"Swearing"

[TigerShadow]

Re: music vs. movies, I think more people tend to be bothered by swearing in music than swearing in movies. Most people are not constantly watching movies, and when they are, the fact that a movie is usually at least a half-hour long means that there's more to put in the movie and the dialogue than swear words; even if they're there, it's stretched out over a longer period of time. Most songs are between two and five minutes long, so to be cursing in a song means that it sticks out more. Songs are more limited in the amount of words in the lyrics than movies are with dialogue, so it only makes sense that people are more sensitive about songs with curse words in them than movies.

I don't curse, but it can be very hard not to when you're short of words to make your point properly and you know that you're the kind of person that were you to swear, it would pack more of a punch than someone who can put a Navy sailor to shame. I don't think it's cool to just arbitrarily throw out words without having any idea of what they mean. If I swear, it will be in the context of knowing what that word means and being very intentional when I use it. They are just words, but in the context of communication, words are just about all we've got. No matter what words we use, we shouldn't use them when we don't have a clue of what they mean.

[GabrielleFandomGirl]

In your families, what 'counts' as cursing? Some families consider "Oh My Gosh" and "Oh My God" to be cursing, such as my family. And, of course, the F word, the S word and the B word, **hints**
are NO NO, but aren't they to every person with a little pride left?

[TigerShadow]

My family is pretty clear that they're not the language police, but there are certain words that are not allowed once you step over the threshold of my front door. Of course "oh my God" is among them, but my mother and brother have a thing against even crudities (if that's a term)—i.e. "sucks", "butt", and "freaking". My dad's a bit looser about it, but words traditionally considered swear words still aren't allowed under my roof. As to me personally, I use cruder language than the rest of my family, but I don't use what most people consider to be profanity. I'm not afraid to, but I typically don't.

but aren't they to every person with a little pride left?

Wow. Someone ate their "Moral-Os" this morning. You do realize that the simple act of dropping the f-bomb does not, in fact, make a person an evil reprobate, yes?

[GratiaDei]

Of course "oh my God" is among them, but my mother and brother have a thing against even crudities (if that's a term)—i.e. "sucks", "butt", and "freaking". My dad's a bit looser about it, but words traditionally considered swear words still aren't allowed under my roof.

That's what my family is like too! My mom won't let us use words she considers crass in front of her, but my dad has a somewhat ruder sense of humor, so he'll use those words in jokes sometimes.

I think that swearing may not be evil (unless you actually take God's name in vain), but to swear just seems kind of lazy, like you can't come up with better words to express yourself? I'm not sure if that makes any sense, but sticking to cleaner language just seems more respectful and considerate.

[SirWhit]

I just think of it this way: we are to emulate Jesus in every way, and I'm pretty sure Jesus didn't swear.

[Spoon]

I'm pretty sure Jesus also didn't post on forum boards or chew gum. We should stay away from these things.

[Metal15]

I'm pretty sure Jesus also didn't post on forum boards or chew gum. We should stay away from these things.

I'm pretty sure "Posting on forum boards" and "Chewing gum" isn't considered offensive, unlike swearing, wouldn't you agree?

[Blitz]

And who knows if he did?

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

The point is that Jesus never mentioned any of the words that society considers offensive today, or any words like them. I myself don't swear out of habit, but I'm not going to immediately think "Oh, that person must be completely evil and a Satan-worshipper." just because they let one swear word slip out in casual conversation. Now, I have met a couple of people who swear all the time (at summer camps and the like), and that's a pretty big problem in my eyes, because 1. They obviously have nothing else to say. 2. Just like using any other word over and over, it's extremely obnoxious for everyone around them. 3. They might accidentally say it around someone who would be offended. But still, just because our society decided that a couple of sounds we make with our voice are highly offensive (I'm not denying the power of words, but in the way that most people use swearing, (What the ----?, Oh, ----) it doesn't really mean anything anyway.) doesn't mean we have to throw a temper tantrum everytime someone uses one of those words. It your family or friends are offended by swearing, then you obviously shouldn't do it, but otherwise, I think there are a lot more important things in the world that Christians should focus on.

[Blitz]

I would disagree. Your tongue reflects what is on the inside. I find after watching a violent movie etc. I am more inclined to almost let a bad word slip than oh when I just finished my devotion. As James says, how can good and bad come from the same fountain? Bad words are very important. James dedicates a whole lot to the control of the tongue. Our tongues are reflective of our inner mind. A wise man controls his tongue. Bad words are needless. Let your yeas be yeas and your nays be nays is my motto is speaking.

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

Yes, but who's to say what's a bad word and what isn't? I mean, obviously some words have offensive meanings and should never be used, but when I use a virtually meaningless exclamation (I don't use meaningless exclamations, but this is just an example) such as Oh, ---- or what the ----, is that necessarily bad just because some guy hundreds of years ago decided that it had to be?

[Blitz]

I don't even know which ones you mean....

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

Ha ha, sorry. Um... perhaps we should just drop it. I plan on keeping a swear-free life, so I hope you're not assuming that I swear all the time and don't feel bad about it. All I'm wondering is whether swearing in itself is technically a sin. But I can totally understand how others would consider it a sin, so I don't really want to debate against an argument that I half agree with.

[Nelson S.]

2 Opinions 7:12 says, "Cussin' is a sin."

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

Ha ha! You just made my point far better than I ever could have.

[HomeschoolCowgirl]

If someone has already said this then I'm sorry - but this pretty much sums it up:
Ephesians 4:29
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
I have so far never heard of any instances where swearing/cussing was edifying.

[Wretched Sinner]

If someone has already said this then I'm sorry - but this pretty much sums it up:
Ephesians 4:29
"Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen."
I have so far never heard of any instances where swearing/cussing was edifying.

I see what you're saying, but what if we aren't using the swear words to tear people down instead of building them up. What if we're just swearing casually?

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

Well, technically, casual swearing wouldn't be helpful for building others up according to their needs, but neither are a lot of things we say. Neither is this post. Casual swearing is really just a completely neutral statement, it's unnecessary, to be sure, but it's also not necessarily a sin. I think that some Christians can get caught up in what the whole world tells them about "bad" words and they basically add, as Aaron so wisely stated earlier in the topic, "Thou shalt not use words deemed by your society to be inappropriate for some situations." as the unofficial eleventh commandment. But the truth is that, for now, we can't be positive about what God thinks about casual swearing. And until we can, I'm not really going to make a huge deal about it. As I said before, I don't swear because I don't want to offend the people around me. And I'm not advocating swearing in any way. I just sometimes get tired of Christians labeling it with the same importance as violence, sex, Satanism (or just an Anti-Christian slant) and drugs when discussing the content of entertainment.

[Blitz]

You realize Christianity said what is bad words?
The D word refers to sending some one to hell. Not very polite to use at anyone or anything. Etc. All bad words have bad meanings.

[ArnoldtheRubberDucky]

I'm fully aware of what the "D" word means. It must also be noted that most cuss words have multiple meanings, and the only one that I'm questioning the sinfulness of is casual swearing, as in swearing that is not directed at anyone but is simply a meaningless word that we throw in to our conversation to add a bit of flavor. As I've stated many times, I don't think that cussing is a good idea, but not all things that aren't good ideas are sins. To be quite frank, I don't think that your example really addressed what we were talking about, so perhaps you should peruse through the last couple posts.