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whats up with the "Xtians"?????

atpollard

Active Member
Personally, I don't like Xy for 'Christianity' ... I don't generally post in Greek, so the Greek abbreviation of an English word does not immediately leap to my mind ... and I instantly think of chromosomes every time I see 'Xy' in a post.
I just suck it up and deal with it ... 'cause in the grand scheme, ain't no big thang.
 

Ouroboros

Coincidentia oppositorum
I dont think its because it is tedious to type the whole word. I understand cuting 'super cali fragil listic expi ali doshes' short, but "Christian"?

Why?
I don't think there's any particular reason. It's not different than to write RF for religious forums, or "k" for ok.
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
[QUOTE="Breathe, post: 4252293, member: 16244"
People are free to say what they want. I'm free to say what I prefer.
Otherwise, it's not really free speech, is it?[/QUOTE]

Bingo!
There you go....... there's you, a free speech supporter, moaning at folks who speak and write their free speech abbreviations.
So all that the Xian word users need to say is...
I'm free to say what I prefer.
:)
Wasn't that easy? :)
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
Gosh, you sure did shredded my whole post; I don't know how to comment/quote.

Why take the o out of God? Because, I am sure you already know, those who do value the word God even on paper and screen so to say His title, name, etc would be disrespect.

Why make a hissy fit? I value other peoples faiths as well as mine. The word Christian isn't a holy word. The word Christ is. Why take the Christ out of Christian? Why out of Christmas? (The point is not because i is Latin, He wasn't born in December, etc) it's more, why period.



Reminds me of an old joke:

Q. - You know why they called Bo Jackson "Bo?"
A. - No. I don't.
Q. - Because his actual name was too long for him to remember.
A. - Really? What was his real name?
Q. - Bob.

(((rimshot)))

But seriously ... why is it OK it leave the "o" out of God? Why is that acceptable?



So why make a fuss if it gets abbreviated?



Along the lines of "Mr" or "Mrs" or "Capt" or "Sgt?"



Oh. I see. Sort of like how "monsignor" (someone who almost certainly has "a relationship" with Christ) ends up being abbreviated to "Mgr" or "Msgr" or "Mon?"



Why abbreviate anything?



How appropriate that there isn't a single shred of evidence to support the claim that Jesus was born in late December!

...

"He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks." ~ Romans 14:6

Do you suppose that the same might hold true for those who writeth out "Christian" ... and for those who opt to abbreviate it?
 

Unveiled Artist

Veteran Member
I don't think there's any particular reason. It's not different than to write RF for religious forums, or "k" for ok.

I'd think if you are a Christian, you'd want to use the full word. If you have a relationship with Christ (in general, not you specifically), and you say you are a Christian, why not write Christ's name too?

Pet peeve, thats all.
 

Ouroboros

Coincidentia oppositorum
I'd think if you are a Christian, you'd want to use the full word.
Sure.

If you have a relationship with Christ (in general, not you specifically), and you say you are a Christian, why not write Christ's name too?
I don't know if there are any Christians who write X-ian or such. It's probably mostly non-Christians. In some circles it might look cool. Maybe. I think it's more irritating to see people spell atheist as athiest.

Pet peeve, thats all.
We all have them. :D Maybe not for the same things, but I think most of us, if not all, have one or two things that bugs us how/what other people write.

Personally, for a while (years ago), I also wrote x-ian and such. Don't know why. Just did it for no good reason. But I stopped and write it out. Also, Xy is confusing to me. I see it, but it's not associated with Christianity for me. My brain is trying to solve it as some chromosome construct or mathematical idea or something, not an abbreviation.
 

philbo

High Priest of Cynicism
Personally, I don't like Xy for 'Christianity' ... I don't generally post in Greek, so the Greek abbreviation of an English word does not immediately leap to my mind ... and I instantly think of chromosomes every time I see 'Xy' in a post.
I just suck it up and deal with it ... 'cause in the grand scheme, ain't no big thang.
Xy=Christianity?

Hadn't twigged with that abbreviation, I kind of assumed it meant something to do with the male of the species because of the whole chromosome thing. Oops.
 

Ouroboros

Coincidentia oppositorum
Xy=Christianity?

Hadn't twigged with that abbreviation, I kind of assumed it meant something to do with the male of the species because of the whole chromosome thing. Oops.
Exactly! That's what I thought too! XY Chromosomes. That's what I was thinking. But with the X genes being dominant and the y genes recessive, or something like that. You know, haploid gene "A" vs gene "a", sometin' like that.

Perhaps christmas could be X+? "Mas" meaning "more" in Spanish. So "+" means more. Hence, X+ for Christ-mas. :D
 

Jumi

Well-Known Member
Here's some fun info on the etymology:

But the history of the word “Xmas” is actually more respectable — and fascinating — than you might suspect. First of all, the abbreviation predates by centuries its use in gaudy advertisements. It was first used in the mid 1500s. X is the Greek letter “chi,” the initial letter in the word Χριστός. And here’s the kicker: Χριστός means “Christ.” X has been an acceptable representation of the word “Christ” for hundreds of years. This device is known as a Christogram. The mas in Xmas is the Old English word for “mass.” (The thought-provoking etymology of “mass” can be found here.) In the same vein, the dignified terms Xpian and Xtian have been used in place of the word “Christian.”
The “X” in “Xmas” — Learn the sacred, 1,000-year-old meaning of the “X” | Dictionary.com Blog
 

Breathe

Hostis humani generis
There you go....... there's you, a free speech supporter, moaning at folks who speak and write their free speech abbreviations.
Giving an opinion is hardly 'moaning'. I don't bring it up outside of here, where it's on topic, now, do I? In fact, it's the users who're moaning because I dislike it.
People are free to use it. I'm also free to think it looks -- and makes them look -- moronic and lazy for doing so.
 

Jumi

Well-Known Member
How about Xpian? First time I heard of it. Chi+rho+ian?

Here's another site I found on X=Christ.

Xmas

Xmasis a common abbreviation of the word Christmas. It is sometimes pronounced /ˈɛksməs/. Xmas and variants such as Xtemass, originated as handwriting abbreviations for the typical pronunciation /ˈkrɪsməs/. The "-mas" part is from the Latin-derived Old English word for Mass,[1] while the "X" comes from the Greek letter Chi, which is the first letter of the Greek word Χριστός which comes into English as "Christ".[2]

There is a common misconception that the word Xmas stems from a secular attempt to remove the religious tradition from Christmas[3] by taking the "Christ" out of "Christmas", but its use dates back to the 16th century.
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
And while we are on the subject, will people please stop saying email and t.v.
...and 'bus'.
It really annoys me when folks ask, 'When's the next bus?'
It's so.......... so........ lazy!
Come to think of it...... I must stop writing 'it's', can't, won't, shan't, when's.......... :D
 

sojourner

Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
Giving an opinion is hardly 'moaning'. I don't bring it up outside of here, where it's on topic, now, do I? In fact, it's the users who're moaning because I dislike it.
People are free to use it. I'm also free to think it looks -- and makes them look -- moronic and lazy for doing so.
But when you go on to attempt to foist your opinions on others (especially when it's accompanied by name-calling):
Write it out fully, lazy fingers.
It goes beyond "giving an opinion." And when it crosses that boundary into attempting to "correct" what someone else is doing, just because it bugs you, we dismiss that boundary-crossing directive with an equally-demeaning epithet that displays how we feel about the boundary-crossing and the implied superiority through your use of name-calling.
 

Breathe

Hostis humani generis
But when you go on to attempt to foist your opinions on others (especially when it's accompanied by name-calling):

It goes beyond "giving an opinion." And when it crosses that boundary into attempting to "correct" what someone else is doing, just because it bugs you, we dismiss that boundary-crossing directive with an equally-demeaning epithet that displays how we feel about the boundary-crossing and the implied superiority through your use of name-calling.
You're acting pretty good at victimisation.

Doesn't look like you have anything to say other than feign offence or outrage because of disagreement, so, are we done or do you have anything constructive to say on this matter?
 

sojourner

Annoyingly Progressive Since 2006
You're acting pretty good at victimisation.

Doesn't look like you have anything to say other than feign offence or outrage because of disagreement, so, are we done or do you have anything constructive to say on this matter?
Doesn't look like you have anything to say other than whining about how you don't like the way some people write things. Get over yourself.
 
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