Oxymoron - Oxymonoric

"Oxymoron" and "oxymoronic speech" is common today.

The word oxymoron comes to us from the ancient Greek, via ancient Latin, for a word that means (oxy)sharp (clever) or keen +  moron, meaning dull, or stupid.

So literally it means sharp dull, or smart stupid, making the word itself an oxymoron.


Sometimes oxymorons are deliberately intended to confuse and sometimes they are crafted just to demonstrate contradictions.

Sometimes they express provocative ideas.

Recently I have read binging on moderation, deliberate mistake, genuine imitation, pretty ugly, planned serendipity....mournful optimistic...silent noise? dark light? clever fool?

Remember living dead?

An oxymoron occurs when we put two words or expressions together that really do not go together.
They don't really fit!

A current one might be: private email!

I ran across a really good example in the New Testament, in the Book of Acts, Chapter 11.

It's about Peter's vision:


"I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was.

"I looked into it and saw four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, reptiles and birds of the air. Then I heard a voice telling me, 'Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.'

"I replied, 'Surely not, Lord! Nothing impure or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'"

Clearly an oxymoron -- "No, Lord"

If Jesus is our Lord, we can't say "No, Lord"

These two words just don't go together.

That's something to remember every day- we can't call Jesus our Lord and not be obedient to Him.

Jesus said:

As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Now  remain in My love. If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love.
   -- John 15:9-10

If you love Me you will obey what I command....If anyone loves Me he will obey My commands...
    -- John 14:15, 23


How about profoundly simple? That's what this idea is - if we truly call Him Lord and love Him as our Savior, we will obey Him!

We will never utter the words, "No, Lord"!