our teens that it's ok to remain chaste if we teach them they can't even sing the word "virgin" 

And just IMO, if Mary hadn't been a young maiden, I don't think they would even have a religion, would they? I mean, isn't it kinda based on that? Isn't that a good thing?  Or am I woefully behind the times? 

[Scritzy]

How in the world are we supposed to teach our teens that it's ok to remain chaste if we teach them they can't even sing the word "virgin" 

And just IMO, if Mary hadn't been a young maiden, I don't think they would even have a religion, would they? I mean, isn't it kinda based on that? Isn't that a good thing?  Or am I woefully behind the times? 

If you're behind the times, so am I.

[Brentwood]

This is just absolutely and completely ridiculous.  I'd be running to another church, myself. 

I'm with you.

 I never questioned that Mary was a Virgin when I was a child, I thought it was like being an Iowan or Oregonian!  I figured it out on my own when I was ready.

Well, you're right, aren't you? Iowan, Oregonian, Virginian....?

[Just Lori]

This is just absolutely and completely ridiculous.  I'd be running to another church, myself. 

I'm with you.

 I never questioned that Mary was a Virgin when I was a child, I thought it was like being an Iowan or Oregonian!  I figured it out on my own when I was ready.

I thought virgin simply meant a person who was good and wholesome.  Then a classmate told me that a virgin was someone who had never slept with a man.  Well, I had a brother.  We occasionally shared babysitters with our next door neighbor, who was a boy my brother's age.  Sometimes the babysitter would let us all fall asleep in the same bed.  (Bear in mind we were probably all around 5 and 6 when this happened.)  So I assumed I wasn't a virgin.

Fortunately, I did not go home and tell my mom I wasn't a virgin.  That would have been an interesting turn of events in my house, where anything relating to the body or intimate relations with off-limits.

[Ferrets]

My daughter was taught to sing 'Bah Bah Pink Sheep' in Nursery.

There was a story in the papers not long ago about a school banning the story of 'the three little pigs' incase it offended muslims. A statement from the british muslim council on the news branded it 'ridiculous'. I agree with them wholeheartedly.

Why exactly were they banning it?

I'm trying to wrap my head around this one, but I just don't get it... what is so un-PC about a bunch of hard-working pigs?

This stuff is getting just ridiculous....

Because IIRC the consumption of pork is prohibited in Islam, and the pig is regarded as an unclean animal.

However, as the Muslim Council of Britain said very firmly, the proposal to ban "Three Little Pigs" and the like in the school on this basis was totally ridiculous. IMHO the school committed a rather ignorant overcompensation that ended up merely adding fuel to bigots' fires.

[IndianInlaw]

Is that for real?

Tell me it ain't.

[Calbrini]

Its real, some schools in my hometown decided hot cross buns getting sold in the canteens at Easter may offend other religions too. A spokesman at the local Bangladeshi community association said it was silly and that he had never heard of anyone being offended by a hot cross bun.

[MrsO]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2818809.stm
Here's the three little pigs link.

[Issa]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2818809.stm
Here's the three little pigs link.

Un.Real. "Talk" of pigs is "offensive??" No, practicing Muslims and Jews don't EAT pig, but to the best of my knowledge can TALK about them all day long if they so please. Ridiculous. Utterly, and totally mad! People who are offended by pigs or hot-cross buns should really find a hobby!

Things like this really get to me. I understand trying to build a world where words of hate aren't easily thrown around, and where people all treated fairly regardless, but the fact is, in this world there is a lot of "othering" going on due to one's race/religion/ethnicity/etc. However, in my humble opinion we can't all live in little cotton wrapped bubbles for the rest of our lives. I'm all about discourse! Is this word hurtful? Let's talk about it! Let's talk about why we shouldn't use it!! Let's talk about its history and its background! Just banning the word/story and pretending it never existed? Let's talk about issues instead of pretending that we live in a perfect and fair world. Fact: We don't.

I would be FURIOUS if they started to "PCify" books. Take Joseph Conrad for example. Some people think that he used racist terminology in some of his books, I would agree. Well I think Conrad was a great writer. "Under Western Eyes" is a book I really enjoyed. Do I agree with everything he says in his books? No. Am I aware that in the time he lived in bigotry was more overt than it is today? Yes. Does his writing reflect a historical period, and can reading it cause me to be more aware of the way people thought back then? Yes. Do I condone his bigotry, whether overt or subtle? No. Is his writing crap because some of his expressions were not PC? NO. Am I able to enjoy his writing as well as seriously debate whether or not he was a racist by examining his works? Yep. I mean seriously if we were going to BAN authors for using non-pc words... Just imagine the loss of literature which would occur 

Sorry for ranting, I don't know if I'm expressing myself well, but seriously, this topic gets to me. I'm not even going to talk about how the word "virgin" is supposedly offensive  . I feel like some people think if you wipe out a word or a ban a book, you instantly wipe out the meaning or sentiment behind it. Not so IMO.

ETA: I just realized I used it's instead of its!! I'm so ashamed

[Just Lori]

Its real, some schools in my hometown decided hot cross buns getting sold in the canteens at Easter may offend other religions too. A spokesman at the local Bangladeshi community association said it was silly and that he had never heard of anyone being offended by a hot cross bun.

Maybe the bun was hot and cross and said something he shouldn't have.

[eport]

In college, the chaplain was big on changing all the Christmas carols to gendered neutral terms (he even made a speech about this during Lessons and Carols as explanation to everyone). People still sang the versions they knew while the choir and the chaplain sang loudly the new words (emphasizing the new gendered terms). He meant well, he really did.

I was on a committee for the religous life center and after the first year of the new gendered terms, I brought up that many people (mostly my female friends) were disappointed in this move as we like the traditional carols.  I also told him I think it went too far. Changing "oh come let us adore him" to "oh come in adoration" wasn't necessary. He asked why because it was emphasizing males; I told him that they are referring to Jesus and of all the things we knew about Jesus, we know he was male (cue laughing from some of the students, including non-Christian students). The student committee agreed with me and the next year, only some words were changed and not every song.

[blue2000]

My daughter was taught to sing 'Bah Bah Pink Sheep' in Nursery.

There was a story in the papers not long ago about a school banning the story of 'the three little pigs' incase it offended muslims. A statement from the british muslim council on the news branded it 'ridiculous'. I agree with them wholeheartedly.

Why exactly were they banning it?

I'm trying to wrap my head around this one, but I just don't get it... what is so un-PC about a bunch of hard-working pigs?

This stuff is getting just ridiculous....

Because IIRC the consumption of pork is prohibited in Islam, and the pig is regarded as an unclean animal.

However, as the Muslim Council of Britain said very firmly, the proposal to ban "Three Little Pigs" and the like in the school on this basis was totally ridiculous. IMHO the school committed a rather ignorant overcompensation that ended up merely adding fuel to bigots' fires.

Okaaay...

If I jump on the ultra-ridiculous PC bandwagon here... shouldn't it be a GOOD story for Muslims to tell?? Because the wolf got in trouble for trying to eat pork!

[Issa]

Bah Bah PINK sheep?

Sigh. Are there even any words left? Not from me in any case.

Maybe we should just ban the colour black all together. And white, and brown too.
Just in case. Wouldn't want anyone to get offended now. 

[Xallanthia]

I DESPISE the modification of carols, and other hymns, to PC versions.  We know "Mankind" is all of us, really.  I just sing the other words, PC be d*mned, even in other hymns where significant changes have been made.  Give me the traditional stuff every day.  Maybe it would be one thing if the hymnographers were intending, when they wrote the hymns, to indicate that Christ came only for men.  But that is obviously ridiculous, so why all the fuss?

(Of course, now I'm Orthodox, and won't have the same songs for Christmas, but that doesn't mean I don't love them!)

[audhs]

I never questioned that Mary was a Virgin when I was a child, I thought it was like being an Iowan or Oregonian!  I figured it out on my own when I was ready.

Mary is from Virginia?

Sorry, couldn't resist. 

When I was a kid I thought that Jesus died on the cross at Calgary (where I grewup) not Calvery.

People need to get a hobby.  Sometime I think these things are changed by people who are afraid of offending anyone but forget to actaully find out if someone is really offended first.

There is really something wrong with people who want to pc the virgin birth in church.  If you don't beleive I'm not sure chruch is the place for you as it's kind of the cornerstone of well the entire christian faith.