It's always irked me when someone raises the stakes in an argument and says "you've offended me!" I understand that some things are just plain offensive–filthy sexual jokes, shirts with senseless hateful messages on them, tasteless halloween costumes –but it seems to me that the widely held belief is that these things are wrong because they are offensive . This, I believe, is dangerously false. The above list of things are not wrong because they are offensive; they are offensive because they are wrong . This is an important distinction. Stating it this way makes it clear that "offending" someone in and of itself is amoral. It alone is neither right nor wrong; it is just the result of their reaction to your words or actions. That being said, context and care for how someone will receive something is always in good order and is an ever-essential part of Christian charity. But I want to talk about those things which we say to or do in front of our peers...