The Sacred Profane
I was already aware that the word profane has its roots in the architecture of the Temple. In Latin profanus refers to outside the temple. In particular, my understanding is that the porch out in front of the temple was a place for those who were uninitiated to gather, and even worship without defiling the sacred interior of the temple. In that understanding, it seems to me that that would be one of the holiest places. Those who were not allowed in, yet still wanted to draw near to the understood dwelling place of God. Those seekers, the God-fearers who in spite of being excluded, still showed up to be with God. Now, of course, we tend to use the word profane to refer to what I grew up calling cuss-words. Profanity (AKA swear words, dirty words, or taboo words) are words outside our decided canon of polite language. There's even a show on Netflix about those words right now. On a recent work day at Mustang Island, one of our group pondered what Jesus, who grew up a car...