The one I have the most difficulty with is the phrase “went home”. When I read that a very sick friend “went home,” I figure it means they made a miraculous recovery in the hospital, but no — to the fundamentalist Christians I grew up with who are still in that faith, that phrase means the friend died. I get caught out reading that every time. I suppose it’s maybe short for “went home to Jesus,” but to say that somebody “went home” is quite a different idea, and I hate it that the phrase raises such hope, offers such a false relief. It’s cruel.
Thank you for reading Mary Ellen, and I completely agree with your reading of "went home." That's one I had forgotten but that I used to hear all the time. It just never sat right with me either.
The one I have the most difficulty with is the phrase “went home”. When I read that a very sick friend “went home,” I figure it means they made a miraculous recovery in the hospital, but no — to the fundamentalist Christians I grew up with who are still in that faith, that phrase means the friend died. I get caught out reading that every time. I suppose it’s maybe short for “went home to Jesus,” but to say that somebody “went home” is quite a different idea, and I hate it that the phrase raises such hope, offers such a false relief. It’s cruel.
Thank you for reading Mary Ellen, and I completely agree with your reading of "went home." That's one I had forgotten but that I used to hear all the time. It just never sat right with me either.