While the Bible warns us not to quibble about words (2 Timothy 2:14), this does not mean that words, phrases, and terms are not important. For example, anyone who insisted on being called “The Great Power” (Acts 8:10) would be clearly violating the rule of Christian humility and modesty (Matthew 23:7-11). In the same vein, to call church leaders “priests,” is only likely to confuse, in addition to contradict the priesthood of all believers.

Every interest group tends to form its own terms (lingo, jargon). Dozens of terms, intelligible more to insiders than to outsiders, are learned by the members of the group. These reinforce the norms and values of the group.

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