Swearing

[savedbygrace05]

Like you, prior to becoming a Christian I worked in a predominately male environment and as such would swear quite a lot.

Alas I've had to be a work-in-progress since getting saved and I have to still exercise a lot of self control, mainly when I'm driving. My turning point has been the kids - HRH is my moral policewoman in the car. She pulls me up even when I call other drivers stupid.

But at least I'm thankfully down to calling white-van-man drivers "donkey chasms" whenever they misbehave on the road but she doesn't even like me calling them that due to the fact that she now understands that I'm substituting the phrase for an actual swear word.

I am also a work in progress, and being in Christian leadership can be helpful (and sometimes a hindrance) when it comes to keeping a rein on my tongue!!!!

 

[Crandaddy]

I'll admit that I swear sometimes. To be honest, I'm not sure what to think of it. It does seem to me that an expletive...[edit]...might be put to good use in certain contexts. Sometimes a well-placed expletive even seems (to me) to indicate genuine sincerity in certain impassioned contexts.

But I have a much harder time with taking the Lord's name in vain, and especially with clearly blasphemous expressions. I don't see how the willful use of clearly blasphemous expressions could not be sinful.

And @ fellow Arkansan GloryBe! btw.

 

[Robban]

[bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse],

 

[Robban]

#23, I wrote one Swedish word that means, finish or end,
It got caught in the CF radar.
What means one thing in one language can mean something totally different in another.

 

[Danny777]

Ok, so what do people think about Christians who blaspheme?

I have got less of a problem with non-Christians who blaspheme (although I don't really like it) than with Christians; because I think Christians should know better...

If I was at church having coffee after the sermon, and someone split their drink and exclaimed "JESUS H CHRIST" loudly then I would be offended by this....

My father in law says "Jesus wept" ALL the time

I even don't really like "OH MY GOD" or [bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse][bless and do not curse] to be honest...

Hi Ian...

I think the answer to all this is in your quote. The fact that you don't like hearing these phrases perfectly demonstrates that you shouldn't use them.
At the very least its very disrespectful to our God-at worse, it's very offensive to God! Either way, follow your own conscience (and some of the Bible passages already posted) on this one!

 

[Oafman]

Swearing coarsens language.

I'm not really sure what you mean. Are you saying that swearing 'makes what you say rude'? My opinion is that being disrespectful or insulting to somebody is rude, but using a word, whose literal meaning is sexual or refers to bodily functions, for added emphasis, is not.

Its purpose is to be grating rather than to smoothen and thus its nature is discord rather than harmony.

Even if this were true, there are times when I want my words to be harmonious, and there are times when I want them to be discordant. Language, by its nature, is required to effectively cover both. Swearing adds an extra layer of options.

Shakespeare loaded his writings with swear words. You might not recognise all of them as swear words, as such perceptions will always change over time, but you would at least recognise the blasphemous phrases, of which there are many.

How do you teach your kids to swear?

I will when they're old enough. As long as there are still people offended by swear words, I don't want my kids using them in situations where they're considered by such people to be inappropriate. I don't want my kids to go around upsetting people, even if I don't believe these people should get upset about it. When they reach the point where they can judge when and when not to swear, then I'll happily swear in front of them, and I'll be happy for them to swear in front of me.

As someone rightly pointed out earlier in the thread, one thing I will make very clear to my kids is that, if you overuse swear words, you totally devalue them, and by default, devalue what you are saying. I also don't like hearing people curse every other word, not because I'm offended by the words, but because it's an unimaginative and poor use of language.

 

[Nige55]

Swearing coarsens language. Its purpose is to be grating rather than to smoothen and thus its nature is discord rather than harmony.

Is this really what you want to promote?

Truth. Not harmony (which is a great if one can achieve it). Jesus riled a lot of people (granted, not by the use of cursing), but he sure had a lot of people that hated him. Spreading the good news in this world will cause disharmony, so I don't believe that harmony is what we are called to promote.

 

[ianb321red]

Truth. Not harmony (which is a great if one can achieve it). Jesus riled a lot of people (granted, not by the use of cursing), but he sure had a lot of people that hated him. Spreading the good news in this world will cause disharmony, so I don't believe that harmony is what we are called to promote.

Hi Nige55 - good comment; 100% agree with this.

Jesus said "Think not that I came to send peace on the earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law” Matthew 10:34-35

 

[Bungle_Bear]

Swearing and use of offensive language is something we do naturally and (mostly) without thinking. There have been psychology studies into the purpose of swearing which show it to be an important part not only of communication but also psychological well-being - it plays a huge role in managing emotions, for example. T. Jay's 2009 paper "The utility and ubiquity of taboo words. Perspectives on Psychological Science." is an interesting read.

For those who object to coarse language please ignore the following.....

The maori word "whaka" (with "wh" pronounced "f") means "place" and is fairly common in place names. In New Zealand a few years back Ace car rental ran this advertisement. Ace Rental Cars - YouTube I thought it was funny, others obviously didn't. The advertising authority didn't count it as swearing or coarse language, so were those who claimed to be offended genuinely offended or just over-reacting?

 

[GloryBe!]

Truth. Not harmony (which is a great if one can achieve it). Jesus riled a lot of people (granted, not by the use of cursing), but he sure had a lot of people that hated him. Spreading the good news in this world will cause disharmony, so I don't believe that harmony is what we are called to promote.

Agree!! Good point.

 

[Oafman]

There have been psychology studies into the purpose of swearing which show it to be an important part not only of communication but also psychological well-being - it plays a huge role in managing emotions

This is an interesting point, and reminds me of a study which found that swearing helps to control pain

BBC NEWS | Health | Swearing 'helps to reduce pain'

 

[Nilla]

Mod Hat On​

​

Just wanted to make you all take a look at this rule in particular:
Vulgarity and Profanity
Do not post graphic or sexually explicit images or text. Do not use profanity or foul language (this includes using punctuations to bypass the profanity filter and a few non-censored words found here.)

If you see that this has been happening in your post, please be so kind and edit your post.

Rules can be found here​

Mod Hat Off​

 

[GloryBe!]

This is an interesting point, and reminds me of a study which found that swearing helps to control pain

BBC NEWS | Health | Swearing 'helps to reduce pain'

That is fascinating! I never would have thought that...

 

[GloryBe!]

On another note, I also consider those individuals who,with blatant condescension, try to correct others who swear. Or, even worse, imply that those who use heavy slang of that type are somehow verbally defective, stunted, or IQ deficient. It is a pride factor on their part, and it irritates me. Too many fellow Christians assume those of us that swear are uneducated, unintelligent, or are backsliders.

*disclaimer: I, personally, believe that the only vulgar language is taking the Lord's name in vain.