First Reading at Church on Oct 14, 2007

This past Sunday the first reading at Mass was 2 Kings chapter 5:14-17, which reminded me of something that I have wanted to post here for awhile. Back on June 25, 2007 a posted how rather use the term Shoah rather then the term Holocaust and I didn't go into it then because it wasn't the blog posting for it. As time went on I got busy and forgot about posting about it. Well this reading reminded me of it.
2 Kings 5:17 is "Naaman said: "If you will not accept, please let me, your servant, have two mule-loads of earth, for I will no longer offer holocaust or sacrifice to any other god except to the LORD." In this sentence holocaust is a religious sacrifice ( animal) that is completely consumed by fire. Holocaust is derived from the Greek holókauston (ὁλόκαυστον = ὁλον [completely] + καυστον [burnt]). A sacrifice is something that is done to please a god or goddess. So then a holocaust is a burnt offering that is pleasing to God.
Now why would anyone name the slaughter of 6 million Jews, plus all the other categories Soviet POWs ( 2 million), Serbs (600,000), Poles (200,000), Roma (250,000), Freemasons (100,000), Homosexual men (15,000), Spanish POWs (10,000), and Jehovah's' Witnesses (5000).....why would anyone call the slaughter of these people a burnt offering that is pleasing to God. To even think that the events in Nazi Germany were pleasing to God in any way makes my stomach turn.
Now because the term holocaust has become a synonym for genocide, people think they know what holocaust means, but most people do not track down the meaning of the word. I know I did not until I had nearly completed my BA in History. I hate the fact I did not research the term before I did my Senior Theses, because I used the term Holocaust in it, if I was to do it again, I would not.
So now you know why I use the word Shoah what happened during Nazi Germany. Shoah means "catastrophic upheaval" in Hebrew. Which seems to fit so much better then "an offering pleasing to God."
For other times and places I use genocide, because I believe holocaust should no longer be used in that way, it is a misappropriation of a word, so it should be fixed, but I know I am bucking the tide.