I know there is a long list of "forbidden" words in today's world. In English alone there are dozens. Some of them are really fun to say, but what exactly is it about then that makes them less than acceptable to say in mixed company?
Would Jesus use some of these words? If not, then why? Methinks He might not avoid them just because he's supposed to. There must be an underlying reason beyond avoiding offense.
What do you think?
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3 comments:
One of these days, I'm going to finally make good on a profanity rant. And it might even contain profanity for good measure. ;-)
Bottom line - it's a mis-application of the verses speaking of clean speech. Christ Himself actually offered a great degree of illumination on edifying speech in the sermon on the mount; but for some stupid reason, the modern church has reduced the concept down to a certified list of colloquial no-no words.
In the non-Christian world I still think the Christian traditions and mindset have influenced stuff like how many times Howard Stern got fined for dropping the f-bomb ;-), but I think the culture also stole a page from the olden concept of 'vulgar' or 'common' speech and the avoidance of such terms as the simpleton peasants. And this too has probably wrapped back around and influenced the Christian mindset.
In other words, this is social convention that's been elevated to the same level as Scriptural authority.
But aren't we so much more righteous when we say gee, golly, gosh, and shucks? ;-)
Excellent thoughts!
I always felt that using curse words was a matter of personal expression. The main difference between "regular" words and these is that they were something that could offend others by their very utterance... regardless of context.
In the interest of not being offensive (even unintentionally), I try not to use them as much in public. Although I must admit I don't worry about it as much as I used to. Except around children... mainly because I don't want to be responsible for any complications in their lives. Being a kid's hard enough without getting in trouble for saying words. I got my backside tanned (i.e. I was beaten) by the principal of my Junior High for saying "shit" once, so I have to admit I'm a little sensitive about the subject (pun intended).
This all reminds me of a Bloom County cartoon. Opus was surrounded by people who didn't like anything the other people around him were doing or saying. They simultaneously became acutely offended and ran off screaming. The last panel of the cartoon is Opus standing there alone with one word coming out of his beak: Offensensitivity.
Having said all of the above, I have to admit that I think it's a good thing that the power of words still exists in the 21st century. Should we maintain a level of modesty around the use of certain words? Why not? If nothing else, it allows for a level of comedy and verbal intensity that would otherwise be lost.
There's one thing I've had to be sensitive towards as a writer: The use and inclusion of... really anything... in the construct of a story. Depicting anything like sex, violence, or profanity begs the question of why is it there... especially when you hold religious convictions right alongside of it.
In other words... are you just wantonly nihilistic and shoving licentiousness into a story? Or... is there a reason you're pulling out a certain weapon in your employ?
It's a similar thing with day-to-day interactions. The question becomes why you are stating something the way you are... profanity present or not present. Is it for impact and effectiveness? Is there something you're trying to express that you can't with any other means? Etc. And really, this is the point of clean speech... not so much to say 'there are words one should not use', but to say 'one should use words, period, for the right reasons'. This, by far, is much more challenging because it takes reforming your entire worldview to see things that way instead of reducing it down to 'avoid these terms and you'll be ok.'
As far as kids are concerned, I try to avoid using profanity in front of mine and when I've caught my son saying 'damn' and 'hell', I've scolded him... but with the admonition that he can't use those words because he doesn't know how to be discerning with them yet. He doesn't recognize social convention and doesn't know there are wrong times and places for things, so I told him he's forbidden from using it at all until he's older. It was really the only way I could respond to him without sounding like a hypocrite and he seems to understand what I mean. I do agree words need to be used carefully and soberly... and that's what I'm trying to teach my kids. Not the legalistic notion that such words are, by default, evil.
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