dern it

Andrew Jones has posted a thought-provoking article about the fine art of cursing [that is, using fowl language, ie. hell, crap, etc.].

What are your thoughts on cussin'?

Some points I liked:

But if your church has ever hosted an open mike night and 20 artists are plumbing the depths of their souls and expressing the results with language that fits . . . well . . you hear stuff that your mother never said. Once I was in a church meeting in Texas and a new Christian read some poetry that verbaized his repentance from a recent slip up. We all listened intently as he tearfully read out his confession, in a really loud voice, "God . . . I am sooo sorry. I feel like I have been f___d over by the devil".

What would you do if that happened in your church?

Words change. I am sure Charles Spurgeon would not talk about "nigger entertainments" as he did in a 1891 Sword and Trowel publication. And the translators of the King James Bible would probably not employ the word "piss" (1 Sam 25:22, 25:34; 1 Kings 14:10, 16:11, 21:21; 2 Kings 9:8) for "urinate" or "to relieve oneself". The word "sucks", it was pointed out by Justin on EmergentNo.com in 2005, is no longer a deeply offensive word. Words change, just like cultures change. And applying outdated templates is not always appropriate.

In our Post-modern times, as the voices of the margin dwellers and powerless have been given consideration and brought to the center, it is exclusionary language that causes most offence. Marginalizing people due to their race, gender, disability or status is about the most offensive thing you can say.

Jesus warned his listeners against calling anyone "Raca" or empty-head.(Matthew 5:22). This is the kind of exclusionary and demeaning insult that makes up the harshest offensive language today in these postmodern, postcolonial times. The equivalent of "Raca" will be different in every language. "estupido" in Spanish is a very harsh word but in English it isnt very offensive. But there are plenty of insulting words that rip people's esteem to shreds and the command of Jesus remains. Lets not tear each other down with these kinds of words. Love builds up and it never destroys. Love is the language of the Kingdom and the Kingdom is more about power than words (1 Cor 4:20) so we shouldn't get too hung up with wrangling (good Texas word) over words.