Politically Correct Mexican Food

As I walked down the isles recently at a grocery store I noticed an unusual sight. The isle that contained food items such as taco shells, salsa mix, and jalepeno peppers was labeled Hispanic. Usually I would expect a sign describing this section as Mexican. Is that right? Doesn’t the word Mexican label food that is primarily found in Mexico? Isn’t Hispanic a more generalized description of people from countries such as Mexico, Spain, Brazil, etc.? Growing up in Texas I never referred to my favorite restaurants as Hispanic. They were always Mexican restaurants. So why the change here? I just wonder if this is another attempt to be politically correct. Could it be that some grocery store owner has changed the signs on a type of food in order to keep from offending someone? Which raises the question. Is the phrase Mexican food becoming politically incorrect?

Regardless of this particular situation it reminds me of a more global problem in our society today. It seems that we live in a culture of fear. We are so afraid of offending someone with the words we speak. I am well aware of the command in Ephesians 4:29. We are to be careful with what we say. We are to encourage people and not use language in an offensive manner. However, it seems that in many areas we have taken this too far. As a result it becomes difficult to say anything at all.

Unfortunately this mentality has also entered the world of Christianity and theology. Over the years there have been many attempts to make Scripture gender inclusive. Some have tried to make the Bible less offensive by taking out any reference to men. I understand the desire to replace the universal “man” with words such as “humanity” or “people”. However, this is not good enough for some. There is also a desire to remove the masculine nature of the Father and even Jesus. Although, as my old seminary professor pointed out, no one wants to make Satan a woman! Another politically correct aspect is sin. It is no longer acceptable to discuss this aspect. For some it is too discouraging. For others it is too offensive. Furthermore, certain particular sins such as homosexuality are being targeted. It is becoming more and more taboo to label sins such as homosexuality as sinful.

We must be very careful in how we allow politically correct language to affect our theology. Although I do not have a problem with saying “humanity” instead of “mankind”, I do have a problem with making God into a female or not mentioning sin. As Christians we must not be ashamed of the content of Scripture. Furthermore, we must not become obsessed with trying to make it inoffensive. In truth, the Gospel is extremely offensive. It calls all of us sinners deserving hell. Furthermore, we cannot do anything to change our situation. Our only hope is found in a Savior named Jesus.

In the end I believe many more attacks will come against Christianity and the truths found in Scripture. Christians must be on the alert. I do not think the attacks will be as obvious as they were in church history. I believe the attack will be more subtle as people slowly try to make different aspects of our faith taboo or even illegal to talk about.