Today, “There was no place for them …” we can also say referring to some of the words that have disappeared from the Childrens’ Dictionary published by the Oxford University Press. Words such as “bishop,” “chapel,” “disciple,” “minister,” “sin” and “devil,” have been eliminated in favour of “blog”, “biodegradable”, “MP3 reader,” “democratic” and “celebrity.”
There can be no complaint about giving space to the new words that contemporary culture produces and uses, but a very serious complaint about the words put aside.
How will future generations of English speakers discover the meaning of some of the words that refer to the life of faith? Does the “politically correct approach” adopted by so many reflect the real situation of the church even though stubbornly it didn’t want to recognise its role in the beginnings of Europe?
What is so disheartening about the whole thing is that the exclusion of the entries referring to the area of Christianity applies to the 2007 edition of the well-known dictionary. It was Mrs Lisa Saunders, an Irish mother, who became aware of it while leafing through the pages with her children and being unable to find some of the words in question.
This only goes to show how the cultural climate, more and more under the sway of the now dominant secularism, makes even Christians less sensitive.
Christmas is not a matter of culinary traditions and folklore; anything but! It is the celebration of that Light which breaking through the darkness shows men and women their true dignity.
Published 24/12/2008
