The Nice Guy

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Hellooo said:
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Totalus Notnicessous!
 
I think when the guy show you some courtesy, respect or do nice things for you that's being nice. But a good man will tell you about Jesus Christ, will tell u the truth, will show u the light and help u walk through it, and encourage u to pray and read the bible so that your soul will be save. But its not like all the nice guys wont tell u the truth about Jesus Christ though, even nice guys do that. But not very because nice guys often consider pleasing others. And there are people that doesn't like hearing the truth.
 
maxwel said:
We have an even bigger problem with definitions than previously mentioned.
In language, it's "usage" that always determines "meaning".
Dictionaries don't actually "determine" meaning, they just sort of "report" on meaning...
and even that is only good for a very limited time, as language is always changing.

So what was that about?
It means that not only do people have many different definitions of "nice guy",
but all of those definitions are EQUALLY VALID (unless we all agree on a specific definition).

So, if 10 people have 10 different definitions of "nice guy",
all of those definitions are equally valid, and I don't really get to yell at any of them!

(This isn't relativism, this is just how language works. Since "nice guy" is a common, pop culture kind of term, and not a "well defined technical term"... it's just NEVER going to have a clear meaning. BTW, this is the same reason many of our political debates on CC run off the rails.)

This is exactly why this same topic keeps coming up, and we keep having the exact same arguments.
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Actually, in terms of analysis, this IS relativism. In literary criticism the idea that "everyone's meaning is valid" usually falls into the category of "deconstruction" or "deconstructionism."

So, person X says, "Well, this is what the word MEANS TO ME. I can't be wrong in my understanding of words because words have no inherent meaning apart from the meaning that each individual provides to the word. So, because this is what the word MEANS TO ME, the play Hamlet is primarily about the baking of chocolate chip cookies."

Here's what one deconstructionist said, "Deconstruction is not a dismantling of the structure of a text, but a demonstration that it has already dismantled itself. Its apparent solid ground is no rock, but thin air."

If words have no ASCRIBED meaning, but they mean WHATEVER people want them to mean, this has a DIRECT IMPACT on both INTERPRETATION OF TEXT and OUR OWN THINKING.

This means that whatever anyone says about a pre-existing text is TRUE. There is no ascribed meaning, words mean whatever we want them to mean. In other words, it is impossible for a Christian to adopt this view of language and at the same time affirm that the bible has any inherent meaning based on its own text. This means that textual studies of the bible would be intellectual exercises, but ultimately wouldn't matter. What would matter is the meaning that the individual brings to the text based on their own idiosyncratic use of language.

Problematic, eh.

This school of thought, btw, is a direct manifestation of the embracing of moral relativism and the abandonment of inherent underlying structure.

One of the basic concerns of deconstruction is the re-evaluation of all western values based on this idea of inherent contradiction and lack of ability to arrive at a fixed conclusion.

In other words, it's the re-examination of philosophy (which has a ripple effect on all academic fields of study).

It's a step further than the existentialism of Kierkegaard and the nihilism of Nietzsche.

Why should we care, we aren't academics bent over dusty books of philosophy.

As Christians we should care because this kind of relativism in language has a DIRECT IMPACT on biblical studies.

We should also care because the way we use words affects how we think, which in turn affects what we believe about ourselves and the word and how we act.

The perfect example of this is the very conversation about "nice guy." Some men have decided that "nice guy" means weak (although this is not inherent in the meaning of the phrase). Because of this position, they behave accordingly. They have a fear of appearing weak, so they will allow their individualized use of language propel them away from standard meanings and into behaviors that reflect THEIR understanding.

If language is meant to be a form of connection and communication, worshipping at the altar of individualized meaning is not particularly useful.
 
I think the difference between nice and kind is in the motivation. I think nice does things for edification and kind does things for the joy of helping others.
 
Really... I still don't understand the reason of this thread... nice, kind, whatever... you can take anything and turn its meaning into anything you want...

A person can use the term "nice guy" in a respectful way or in a pejorative way... I guess people just enjoy arguments for the sake of argumet... :)

Oh well...

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They have a point. Defining "nice guy" a different way under the "words mean whatever we decide they mean" clause opens up a whole other can of worms. Words have power. The world was made with words.

But since words have variable meanings and we can decide what they mean... :D :D :D

Yagga wump choozle fuggle spuz.
 
NO! Not THAT bunny! I'm all out of Holy Hand Grenades of Antioch!
 
Lynx said:
They have a point. Defining "nice guy" a different way under the "words mean whatever we decide they mean" clause opens up a whole other can of worms. Words have power. The world was made with words.

But since words have variable meanings and we can decide what they mean... :D :D :D

Yagga wump choozle fuggle spuz.
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I don't know what that means but it sounds yummy!!! huehuehuehuehue :D

I'm hungry... :(
 
Lynx said:
They have a point. Defining "nice guy" a different way under the "words mean whatever we decide they mean" clause opens up a whole other can of worms. Words have power. The world was made with words.

But since words have variable meanings and we can decide what they mean... :D :D :D

Yagga wump choozle fuggle spuz.
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Announcer:

"Coming up, in the next 24 hours - find out the many different meanings of the words 'Yagga wump choozle fuggle spuz'..."

:)
 
Lynx said:
NO! Not THAT bunny! I'm all out of Holy Hand Grenades of Antioch!
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Don't worry, Lynx!! I got them!!!

And don't forget to count till three... not two (unless you proceed to three) and not four... And always remember that five is right out!!! ;)
 
MollyConnor said:
Nice - pleasant, agreeable, satisfactory.
Kindness - the quality of being friendly, generous, and considerate.
Good - to be desired or approved of.

These are their dictionary definitions. I couldn't use 'kind' by itself because that means 'a type of something.'

So I think we should all strive to be kind. We shouldn't be nice because we shouldn't agree on everything the world tells us about. We also shouldn't be approved because the Bible says we should stand out from nonbelievers. So in that way good doesn't fit either.

I know I had said earlier that nice guys are good guys and should be desired but looking at their definitions it seems to me that 'kindness' is the one Jesus would want us to be. And it's also one of the 9 Fruits of the Spirit from Galatians. But so is goodness. I know the word 'good' is used in the Bible especially when He's creating everything in Genesis.

So looking at it from a Christian viewpoint we should also be good as in desired and approved by the Lord.

Okay I looked up good in another dictionary and it means 'morally excellent.' So we should be both kind and good. Not necessarily nice. lol
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You provided 'nice' explanations. :)
 
Tourist isn't passive-aggressive, at least not from what I've seen.

I know it used to be a fad to accuse people of being passive-aggressive, but that's an old fad.
 
nw2u said:
That's passive aggressive. And you are how old picking on a woman of half your age? Shame on you.
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I see NOTHING passive-aggressive in tourist's reply to Molly. He certainly wasn't picking on her. Obviously you don't know tourist as well as the rest of us do. The only (passive) aggressive response I see here is YOUR admonishing reply to tourist.
 
blue_ladybug said:
I see NOTHING passive-aggressive in tourist's reply to Molly. He certainly wasn't picking on her. Obviously you don't know tourist as well as the rest of us do. The only (passive) aggressive response I see here is YOUR admonishing reply to tourist.
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There was no insinuation in my reply. It was clear and called out something I read. If I misinterpreted, he will respond with an explanation.
 
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