CHRISTIANITY DOESN’T USE WEASEL WORDS

By Michael K. Farrar, O.D.

© God’s Breath Publications

 

Do you know what a “weasel word” is? These are words that are used in advertising to describe a product. They are related to what is called the Rule of Parity. The technical definition is, “words or statements that are intentionally ambiguous or misleading.” Products such as gasoline, toothpaste, soap, aspirin, cold remedies and numerous other items are called “parity products.”

 

What this means is that most of the products in each of these categories are very close to the same. Most soaps or toothpastes are produced the same way and pretty much contain the same formula. Yes, there are minor differences, but basically they are the same with no essential differences as far as the law is concerned.

 

“So what?” you say.

 

Since most soaps and toothpastes are basically equal, no one brand is superior to any of the others. Therefore legally and functionally all these parity products are “good” products and they are also all the “best” products. Thus companies can legally advertise their soap, toothpaste, gasoline, deodorant or any other parity product as the “best” and not have to prove it. There is no proof required unless they claim to be better than another parity product. In other words, in the world of advertising “better” means “best,” but “best” means only “equal to.” The next time you see an advertisement that a product claims to be the “best,” it really means that they are the same as all the other products in that category. Therefore “best” is a “weasel word” and actually has no significant meaning when seen in an advertisement of a parity product.

 

Now when it comes to religion we might say we have a similar situation. There are numerous world religions: Hinduism, Bahi, Buddism, Islam, Hinduism, Scientology, Spiritism, etc. These are all religious beliefs that claim to be the “way” to God. If we were to classify these religions as “parity religions,” each of them could make similar claims of being the “best.”

 

Many people would place Christianity within this group of world religions, but there is a problem with this idea. Christianity is not a parity religion. When we examine the claims of Christianity and the veracity of its statements, we find that it claims to be “better” and not only that; it claims to be the ONLY way to have a relationship with God. Many individuals may consider Christianity to be a “parity religion,” just one among many choices, but in reality it stands in a class of its own.

 

It is the only religion with a living Savior. Every world religion except Christianity was started by men who are now dead. Christ lives today. He has always existed, always has and always will. It is the only religion that tells us that salvation is acquired, not by works or by our own efforts, but by accepting the sacrifice provided by Christ, arranged by God and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Christianity is a religion of exclusion. It allows no other path to God other than through Jesus Christ our Lord. This is not a popular perspective in our tolerant culture today, but it is the basic doctrine of Christianity that believing in Jesus is the only way to acquire knowledge of God.

 

Let’s examine another “weasel word” used in advertising and see if it might have some application in the area of religion. “Helps” is another “weasel word” used in advertising with parity products. “Helps” in advertising means “to aid or assist,” but once an advertisement says “helps,” it can say just about anything after that because “help” qualifies everything after it. The trick in advertising is that the claim that follows “helps” is usually so strong and dramatic that you forget the “weasel word” and concentrate only on the dramatic claim. You don’t catch yourself reading into the ad a message that the ad does not contain. A toothpaste advertisement may say, “Helps prevent cavities,” but is doesn’t say it will “actually prevent cavities.”

 

If we apply this observation to parity religions we may find people saying that their religion “helps them cope with life” or “helps them know of God.” The problem is unless their religious belief is based on the life, death and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ the word “helps” is meaningless. The claim cannot be substantiated because it is not based on truth. It is based on a man made religion or philosophy, or the personal experience of the individual. Christianity truly “helps us cope” and absolutely “helps us know God” because it is based on the truth of scripture. No matter how much faith a person has in their religion, if it is not based on the truth of the Bible it is in vain.

 

Another “weasel word” used in advertising is “virtually.” It is a word used so innocently that most people don’t pay any attention to it when it is used in an advertising claim. “Virtually” is used in advertising claims that appear to make specific, definite promises when there is NO promise. In 1971, a federal court rendered its decision on a case brought by a woman who became pregnant while taking birth control pills. She sued Eli Lilly And Company, for breach of warranty. The woman lost her case. What caused her to lose was the wording of the advertisement of the company. The ad said, “When taken as directed, the tablets offer virtually 100% protection.” The court ruled that there was no warranty, expressed or implied, that the pills were absolutely effective because of the definition of “virtually.” “Virtually” means “almost entirely, but not completely.”

 

Now if we apply this “weasel word” to our parity religions we find a similar situation. Many people may feel that through their parity religion they are “virtually washed of their guilt and sins,” can “virtually know God,” or “virtually experience a relationship with God,” but if their experiences are not based on the saving knowledge of Christ our Lord, “virtually” means nothing.

 

There are numerous “weasel words” that are used in advertising, “almost new,” “like,” ” “acts,” “works,” “up to twice as long,” etc. Unfortunately we are often taken advantage of in the advertising scams of companies. We fail to read and comprehend properly when we investigate parity products because we fail to understand the meaning of “weasel words.”

 

Unfortunately in the area of world religion we find many people being swayed by religious “weasel words” which are not based on God’s truth, but on tradition, man’s religious inventions or worse yet, Satan’s deception.

 

Christians might be tempted to feel a sense of pride in their religion or boast that they have the “better” religion. A true follower of Christ would have an overwhelming burden for those who are lost in the realm of parity religions, religions that offer no eternal hope for salvation. A servant of Jesus would be burdened by the fact that millions of individuals are led astray by the false advertising of religions that have unsubstantiated claims based on half truths or lies. May we pray for the salvation of those involved in such religions and humbly thank our Lord for the working of His Holy Spirit in our own lives.

 

John 14:6

“Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.’”

 

John 3:16 18

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”