You should move to France and take up that language. Those guys guard the definitional and usage ramparts against all deviation, or so I hear. English though has been a very promiscuous language and probably always will be. It forces you to use more words in order to pin down what you have in mind.

@MarkWD Wow Mark, so because I quoted the dictionary in a fairly relaxed thread . . . I should move to France eh?

@Observer-Effect I assure you it wasn’t meant with hostile intent. That’s just me being playful but sorry if you took it that way.

@MarkWD Ah, then I apologize back - I was being thin skinned! I had just got done talking to some superstitious twits who were being nearly threatening to me. They are homeopathic believers, and I once created a homeopathic uranium preparation for the sole purpose of mocking their idiocy . . . and it makes them mad!

** For your entertainment: [sites.google.com]

@Observer-Effect Well sorry to have triggered any of that to resurface.

@MarkWD I trigger easily about homeopathic crap, I watched a family member nearly die because of it. And I'm a serious physics geek, particle interactions are my passion - - - and, believers in "water having memory" are fucking idiots. Period. Ooops, see - I just got triggered again!

@Observer-Effect I wonder how many of the people who are drawn to homeopathy are also anti-vaxers? It would ironic if there is even one.

@MarkWD Ha! Yes, quite true!

"No. It is not."
Really? I think I've laid out a path (see above) that, to be honest, tracks with my own personal experience--namely, that it is possible to outwardly profess to be a Christian, while at the same time internally harboring extreme doubts, if not a total rejection of the faith.

@p-nullifidian "Outwardly profess"? While perhaps actually totally rejecting? That sounds like a complicated way of saying "pretend"! And I'm not being slightly judgemental, I did sound and traveled Europe with an Evangelical performance troupe -- while knowing the superstition was rationally silly, historically wrong, and morally bankrupt. But my life was better if I just played along, it was fun and I have no regrets. But its nice to be in a position now to be able to call BS where it exists!

@Observer-Effect Outward profession (i.e., publicly witnessed behavior) can include, but is not limited to, bowing one's head during prayer and keeping one's eyes closed, attending church, genuflecting, receiving communion, repeating a creed, saying the Lord's Prayer, leading one's family in prayer when asked, etc. Not all that complicated, really. Deviate from the accepted norm, and one becomes a potential target.

@p-nullifidian ? A lot of words for "posing" or "pretending". If your appearance/actions are based on what others expect but not your personal belief, its pretending.

@Observer-Effect Of course it's pretending. Such behavior is at the heart of many social interactions. Pretending to enjoy the company of certain individuals, pretending to like the food your hosts have just served you, and answering 'no' to that most important of all questions, 'Does this dress make me look fat?'

We are creatures of great pretense, and yet, for me there remained times of weakness during this transitional phase, when I wished it were not so. I found myself in a quandary, much like Julian Barnes: I no longer believed in God, but I missed him.