These 'word games' are desperately important, actually. There is a very fine line between a living growing language and one that is just becoming murky with unclear understanding of words' meanings. The word 'love' is an excellent example of murkiness: I love my mother, and I love my godson, and I love my boyfriend, and I love God, and I love lobster. I certainly don't love my BF like I love my mother, nor the way I love lobster. More to the point at hand though is that people often say to the random person they're having a one night stand with "I love you". In Greek, all of these meanings are clearly separated with different words, but in English, we must be careful to explain what we mean, at least in serious debate/discussion. Another usage error is the word 'gay'. Originally it meant 'happy', now it means either 'homosexual' or 'stupid' (ie "that's so gay").

'Pedophile' is another such word that must be used with care, especially here, where it matters so much. The word has come to be synonymous with 'child molester' in today's usage, but that is *not* what the word means. It means 'child lover'. To be more clear, the opposite suffix to -phile is -phobe, 'fearer' (Think arachnophobe vs. arachnophile, fearer of spiders, lover of spiders). "-phile" does not connote any sexual attraction or activity, though it does not preclude it either. Think 'strong admirer'.

Words have a power over our impression of how the world works, and any group trying to gain acceptance in society must be careful not to be defined out of existence. If we are not clear about the meaning of the words we use, we can never have meaningful discussion or communication at all. This is why the dictionary was such a powerful tool, in fact it was instrumental in the formation of the United States as a country, by unifying our communication through unified spelling and definitions we gained power over our minds and were able to move and think together as never before. Therefore, a careful definition of a word will mean a careful behavior associated with that thing, and a sloppy or incorrect or cruel definition of a word will dictate a a sloppy or incorrect or cruel behavior toward that thing.

In Christ,
~CSL