Is Kohen/Cohen offensive?

[mermuse]

@miloowen

mermuse: I’m not sure that you’re playing devil’s advocate so much as you’re simply not getting “it”. You cannot compare the title/office/surname “deacon” with “cohen”. There is nothing in Christianity that compares to the cohenim. There are many types of deacons in the world and not all of them have to do with a church duty. That goes for all the people who have the last names of [name]Bishop[/name], [name]Priest[/name], etc. As for naming your child [name]Christian[/name], Christians have been doing that since [name]Constantine[/name]'s council in 300 CE. The most famous “[name]Christian[/name]” in the English language is the protagonist from “Pilgrim’s Progress,” whose name was [name]Christian[/name] because he symbolised the journey of all Christians. Naming your child [name]Christian[/name]/[name]Christina[/name]/[name]Kirsten[/name] etc is honouring one’s faith, not disparaging it.
Lastly, if you can name your child [name]Maria[/name] after the [name]Queen[/name] of [name]Heaven[/name], surely you can name your child [name]Jesus[/name]? Many people name their sons [name]Joshua[/name], and that was [name]Jesus[/name]'s real Hebrew name – would you object to that as well?

Honestly, I think you need to think before you post.

I do think before I post.

I understand better now after all of the responses about [name]Cohen[/name] being a special title and not just a surname, and I would say that it is offensive. As far as the other comments go, I am well aware of the history of using the given name [name]Christian[/name], and I find it offensive when non-Christians use it. Also, not being Catholic, the name [name]Mary[/name] or [name]Maria[/name] does not have the same meaning to me at all that [name]Jesus[/name] does. [name]Jesus[/name], unlike [name]Yeshua[/name] or [name]Joshua[/name], has become significant to me in a way in which I would never name a child that.