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Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ
- From: "Ruth Suehle" <wuzzled AT nc.rr.com>
- To: "Internetworkers: http://www.ibiblio.org/internetworkers/" <internetworkers AT lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ
- Date: Tue, 24 Feb 2004 16:32:27 -0500
> While we're on this topic, will someone please explain what the H. is for?
Cecil and The Straight Dope are always there for ya.
www.straightdope.com/classics/a1_033.html
Dear Cecil:
How come people always say "Jesus H. Christ"? Why not Jesus Q. Christ or
Jesus R. Christ or something else? Does the H really stand for something? My
future peace of mind depends on your answer. --W.B.T., Chicago
Dear W.:
The H stands for Harold, as in, "Our Father, who art in heaven, Harold be
thy name" (snort).
Actually, I've heard numerous explanations for the H over the years. The
first is that it stands for "Holy," as in Jesus Holy Christ, a common enough
blasphemy in the South, abridged to H by fast-talking Northerners. Other
colorful Southern epithets include Jesus Hebe Christ and Jesus Hebrew
Christ, which abbreviate the same way. The drawback of this account is that
it is so boring I can barely type it without falling asleep. Luckily, the
other theories are more entertaining:
(1) It stands for "Haploid." This is an old bio major joke, referring to the
unique (not to say immaculate) circumstances of Christ's conception. Having
no biological father, J.C. was shortchanged in the chromosome department to
the tune of one half. Ingenious, I'll admit, but whimsy has no place in a
serious investigation such as this.
(2) It recalls the H in the IHS logo emblazoned on much Christian
paraphernalia. IHS dates from the earliest years of Christianity, being an
abbreviation of "Jesus" in classical Greek characters. The Greek
pronunciation is "Iesous," with the E sound being represented by the
character eta, which looks like an H. When the symbol passed to Christian
Romans, for whom an H was an H, the unaccountable character eventually
became accepted as Jesus's middle initial.
(3) Finally, a reader makes the claim that the H derives from the taunting
Latin inscription INRH that was supposedly tacked on the cross by Roman
soldiers: Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Hebrei (Jesus the Nazarene, King of the
Hebrews). Trouble is, the inscription is usually given as INRI: Iesus
Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum (J.C., King of the Jews).
Nonetheless, this is the kind of creative thinking I like to see from my
Teeming Millions. With every passing day, my mission on this earth comes
closer to completion.
--CECIL ADAMS
-
[internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ,
David R . Matusiak, 02/24/2004
- Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ, H. Wade Minter, 02/24/2004
-
Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ,
Steven Champeon, 02/24/2004
-
Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ,
K. Jo Garner, 02/24/2004
- Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ, Steven Champeon, 02/24/2004
-
Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ,
Ruth Suehle, 02/24/2004
-
Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ,
MCW, 02/24/2004
- Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ, Ruth Suehle, 02/24/2004
- Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ, Sil Greene, 02/24/2004
- Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ, Ron Thigpen, 02/24/2004
-
Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ,
Greg Cox, 02/24/2004
-
[internetworkers] Mandatory military service / government registration for ALL young Americans...,
Phillip Rhodes, 02/24/2004
- [internetworkers] More about Dudley Hiibel & the 4th Amendment, Phillip Rhodes, 02/25/2004
- Re: [internetworkers] Mandatory military service / government registration for ALL young Americans..., Steven Champeon, 02/25/2004
- Re: [internetworkers] Mandatory military service / government registration for ALL young Americans..., Steven Champeon, 02/25/2004
- Re: [internetworkers] Mandatory military service / government registration for ALL young Americans..., Phillip Rhodes, 02/25/2004
- Re: [internetworkers] Mandatory military service / government registration for ALL young Americans..., Steven Champeon, 02/25/2004
-
[internetworkers] Mandatory military service / government registration for ALL young Americans...,
Phillip Rhodes, 02/24/2004
- Re: [internetworkers] Mandatory military service / governmentregistration for ALL young Americans..., Alan MacHett, 02/25/2004
-
Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ,
MCW, 02/24/2004
-
Re: [internetworkers] The Passionate Maker of The Passion of The Christ,
K. Jo Garner, 02/24/2004
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