Maybe That’s Us in the Corner

“The noun enthusiasm comes from the Greek word enthousiasmos,

from enthous, meaning ‘possessed by a god, inspired.’

It was originally used in a derogatory sense

to describe excessive religious zeal.

Today both the religious and derogatory connotations

are gone from enthusiasm, but the zeal has survived.”

— https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary

Early Methodists were accused of being “enthusiasts.”

Long before that, in the Bible in Acts 2, Christ Followers were so ecstatic they were accused of being drunk.

Too often now we’re blamed for being boring. Or simply ignored.

Maybe Michael Stipe was onto more than we realized decades ago when he sang, “That’s me in the corner, losing my religion.” Maybe we’ve lost a lot now that “both the religious and derogatory connotations are gone from enthusiasm.”