Cussing

[iamauthentic]

does anyone have any words they they use in place of cuss words? when i was in high school, everyone around me cussed quite frequently. its ingrained in peoples vocabularies. it started to rub off on me but i began instituting my own words and i continue to use them now out of habit.

i commonly yell 'MOTHER FREAKER!'
and i also say 'fuuuuuuuuudge that' quite often.

thats pretty much it.

 

[Exchange]

I try not to swear too often, as limiting your vocabulary can make you look pretty stupid. I only swear in front of company who aren't going to be offended by such language.

 

[Thankfullfriend]

I personally have no problem with it. I reserve it only for around friends though so that I do not offend others that may be sensitive.

 

[NiobiumTragedy]

How is substituting a word for one that is considered indecent any different than saying the word itself? What makes a word bad in the first place? This fear of foul language in modern English is comical. To think that a word in and of itself can be bad is completely ignorant. Words aren't bad, it's the context of the word that makes it bad.

That being said, I don't personally care about words. I know too many bigots who use these substitutions thinking they are making the world a better place because they don't drop an F-Bomb while the reality is they are bigger idiots than the people who happen to use a swear word in their common tongue.

 

[HalupkiMonster]

I swear sometimes when I'm around friends. It makes them laugh. I never really feel the need to swear, so substitute words have never been required.

 

[vanillakay]

I admit i cuss all too often. Sadly I need to stop I know. Jesus says that let your yes be yes or your no be no all other words are from the evil one. Its juts so hard to quit sadly *sighs* but i pray to stop using such foul language. i do try to say "frekain"and "fudge" in place of others though

 

[NiobiumTragedy]

And yet it was Jesus who called a Canaanite woman what to us would be a b word that we use for a female dog.

 

[Andres88]

And do you imply that Jesus was insulting her?

 

[HalupkiMonster]

And yet it was Jesus who called a Canaanite woman what to us would be a b word that we use for a female dog.

I don't recall that. Please provide us with a chapter:verse for this. You need to back up such claims that people who are not as biblically literate as others are not offended by such ostentatious-seeming claims.

 

[TheApostleJohn]

From what I've heard, saying "bless and do not curse" punctuated by asterisks is pretty popular around here.....................

 

[chaoticfirefly]

I try not to, but I'm really bad with it. Though, I do sometimes like out noises that sound like non intelligible words.

 

[AndrewZinc]

It is Biblical to be careful how we use language:

"But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips." - Colossians 3:8

James also speaks about 'Taming the Tongue':

"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be." - James 3:9-10

I have never had a problem not swearing or using bad language as I was brought up not to do so and so never got into that habit. However, I'm not off the hook - I need to watch what I think about others even if I don't say it. I find that really hard.

But several times now my colleagues have commented on the fact that they have never heard me swear or curse. I believe that God can use differences like that in us to make people take note. That is why it is important what language we use.

And as has been mentioned, Jesus did not go around swearing at people, although he did use strong language when appropriate - "You brood of vipers!" Matthew 23:33. Our speech doesn't need to be completely bland or boring!

 

[MacFall]

I don't believe there's anything morally wrong with cussing; it is how the words are used that matters. Still, I consider it to be bad vocabulary. I don't use cuss words for the same reason I don't use other slang.

 

[K9_Trainer]

does anyone have any words they they use in place of cuss words? when i was in high school, everyone around me cussed quite frequently. its ingrained in peoples vocabularies. it started to rub off on me but i began instituting my own words and i continue to use them now out of habit.

i commonly yell 'MOTHER FREAKER!'
and i also say 'fuuuuuuuuudge that' quite often.

thats pretty much it.

If you're still saying them with the same intentions, how is it any different from actually cursing?

 

[If Not For Grace]

I like unusual words or phrasing:

I say Horsefeathers or If I'm really mad or frustrated--Pruple Horsefeathers...It's much better than taking God's name in vain or some of the duck rhyming words that are popular today. Show some creativity with your emoitons. JMO

 

[NiobiumTragedy]

I don't recall that. Please provide us with a chapter:verse for this. You need to back up such claims that people who are not as biblically literate as others are not offended by such ostentatious-seeming claims.

Matthew 15:22-28

This will take a little bit of intelligence because you need to understand about the way language was during this time. A good start to understanding how language works is to look at how our own has changed in the past few decades. Words that were once considered taboo are now common accepted language and no longer considered "bad". You have to approach this in the same way because when we read it, it doesn't seem very impressive. "Wow, Jesus called a woman a dog... whoopdeedoo." However, in that time period it was much more dramatic of an insult. It was essentially him calling her the equivalent of the way we use the term "B***h".

Language history.
The More You Know...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

 

[MacFall]

^True story. But it's pretty clear from his further response that Jesus was not using the term seriously.

Sort of like this: I have a black friend who was pulled over, and without the cop actually suspecting him of anything, he asked my friend for permission to search the car. My friend refused the search. The cop said "you know I can arrest you for refusing a search?"
My friend replied, "I know for a fact that it would be illegal for you to do so." The cop gave up and left.
When he told that story to me and some mutual friends, one of our friends said "well obviously you're just a stupid [n-word] who doesn't know his rights!" And we all had a laugh about that.

Jesus seems to have been repeating the legalistic opinion of the Jews with the same kind of irony. He was on the Earth to repudiate that very sort of exclusionism, and when he performed the miracle in response to the woman's faith, he was doing just that. A good example (perhaps the best!) of how the intent with which the word is spoken is what gives the word its moral value; not the assembly of sounds itself.

And as for the changing meaning of words, the words that are now at the top of the FCC's no-no list were completely commonplace a few centuries ago. The s-word was the word that people used to refer to feces. The f-word was an adaptation from the German word for "to hit or strike", and it basically meant rough sex (contrary to the story that it was an English acronym, which is of dubious origin). And a certain word that in Britain also means "to drink alcohol" was the word that people used to describe urination. "Swear words" were words by which people took oaths. "Cursing" was meant literally, as in actually calling for someone's damnation.

Some categories of words became "obscene" during the Victorian era, when ALL talk of bodily functions became taboo. During that time, throughout the 19th century (and in the USA, through the beginning of the 20th) it was considered obscene to even acknowledge that one had bowel movements or ever needed to urinate, except in the private presence of one's doctor. Even the word "pregnant" was made taboo.

As the 20th century wore on and the culture started to come to its senses about bodily functions, certain words were readmitted into acceptable language. Others, those most associated with the less educated sector of society (which, by the way, is exactly what the word "vulgar" means in the first place), were declared obscene in themselves. Even that might not have stuck if it had not been for the existence of the MPAA, and more importantly, their ability to use the legal power of the government to legally enforce the taboos - something that had never happened before in history. Prior to that era, the only legally banned speech had been blasphemy, lese-majeste, and sedition. No government had ever cared what else people discussed, in public or private, no matter how technically "vulgar".

Now, I don't believe that the MPAA, the FCC, or any other organization has the just power to assign moral value to a word or phrase, so I do not recognize the concept of profanity as it is currently understood. I use whatever word best fits what I am trying to say. Usually, that means something other than an obscentity. But sometimes, a cuss word is exactly what needs to be used to call someone's attention to something; or to appropriately indicate the level of disgust one feels about something. I never mean to offend, but I always say what I mean. If other people choose to be offended by that, well, that's their choice.

 

[Luna1991]

Hahaha oh dear - bad language is definitely a terrible habit of mine! Friends always make fun of me - being a sweet little girl with the mouth of a sailor It doesn't help that swearing is the norm & not considered offensive in a lot of the circles I move in. But I try not to let that slip around people who would find it rude/offensive. I'm trying to change though.

Love funny 'cuss word replacements' - I'm always saying:

- mother F!
- shut the front door!
- sugar sugar sugar sugar!
- frick!

And in the car: That stupid cuuuuu...aaaaaaarrrrrrrr... That stupid car!

Hahaha

 

[pressingon17]

I say "shut the front door" just because it sounds funny.

 

[Andres88]

Matthew 15:22-28

This will take a little bit of intelligence because you need to understand about the way language was during this time. A good start to understanding how language works is to look at how our own has changed in the past few decades. Words that were once considered taboo are now common accepted language and no longer considered "bad". You have to approach this in the same way because when we read it, it doesn't seem very impressive. "Wow, Jesus called a woman a dog... whoopdeedoo." However, in that time period it was much more dramatic of an insult. It was essentially him calling her the equivalent of the way we use the term "B***h".

Language history.
The More You Know...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~*

LOL! Right.

One of our bishops, who is well versed in Church History, linguistics and other areas, and who was an ex-rector of the largest theological seminary in the DR talked about that recently.

You are right: we need to understand the language history. Did Jesus wanted to insult her and put her down? Let's see.

A "dog" was considered an "unclean" animal. Throughout the Scriptures, I don't remember a verse where dogs were considered as clean animals. They are constantly associated with vomit, with eating dead things, and the like. The Gentiles were considered "dogs" as they were "unclean." Let's see the preceding verse:

"And he answering, said: I was not sent but to the sheep that are lost of the house of Israel." (Matthew 15:24)

And only after her insistence Jesus mentions that phrase: "It is not good to take the bread of the children, and to cast it to the dogs."

We also don't see the woman feeling insulted, but recognizing a reality and still claiming for the mercy of God. She was a Gentile, yet she saw Jesus as the merciful Son of God, and claimed to that mercy. To her, it didn't matter if she was a Jew or not. It didn't matter if she was a child of a "dog;" it didn't matter if she was "clean" or "unclean;" she just wanted Jesus' mercy.

Jesus was not calling her names or seeing her as less than human. This is something that most Bible studious agree upon.

If you want to give it your own private interpretation to drive across a non-existant point, be our guest.

-------------
As for the topic at hand, I try not to cuss, but yes, sometimes those words slip out. Especially when I'm driving (yeah, there are so many bad drivers here...).