Great thoughts. I shared it on facebook, hope you don't mind.

I can't speak to the context in which the guy on television was speaking, but to be honest, the word "Biblical" has been one of my favorite words. To me, it simply refers to something found in the Bible, and when I'm talking about spiritual matters, it carries more weight with me as opposed to religious tradition or accepted doctrine. Of course my interpretation is all over such statements; and so it is with all of us. We can't apply the Bible to our lives in any way without making some sort of inference as to what we think it means. But that doesn't necessarily mean there has to be a judgment rendered against others by saying something is "Biblical." I can relate to what you're saying, however, if we add a level of context to it. People *do* often use the word Bibilical abusively, to suggest their interpretation is right, and others are wrong. (I think that was my primary beef with the book "Pagan Christianity", although I liked the information in it.) But I wonder if it's too much of a blanket statement to say the word "Biblical" is bad in general, and do away with it. If you really feel that, could you give an example of some other phrase we could use that felt less judgmental? Sorry for rambling... :)

I do understand your appreciation for the word. When we use it for ourselves I can see how it provides a good sense of the word. We draw meaning and value from the Bible.

My concern is when the person using it is defining what is acceptable for other people it becomes a problem for me, because at that moment it becomes an interpretation that has a specific meaning. And we take great risk when we do that.

And to make matters worse, we're not dealing with the original person's interpretation of that meaning but what they second persons hears and interprets it to mean. That chain creates a terrible problem that goes on and on.