Language evolves. It always has. It's the nature of the beast. Before I get into my rant, enjoy a stark contrast of then and now with the Lord's Prayer. Every iteration is in English by the way.
Circa 11th century -- Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum; si þin nama gehalgod to becume þin rice gewurþe ðin willa on eorðan swa swa on heofonum. Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg and forgyf us ure gyltas swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum and ne gelæd þu us on costnunge ac alys us of yfele. Soþlice.
A.D. 1258 -- Fadir our in heuene, haleeweide beota thi neume, cuman thi kinderiche, thi wille beoth idon in heune and in erthe. The euerych dawe bried gif ous thilk dawe. And worzif ure dettes as vi vorsifen ure dettoures. And lene ous nought into temptation. Bette delvvor of unval.
A.D. 1300 -- Fadir our in hevene, Halwewyd by thi name, thi kingdom come. Thy wille be done as in hevene in erthe. Oure urche days bred give us today. And forgive us our detes, as we forgive our detoures. And lede us not into temptation. Bote delyvere us of yvel.
A.D. 1582 -- Our Father which art in heaven, sanctified by thy name. Let thy kingdom come. Thy wil be done as in heaven and earth also. Give us this day our super substantial bread. And led us not into temptation. But deliver us from evil.
A.D. 1611 -- Our Father which is in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven. Biue us this day our dayly bread. And forgive our debtors. And leade us not into temptation, but deliver from evil. For thine is the kingdome, and the power and the glory for ever.
A.D. 1789 -- Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the Kingdom and the Power and the Glory, forever and ever. Amen.
A.D. 1970 -- Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from the Evil. For the Kingdom, Power and the Glory, are yours now and forever. Amen.
It is a varied and many-splendored thing as well as a wonderful accidental service of Christian missionaries who so dutifully translated the Bible into its local languages. In some cases, the only written records we have of a language have come from such translations. (see Gothic) Linguists I am sure are eternally grateful for their efforts.
But the point is, things change. Let them change. I don't see why people to this day get up in arms when a kid uses "retarded" as a synonym for "stupid"; "gay" as a synonym for "stupid" or "lame"; and "faggot" as a synonym for a "wuss" or anyone who's making lame (gay?) excuses as to why he will not be a part of a group activity or demand. The opponents say these are "hurtful words" but are they? At one time, sure. But today's generations, while preserving the words as kinds of insults, wish for them to be more generally applied and no longer necessarily referring to their original targets. Should we not be encouraging this trend rather than attempt to preserve the more hateful meanings?
Even the words "dumb", "stupid", "lame", etc. all once meant something far more specific but are now more generally applied insults and have been so for such a long time that to hear the words applied more originally sounds odd to a listener. In some cases, the meanings of words have changed so completely as to be not recognizable.
I encourage this trend. Based on the way it is used today, I can't help but wonder if "nigger" will ever come to mean something benign. Perhaps in the future, and something tells me long after we're gone, the word could mean something as innocuous as "neighbor" or "friend" (especially one who goes back a ways or who has shared critical experiences with you). One can only hope. And for those of you who worry about losing the "fun" words, I can't ever see racism and hatred ever dying...it's just too human. We'll come up with all new words to spread the hate. Human ingenuity cannot be stopped!
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Now, sadly, it is more like this (below.) I personally say it the 1970 way...and I know that true Christians wouldn't change it like this, but the average American would feel it more this way. (Hurriedly rewritten, room for editing of course!)
2012 - Who's our Father? Is heaven hallowed in your name? Your kingdom comes when your will be done. On earth it is as heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and everything else we deserve. What sins do we have? Only those of those who sin against us. Save us from the Evil. For when will the Kingdom, Power and the Glory, be mine now and forever? Amen.
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