Cussin’
I’ve been intrigued by cussing. It’s been interesting to see how words with spiritual origins like “damn” and “hell” have, for a long, long time, been everyday cuss words. And names of deity have been “biggies” on the cuss-word chart, right up there with the F-word and N-word. An interesting intermingling of profanities and vanities and crudities have made up the common cussword dictionary that can be heard on streets and in homes and in games and among people wherever they feel comfortable or stressed-out with one-another.
I’ve really been intrigued, in a half-amused, half-shocked, half-liberated (yes, three halves) sort of way, at how the language of the street has made its way into the Church. In more public realms – worship services, Bible studies, etc. – words like suck, crap, screwed, and pissed pop up more and more regularly. In more private, everyday conversations between believers, potty words and locker room words flow freely and even some of the big bombs are being tried out with great passion and flourish. I just think it’s interesting.
So this morning I was listening to National Public Radio (NPR) on my way to work (Yes, I’m a closet listener of NPR, enjoying their stories and classical music) and I heard a report on “Why Children Curse.” I thought it was interesting, and amusing and informative and even mildly relevant to the culture we walk around in.
I want to share it with you. It’s about 7 minutes long. It might even give you a little admonition to watch what you say…but probably not. You can find it here: WHY CHILDREN CURSE.
Let me know what you think.
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this is very intriguing and it seems as though the nowadays culture is just that odd. we have no problem saying some words in a small group yet we wouldn’t say them in front of a class or a church. yet at the same time, we need to realize that when addressing an audience, as unfortunate as it is, we must utilize the language the majority of audience is using to catch the ear and interest of the majority. as an education major here at AU, i do not agree with having to use these words such as suck, crap, screwed, pissed off, etc. but i do realize that it is an almost necessary evil to get the message across to the audience. it is greatly unfortunate that swear words are taking over the modern culture.
I think we need to understand why certain words get elevated to the taboo level of language. Have you ever wondered why a word like “shit” is so taboo in our circles? What is it about that word that just messes people up. I can talk to some people, say that word, and you would have thought Satan walked into the room dressed in drag.
Swear words mean something much different to me than just taboo profanity. They represent an acceptance of certain words as being wrong while other “more profane” expressions are not addressed. I’m not making value judgments, just observations.
For example, why can I not say “damn” but people can call each other “retarded”? Why can I not say “ass” but we can slam people by calling them a “fag”?
What I long for in my life is to understand the story behind the story. Telling me the word “shit” is bad because the word “shit” is just bad just doesn’t cut it.
All the words in our vocabulary have a rich history, a story if you will, that has a specific origin. We tend to neuter and sanitize certain words because they threaten us and we often do not know why. Culturally, we’re told they’re bad and we accept it.
What does Scripture mean when it describes “foul language” [Eph. 4:29, Col. 3:8, James 3:10]? Were words like “shit” in existence during the time of the Bible, I do not know. What was Paul discussing?
There is something much deeper at play with profanity than just earmarking some words as wrong and others as right. I would love to hear what others think regarding the reasons why.
To me, when we follow Jesus, about 99.8% of who we are and what we do should be about other people. So our language should be geared to those who are around us. For Jesus-followers, liberty is more than being able to say things because we can. Liberty is about always being free to do what is right for the situation and for the person who is relating to us.
I agree with Barney in that we need to understand why these words are considered profane. There are times when I am so angry and frustrated, in my limited understanding and constrained ability to express it, these are the only words which will have the ability to somewhat convey my heart.
On the other hand, or maybe even more related than it appears, it saddens me that we are slowly losing a command over our own language, or maybe it is just me losing the mastery. I marvel at writers or orators who use their words as pieces of art, expressing everything so beautifully. Too often I find myself in a rut with my own vocabulary. And influenced by the culture around me, the only word which I think will fit to describe the situation is a cuss word.
Anyway… I do like what the article had to say about ‘mild curse words.’ Things we say every day, without thinking, just joking around, may have more damage than we acknowledge. So, to combine that with what Doug said that our language should be geared to those who are around us, these insults, playful banter or not, perhaps should be avoided as well?
This is good discussion.
First off, I don’t like how some curse words have been elevated as worse or more profane than taking the Lord’s name in vain. For someone to yell out “Jesus Christ!” or “God damn it!” to me is much worse than someone saying “shit” or “fuck.” But as you read those words, which ones make you feel most uncomfortable? All of those words are profane, but we really have lost the honor and respect for the name of Jesus.
Kevin is right, sometimes using these words in some situations or in rare situations causes us to lose command of what we say, which we should not be doing. We all know people who say the f word simply because they don’t know what else to say in the sentence. To me that is more sad than profane because in that instance the word has lost meaning and we have lost the ability to use the language God has given us in an appropriate way.
Lastly, I would always commend someone for not using any taboo words out of a matter of respect for others and out of witness for Christ. I also try not to judge the language other people are using either. Eh. Did I say anything here?
I think you said something important. Many of us are more socially sensitive than we are spiritually sensitive. We are less appalled by casual flippancy over the holiness and royalty of God than we are over mere vulgarities. I think we see this as we pull the camera back too. People are more appalled by calling the different races the wrong thing than they are over the plight of the needy members of those races. We are offended by words, but not by human pain. I’ve also noticed that we have pet sins that are elevated to higher levels of badness than others. In the church, we can give the impression that homosexuality is more vile than extra-marital affairs. Abortion is more heinous than sex-slavery. Drinking alcohol or smoking are a lot more offensive than not doing something about people who have no water to drink, etc., etc., etc.