Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!linus!genrad!decvax!harpo!floyd!trb From: trb@floyd.UUCP Newsgroups: net.religion Subject: Re: Holy Land Message-ID: <1694@floyd.UUCP> Date: Tue, 28-Jun-83 15:11:51 EDT Article-I.D.: floyd.1694 Posted: Tue Jun 28 15:11:51 1983 Date-Received: Tue, 28-Jun-83 22:19:53 EDT Lines: 28 In response to my comment about people (usually the Christian mass media) who call Israel "the Holy Land" rather than Israel, Larry Kolodney (grkermit!larry) asks: Why is it offensive, and why is it more offensive than saying that Jesus is the messiah and that we have it all wrong? To answer the relevant question ("Why is it offensive?"), it is offensive because the country has a name, and it naturally wants to be called by that name, and to not call it by that name is a show of disrespect. If you always addressed me as "the hacker who works at BTL Whippany," when I wanted to be called "Andy," I would be offended, and I would take it as a display of your disrespect. Larry, I don't understand what relevance your question about Jesus and the messiah has to this discussion at all. If you are asking about the offensiveness of you believing in Jesus as the messiah, yes, I would find it offensive if those beliefs were forced upon me, but I don't find it offensive that you believe in them. Again, I don't see the relevance of that to this discussion. I didn't mean to offend anyone by using the spelling "Cristian" in my first note, it was an honest phonetic mispelling. Also, Larry, the proper spelling of my last name is not Tennenbaum, it's Tannenbaum (was that in retaliation?) Andy Tannenbaum Bell Labs Whippany, NJ (201) 386-6491