Cursing

[nobspeople]

Recently, a Netflix documentary speaks about the history of a handful of curse/swear words.
Growing up, I always noticed a distinct difference in what one group considers 'swear words' (as they called it) and what another group didn't.
Before the age of 10 I had figured out it's more about what the words means or what the word is attempting to convey than it is about the word itself (saying "Ah crap!" means the same as saying "Ah s**t!", just with different words).

I worked with a preacher who used the F word with his wife (when he was fired they cleaned out his desk and found a letter he wrote to her with included the F would multiple times is how we knew) and he didn't seem to have any issues with it (though it must be said I never heard him say it while angry at work).

Another church member I grew up with had a certain word she didn't think was 'bad' that she would say, but everyone else in her family and in the church thought it a 'bad word'.


For discussion:
How do (or should) Christians approach swear or curse words in daily life?
Are they OK? Does it depend on how they're used?
And should Christians take in to account how others around them perceive the words they use?

And please please please don't allow this thread to devolve in to the specific words and name calling.


œ Mods: I tried to make sure no rules were broken in the beginning of this thread.

[Miles]

.


(Off the top of my head )

Adult Christians, those 18 and older, should regard them for what they are. Be they sexual, like "****** ******," or religious, such as "****** ******," or potty profanities like "**** ****," they're expressions used as

Pain relief. Swearing activates the so-called "fight or flight" response, leading to a surge of adrenaline and a corresponding analgesic effect. ...
Power and control. ...
Nonviolent retribution. ...
Humor. ...
Peer and social bonding. ...
Self-expression. ...
Psychological and physical health.
source

Where the problem lies is in taking them seriously. Hearing a curse word, a person should ask themselves, "why should I care?" If one doesn't, then drop the matter. But if the answer is a well founded "I do," then ask "why should I be taking offense?" If you're not, then drop the matter. Most of the time when a person IS offended it will because they're either a snow-flake: they feel it's a necessary reaction, "No one is going to talk to me that way!" Or they're too old to adapt, "Oh, my, my. Now that wasn't nice at all, was it? He said the 'poop' word."

Words only have the strength we give them, and if we can see them as a mere collection of arranged phonemes they shouldn't be offensive at all. And if they seem disparaging then disparagement is something we've given them, which is our fault, not those who utter them.

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[JehovahsWitness]

How do (or should) Christians approach swear or curse words in daily life?

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses I do not swear or use cuss words. I believe it is unfitting for a Christian to cuss either in fear, frustration, anger or in jest. No only because it might be offensive to others but because it is basically unclean speech and offensive to God. There is no records of Jesus resorting to vulgar, unclean language despite being a forceful speaker. Indeed amazingly even experiencing excrutiating pain at his execution, Jesus is recorded as maintaing perfect control of his choice of words. A follower of Christ should therefore, in my opinion, strive not use swear words.

Many of us not raised in the faith have had to struggle to break this bad habit and remain vigilant not to be influenced by the world around us into letting such words slip into our lexicon.

FURTHER READING What’s So Bad About Swearing?
https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines ... -Swearing/

[John Bauer]

For discussion: How do (or should) Christians approach swear or curse words in daily life? Are they OK? Does it depend on how they're used? And should Christians take in to account how others around them perceive the words they use?

If I were being asked, I would invoke the Romans 14 principle, which I will modify here to suit our purposes (Romans 14:1-23, adapted from the J. B. Phillips translation; emphasis mine):

Welcome a man whose faith is weak, but not with the idea of arguing over his scruples. One man believes that he may [use any vulgar words], another man, without this strong conviction, [keeps his tongue pure]. The [one with a vulgar tongue] should not despise the [pure in tongue], nor should the [pure in tongue] condemn the [vulgar tongue]—they should reflect that God has accepted them both. After all, who are you to criticise the servant of somebody else, especially when that somebody else is God? It is to his own master that he gives, or fails to give, satisfactory service.

... Why, then, criticise your brother's actions, why try to make him look small? We shall all be judged one day, not by each other's standards or even our own, but by the standard of Christ. It is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." It is to God alone that we have to answer for our actions.

Let us therefore stop turning critical eyes on one another. If we must be critical, let us be critical of our own conduct and see that we do nothing to make a brother stumble or fall.

I am convinced—and I say this as in the presence of Christ himself—that nothing is intrinsically unholy. But nonetheless it is unholy to the man who thinks it is. If your habit of unrestricted [language] seriously upsets your brother, you are no longer living in love towards him. And surely you wouldn't let [words] mean ruin to a man for whom Christ died. You must not let something that is all right for you look like an evil practice to somebody else. After all, the kingdom of heaven is not a matter of whether you [are free to say whatever you like] but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you put these things first in serving Christ, you will please God and are not likely to offend men. So let us concentrate on the things which make for harmony, and on the growth of one another's character. Surely we shouldn't wish to undo God's work for the sake of a [vocabulary]!

I freely admit that all [words are], in [themselves], harmless, but it can be harmful to the man who [says them] with a guilty conscience. We should be willing to [keep our tongue pure] if by doing otherwise we should impede a brother’s progress in faith. Your personal convictions are a matter of faith between yourself and God, and you are happy if you have no qualms about what you allow yourself to [say]. Yet if a man [says certain words] with an uneasy conscience about it, you may be sure he is wrong to do so. For his action does not spring from his faith, and when we act apart from our faith we sin.

[nobspeople]

How do (or should) Christians approach swear or curse words in daily life?

As one of Jehovah's Witnesses I do not swear or use cuss words. I believe it is unfitting for a Christian to cuss either in fear, frustration, anger or in jest. No only because it might be offensive to others but because it is basically unclean speech and offensive to God. There is no records of Jesus resorting to vulgar, unclean language despite being a forceful speaker. Indeed amazingly even experiencing excrutiating pain at his execution, Jesus is recorded as maintaing perfect control of his choice of words. A follower of Christ should therefore, in my opinion, strive not use swear words.

Many of us not raised in the faith have had to struggle to break this bad habit and remain vigilant not to be influenced by the world around us into letting such words slip into our lexicon.

FURTHER READING What’s So Bad About Swearing?
https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines ... -Swearing/

Thank you for the response. Do you ever find certain words some use as vulgar/cuss words that don't fit your definition?

Words like 'crap' can be used just like s**t, but it's the meaning of context that seems to change.

[nobspeople]

For discussion: How do (or should) Christians approach swear or curse words in daily life? Are they OK? Does it depend on how they're used? And should Christians take in to account how others around them perceive the words they use?

If I were being asked, I would invoke the Romans 14 principle, which I will modify here to suit our purposes (Romans 14:1-23, adapted from the J. B. Phillips translation; emphasis mine):

Welcome a man whose faith is weak, but not with the idea of arguing over his scruples. One man believes that he may [use any vulgar words], another man, without this strong conviction, [keeps his tongue pure]. The [one with a vulgar tongue] should not despise the [pure in tongue], nor should the [pure in tongue] condemn the [vulgar tongue]—they should reflect that God has accepted them both. After all, who are you to criticise the servant of somebody else, especially when that somebody else is God? It is to his own master that he gives, or fails to give, satisfactory service.

... Why, then, criticise your brother's actions, why try to make him look small? We shall all be judged one day, not by each other's standards or even our own, but by the standard of Christ. It is written: "As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God." It is to God alone that we have to answer for our actions.

Let us therefore stop turning critical eyes on one another. If we must be critical, let us be critical of our own conduct and see that we do nothing to make a brother stumble or fall.

I am convinced—and I say this as in the presence of Christ himself—that nothing is intrinsically unholy. But nonetheless it is unholy to the man who thinks it is. If your habit of unrestricted [language] seriously upsets your brother, you are no longer living in love towards him. And surely you wouldn't let [words] mean ruin to a man for whom Christ died. You must not let something that is all right for you look like an evil practice to somebody else. After all, the kingdom of heaven is not a matter of whether you [are free to say whatever you like] but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you put these things first in serving Christ, you will please God and are not likely to offend men. So let us concentrate on the things which make for harmony, and on the growth of one another's character. Surely we shouldn't wish to undo God's work for the sake of a [vocabulary]!

I freely admit that all [words are], in [themselves], harmless, but it can be harmful to the man who [says them] with a guilty conscience. We should be willing to [keep our tongue pure] if by doing otherwise we should impede a brother’s progress in faith. Your personal convictions are a matter of faith between yourself and God, and you are happy if you have no qualms about what you allow yourself to [say]. Yet if a man [says certain words] with an uneasy conscience about it, you may be sure he is wrong to do so. For his action does not spring from his faith, and when we act apart from our faith we sin.

Thanks for the response.
As I asked JW above, do you find certain words 'wrong' that others don't, of vice versa? Or is it more the context of the word used, and not the word?
I think you answered this but wanted to verify.

[Tcg]

There is no records of Jesus resorting to vulgar, unclean language despite being a forceful speaker.

This is an argument from ignorance. Simply because we have no record of Jesus using profanity isn't evidence he didn't. Very little is recorded about this fabled character. To assume he didn't use profanity because we have no records of it is very shortsighted. Those who created the religious propaganda pushing the idea he was a holy man of some sort most certainly wouldn't have documented his baser actions or habits.


Tcg

[JehovahsWitness]

Thank you for the response. Do you ever find certain words some use as vulgar/cuss words that don't fit your definition?

Words like 'crap' can be used just like s**t, but it's the meaning of context that seems to change.

I'm story I don't understand the question; I don't have my own defintion of a swear (cuss) word, so I'm pretty much going by the standard dictionary defintion. I'm happy to say I don't believe I know all swear words but I wouldn't use either if those words in any context.


JW

[nobspeople]

Thank you for the response. Do you ever find certain words some use as vulgar/cuss words that don't fit your definition?

Words like 'crap' can be used just like s**t, but it's the meaning of context that seems to change.

I'm story I don't understand the question; I don't have my own defintion of a swear (cuss) word, so I'm pretty much going by the standard dictionary defintion. I'm happy to say I don't believe I know all swear words but I wouldn't use either if those words in any context.


JW

I could have explained it better
Let's say the word s**t is a bad word
Crap isn't
But they mean the same thing
Is it OK to say 'Ah crap!' but not 'Ah s**t!"?
Or are both OK?
Or neither OK?

[JehovahsWitness]

Thank you for the response. Do you ever find certain words some use as vulgar/cuss words that don't fit your definition?

Words like 'crap' can be used just like s**t, but it's the meaning of context that seems to change.

I'm story I don't understand the question; I don't have my own defintion of a swear (cuss) word, so I'm pretty much going by the standard dictionary defintion. I'm happy to say I don't believe I know all swear words but I wouldn't use either if those words in any context.


JW

I could have explained it better
Let's say the word s**t is a bad word
Crap isn't
But they mean the same thing
Is it OK to say 'Ah crap!' but not 'Ah s**t!"?
Or are both OK?
Or neither OK?

.... but I wouldn't use either if those words in any context. I don't believe it's ok (acceptable) to use either word.



JW