Are people who are dating single?

[Amanuensis]

I don't know how to answer forms. I've been divorced and I am currently single. Do I choose Divorced or Single? I don't think it is anyone's business if I have been divorced so I choose Single. Am I lying!?

 

[Lanolin]

tax codes in nz are unrelated to whether you are single or married. You just pay according to what letter they give you. And is related to how much income you have (usually your highest source) and whther you paying off a student loan and what kind of employment you have.

 

[GaryA]

Have you ever considered that whether or not someone is divorced or widowed is not really anyone else's business? Unless you're getting involved with that person, why would you need to know- unless you want to smack people with the pre-conceived ideas about divorced/widowed people?

Have you considered that the "preconceived ideas about divorced/widowed people" is a separate issue and should be handled as such?

Have you considered that changing the definition so that folks can hide reality, avoid issues, undermine the truth, cause problems, and "feel better about themselves" - is really not the most honest godly righteous proper "solution" to be strived for?

 

[Lanolin]

I don't know how to answer forms. I've been divorced and I am currently single. Do I choose Divorced or Single? I don't think it is anyone's business if I have been divorced so I choose Single. Am I lying!?

why are you answering a form then .

dont send it if you dont even know how to answer it. what is it for?
if its a survey and you could win a prize, sometimes they say its optional or dont have to say. Otherwise its maybe a scam to get money off you. lol

 

[GaryA]

I don't know how to answer forms. I've been divorced and I am currently single. Do I choose Divorced or Single? I don't think it is anyone's business if I have been divorced so I choose Single. Am I lying!?

Yes - you are.

If you are divorced and there is a 'divorced' option - that is the correct option.

Whether the government (or whoever) has any business knowing is a totally separate issue.

 

[Lynx]

Yes - you are.

If you are divorced and there is a 'divorced' option - that is the correct option.

Whether the government (or whoever) has any business knowing is a totally separate issue.

I have a theory that you just get a kick out of calling people unwitting dupes of satan and this is the latest excuse you have found.

It's either that or...

I have a theory that you are completely unaware that word meanings can drift and migrate over the years, decades and centuries.

I'm going with the first one because the balance of evidence points to it, but I'm keeping the second one on standby. Who knows? Maybe you really are unaware of linguistic shifts.

 

[Lanolin]

Abrham did famously tried to pass off Sarah as his sister
Though technically she was like his half sister. He wouldnt say she was his wife when she was.

I cant remember why he did that but the egyptians were not happy when they found out.

 

[SomeDisciple]

Have you considered that the "preconceived ideas about divorced/widowed people" is a separate issue and should be handled as such?

Have you considered that changing the definition so that folks can hide reality, avoid issues, undermine the truth, cause problems, and "feel better about themselves" - is really not the most honest godly righteous proper "solution" to be strived for?

Who are you to say it should be handled at all? Answer my question: why do you need to know unless you're getting involved with those people? You DON'T Unless you want to exploit that information. "That's a separate issue" my foot.

Just like with ladies' name prefixes- they invented Ms. because it's nobodies business in the professional world if someone is married or not. You simply don't need to know- that's how it's "simple". The "hidden reality" is that it's not your business!

Unless I'm going to marry a woman, I'd rather not find out she was divorced. I don't need to know that, any more than anything else she did before she was saved.

Yes - you are.

Only by your reckoning, which you haven't shown a biblical basis for. Show the basis for your mastery of "marital status terminology".

 

[tourist]

Abrham did famously tried to pass off Sarah as his sister
Though technically she was like his half sister. He wouldnt say she was his wife when she was.

I cant remember why he did that but the egyptians were not happy when they found out.

He did it because he was a coward in that instance.

 

[SomeDisciple]

He did it because he was a coward in that instance.

Specifically, he did it because he was afraid Pharaoh was going to kill him- his fears were irrational because they were contrary to God's promises to him... and it would have actually made the overall situation worse if God hadn't intervened directly. And in this particular case; Pharaoh DID NEED TO KNOW, because he was in a position where he could just take any woman he wanted. Not to many of us in the position of Pharaoh today.

Any Pharaohs on Christian Chat?

 

[HealthAndHappiness]

I don't know how to answer forms. I've been divorced and I am currently single. Do I choose Divorced or Single? I don't think it is anyone's business if I have been divorced so I choose Single. Am I lying!?

I would be up front with anyone who shows interest in you. The same would go the other way around... I think that's what the Lord would want as per Jesus'view on divorce.
That's all I have.

 

[GaryA]

In the context of the thread topic and discussion, the word 'single' in my discussion of the topic is with specific regard to marital status and nothing else.

I am not trying to judge anyone by saying "single means single"; rather, I am only making a statement of fact about "what is" - believe it or not.

Anything else is-or-may-be judged in its own context.

All of the 'crap' that people associate-with and attach-to the word 'single' has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the actual definition and proper use of the word itself.

And, the "stinging" of the conscience is coming from the 'baggage' being dragged up --- all because of the misuse of the word...

If people would simply accept the proper definition of the word 'single' in the context of marital status - and, consider everything else as a separate issue - and, handle/treat it as such - and just "let it be what it is" - and, deal with it appropriately --- everything would take care of itself, and there would not be nearly as much confusion...

 

[GaryA]

I have a theory that you are completely unaware that word meanings can drift and migrate over the years, decades and centuries.

I am well aware of word meanings changing over time.

However, it does not mean that it is completely harmless.

Satan has done this on purpose to confuse people's minds.

The definitions of some words should not change over time.

The usage of words, with regard to something as important as marital status, should not become so loose as to cause the meaning to be lost.

 

[GaryA]

I have a theory that you just get a kick out of calling people unwitting dupes of satan and this is the latest excuse you have found.

It's either that or...

I have a theory that you are completely unaware that word meanings can drift and migrate over the years, decades and centuries.

I'm going with the first one because the balance of evidence points to it, but I'm keeping the second one on standby. Who knows? Maybe you really are unaware of linguistic shifts.

You should know me well enough by now to realize that your "first theory" is baloney.

I never say things with the intent to offend or insult anyone - only to try to "wake them up" to the truth about something.

 

[SomeDisciple]

The usage of words, with regard to something as important as marital status, should not become so loose as to cause the meaning to be lost.

Serious question: Can you even demonstrate that "single" means "never married" as you say it does?

 

[Lynx]

I am well aware of word meanings changing over time.

However, it does not mean that it is completely harmless.

Satan has done this on purpose to confuse people's minds.

The definitions of some words should not change over time.

The usage of words, with regard to something as important as marital status, should not become so loose as to cause the meaning to be lost.

Yeah, but it seems more profitable to make a new word for what you used to think "single" meant. "Single" no longer means what you thought it meant.

Your valiant fight to preserve the meaning of a word for all time almost makes me think you're a unicode programmer.

 

[Lynx]

I am well aware of word meanings changing over time.

However, it does not mean that it is completely harmless.

Satan has done this on purpose to confuse people's minds.

The definitions of some words should not change over time.

The usage of words, with regard to something as important as marital status, should not become so loose as to cause the meaning to be lost.

Also this:





It's really neat that the xkcd author is also a language nerd. I got a few more I could bring to this thread.

 

[Runningman]

So just wondering , is it only married / betrothed folk who are nit single ? Or do people believe once you start dating you are no longer single
what about long distance relationships , which are online only , are they single ?
I think once you commit to girl or boy you are off limits , definitely not single

just wondering !

I don’t see where dating is a Biblical practice to be fair, but I guess they had to have some sort of courtship. They were pretty ultra-conservative back then so I highly doubt there was any taking someone’s daughter out alone and bringing her back at 10 pm kind of thing.

If they wanted to talk to a girl with any regularity I guess they had to move as quickly as possible if they randomly met in public and either ask for a girl’s hand in marriage or be setup through an arrangement by the family. No texting, email, dating websites, etc. Maybe they occasionally had get-togethers and supervised hangouts when family’s came together.

I think the arranged marriages were most common though. My point with all of this talking is dating wasn’t a thing and they were either single or married.

In Western culture there isn’t really any comparison with the way they did things in the Bible. Single almost always means someone isn’t dating, dating means you’re talking to and going out with at least one or more people, and a relationship is typically exclusive between just two people.

 

[SomeDisciple]

Yeah, but it seems more profitable to make a new word for what you used to think "single" meant. "Single" no longer means what you thought it meant.

I would even go as far as to say that it never really meant that to begin with. Usually it's some government or institutional form that doesn't want you to put "single" when you have been divorced, because they are keeping some statistic, or need to know for legal purposes if you have been married; but that doesn't mean that's the way the word is or has been normally used or formally defined.

 

[Subhumanoidal]

Single, to me, means not married. But single also does not mean available. Usually you'll get "single but dating" or "single but not looking". Makes it all pretty cut and dry.

It's common anymore for people to treat the meanings of words as being free to interpret. This creates confusion as meanings become muddled by opinions.