Bad words?

[futurewisher]

I never understood why people think theres certain words that are "Bad"? WHere in the bible does it say "Thou shalt not say Fu*!"? Ive met "Biblethumpers" that got mad at me for "Cussing". I dont think ANY word is bad cause its just a sound and NOT a knife. THanks

[1still_waters]

Ephesians 5
4Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a man is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.[a]

If there were no words that are obscene, the Bible wouldn't label some words as obscene.

[dothackzero]

Think about it this way, In japan none of the words we think are bad words are bad words to the japanese.

[thefightinglamb]

Every Christian knows why cuss and curse words are both forbidden...even if to the 'course, brutish, and oafish' it is hard to explain why they are wrong...but I will try to be as clear as possible and show why in many different ways.

First, when you cuss you are not calling on the Lord when you are in distress, but instead are actually cursing the moment and God...

Second, the Bible says people will be judged for every word they speak...and words are meant to give life not death, which all cuss words do...

Third, as said before, instead of explaining how you are feeling or being more expressive about the poignant feeling about whatever, cussing is VERY rash...

Forth, can you imagine Jesus cussing? Obviously not...

Fifth, cuss words are part of 'the language of darkness'....meaning it is something that is used to obscure and deform speech, even breaking down grammar in those who are perishing...thats why they use 'cuss words' almost every other word and lose the connection of the sentences they form to meaningless emphasis...

Sixth, the f word has to do with corse sex and not love...and if it was not attached to this meaning it would not be a curse word, but thats where it draws its emphasis or 'death' from if you will...the b word also draws its meaning from a female dog, and as so, has to do with corse sex and thats where it draws its emphasis from, even if it is used in other ways, it drags this meaning along as well...the d word has to do with condemning something to hell and we are not to curse anyone, and also draws its life from the death of its original meaning...the a word has to do with a course word for a buttocks, hence why it is evil, corse sexual under tones here as well...the s word is a course word for poop...which is also used to condemn things and also to throw 'filth' into vernacular in order to make it vulgar...which word am I missing?

In short, cuss words are not holy nor do they make anyone holy who uses then (remember we are commanded to be holy even as the Lord Jesus was holy)...but rather they set that person apart as profane...because words are the most important thing we have, it is words that are suppose to give us life, and instead the person who cusses has become rash and thus becomes more and more callous to why they are wrong until they declare...Why are cuss words wrong? If you remembered back when you were young and the sick pleasure you found from cussing, then you would remember loosing the innocence in your speech, and also loosing life...but that day is often tooooo far back for those who see nothing wrong about cussing, thus it is impossible to proove why it is wrong because you can no longer see the evil of it...

I hope this helps...but often those who cuss do not see innocence anymore (or atleast innocence in themselves or in their speech) whatsoever.

A true Christian knows cussing profanes the name of God that they have become in order to call themselves Christ-ian...

Much more to say

May the Lord purify those who seek holiness and innocence in truth and righteousness
tony

[nanabean]

The way I look at it is ......When do we USE these words?? Most times it is only when we are angry, or not trying to be nice. Therefore the very way we are use the words makes them "bad". We are taught from the Bible to act in love......cursing at or about someone or even something, is not acting in love.

[MahogonySnail]

Bad words usually involve reference to private parts of the body, sexual promiscuity or human or animal excrement. Therefore, they are not proper for Christians to use. Christians may use nice words as swear words, like gosh diddally arnit

[imoss]

i was shocked as i read your post & I used to use that word in just about every sentence (as an unbeliever). I kinda consolodated all my anti God words into that one word & for a time thought that was ok... how disgusting I was! Once we start listening to the Holy Spirit the words change. occasionally a bad word pops out and I offend myself! thankfully those times are now much fewer and far between.

[Thaddaeus]

about, this Colossians 3:8
But now ye also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth.

it shoulbn't take a bible thumper to know that bad words are bad . look at how you described them BAD!!!!!

choose good over evil(bad) everytime

Originally Posted by futurewisher

I never understood why people think theres certain words that are "Bad"? WHere in the bible does it say "Thou shalt not say Fu*!"? Ive met "Biblethumpers" that got mad at me for "Cussing". I dont think ANY word is bad cause its just a sound and NOT a knife. THanks

Words are words. This is something that has always frustrated me too. There's no reason why a person can't say "the 'S' word" instead of "poop" or "excrement." They mean the same thing, but some people in society have decided that that one word is unacceptable or "obscene." The truth is, it is no more obscene than any other words. The problem is not the word, but what it represents. The same thing with "the 'F' word." And it must be pointed out that the bible DOES NOT ADDRESS these words. What the bible does address is coarse language and real obscenity: words that do damage to another person, that are meant to cut down another person rather than benefit them.

For example, an obscenity would be saying something like "Your wife is a prostitute" (but probably using the more popular "W" word in place of prostitute). You're saying this as slander, but also to insult the other person. It is the motive and intent that are the problem, not the word.

just because the bible doesn't address them directly word for word, doesn't mean they are right to say. Think of this way, words are only that right? Just words. No, they aren't just words. We use them to communicate ideas to one another. What's communicated when someone says poop is different than what's communicated when someone says sh**. It's just like the word gay. It used to mean happy, but we started using it to mean something else. Now when someone says gay, you know they are mentioning homosexuality, or that something is "stupid". It's the same way with a**. It once was the name for a donkey, but over time, people started using it as a way to insult people. Now a word that simply meant donkey is used to refer in a negative connotation to one's butt, or to insult someone. Words have a meaning, they also have a connotation with them. They have power because people give them power. Just because someone doesn't know what a word means in another language, doesn't mean they can't figure out it's bad. The way we look, act, and how we inflect when we speak all give the feeling that we've said something insulting or "bad". I can usually tell when someone who is speaking a foriegn language has used a "naughty" word. God knew we were going to have naughty words that our societies have deemed impolite (and they are usually words describing some disgusting, sinful, hurtful, or obscene thing anyway), and that those words would change. That's probably why he didn't have them listed word for word in the Bible.

Let's face it, we use bad words when we are angry, when we want to be obscene, or when we want to hurt people. Bad words are RARELY used for anything but that, and I've NEVER heard them used positively or for the Glory of God. So why use them at all?

[loveschild]

Don't cuss. You are to try to be like God.

Originally Posted by Harley_Angel

just because the bible doesn't address them directly word for word, doesn't mean they are right to say. Think of this way, words are only that right? Just words. No, they aren't just words. We use them to communicate ideas to one another. What's communicated when someone says poop is different than what's communicated when someone says sh**. It's just like the word gay. It used to mean happy, but we started using it to mean something else. Now when someone says gay, you know they are mentioning homosexuality, or that something is "stupid". It's the same way with a**. It once was the name for a donkey, but over time, people started using it as a way to insult people. Now a word that simply meant donkey is used to refer in a negative connotation to one's butt, or to insult someone. Words have a meaning, they also have a connotation with them. They have power because people give them power. Just because someone doesn't know what a word means in another language, doesn't mean they can't figure out it's bad. The way we look, act, and how we inflect when we speak all give the feeling that we've said something insulting or "bad". I can usually tell when someone who is speaking a foriegn language has used a "naughty" word. God knew we were going to have naughty words that our societies have deemed impolite (and they are usually words describing some disgusting, sinful, hurtful, or obscene thing anyway), and that those words would change. That's probably why he didn't have them listed word for word in the Bible.

Let's face it, we use bad words when we are angry, when we want to be obscene, or when we want to hurt people. Bad words are RARELY used for anything but that, and I've NEVER heard them used positively or for the Glory of God. So why use them at all?

You're agreeing with my main point, which is that it is the harsh tone or malicious intent behind words that make them profane. But this can make even good words bad: for example, if I said, "I love you" in a sarcastic tone of voice, my words are just fine, but my intent is to be hurtful and send the message that I do not actually love that person. You see, it's the intent, not the words, that are the problem.

Calling someone a derogatory name would be wrong, but to look at an animal's droppings and say, "Look at that pile of s..." is not the same at all. Certain people have decided that certain words are inappropriate, but there's no good reason to say that they are. Children have to be told that these words are "bad" because they would not otherwise think so. Adults wouldn't think so either if they hadn't grown up being told that these words were bad.

Also, these words change over time, and are different in different countries. Words that were in common usage decades or centuries ago have over time come to be considered profane, but that is something that some people (not all) in society have decided, and there is often no good reason why this word is profane but that one is not.

[watchmen]

Ephesians 4: 29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

[thefightinglamb]

I was going to write something that refuted your belifs completely Groundhog, but then in a way I can see the truth of what you are saying but still emphasizing how cussing is wrong...

So a group of people get together and decide which words are vulgar...I have a friend that would not let me hang out with him when he was with his drug user friends because they thought the word 'Christian' to be derogatrory and vulgar...kind of like hollywood...and there are different societies where the name of 'Jesus Christ' can be considered a profane word among pagans, and other faiths...and within Christianity, there are also words that are 'forbidden' and its that these words are contrary to the beliefs of the particular society that they are 'forbidden' hence profane...because words have lifes of themselves and the meaning of a word is not always drawn into the particular usage, but it is there like a snake slithering its way into the usage.

To think that someone just chose to band a word is absurd, societies do not work like that...and it is societies as a whole who choose to mark words as profane NOT INDIVIDUALS ON WHIMS...there are very good and elaborate reasons why words are forbidden by societies/groups of people...but it is as exhaustive as the origins, history and the usage of the words are themselves...

Go ahead make your own words that are 'profane' and see if they stick, because truth is everyone has them even in their personal vernacular....for example, the word filth means something very different then the s word, and gosh darn it means something vastly different than its profane counter part...Gosh when used by itself connotates a sense of suprise and bewilderment that using God's name in vane does not...and darn it reminds you of the feeling you get as a kid when you were one seat away from winning the cake at the cake walk and not that your condemning something...but even condemning has a different feeling and 'atmosphere' around its meaning than the d word...let us look at it who would ever throw out God condemn it as a blasphemy? It just does not make sense, but the other corrupt and vulgar usage derives its feelings and meaning from the very fact that it is vulgar...

In short vulgar people think 'rightous words' (and living, proverbs says this) are profane and therefore they do not strive to be holy...and from this idea a group of them forbid certain words as unappealing that eventually turn to disgust, and hence profane to them...Woe is that man who finds the righteous profane!!!!!

Righteous people on the other hand also forbid certain words as profane that they call vulgar...they are profane because of the spiritual connotations and feelings they five birth to...which is death...all cuss words seek to drain life...when you curse are you praying to God? And if you say dog fecial matter and called it the s word...it would not be the same as when the word is used actively within speech but the reason you word use the s word is the very fact that is is profane (if it was not profane you would not use it), but the reason you word use the s word instead of a word like crap is because of its undertones and truly because it is profane...which brings up the emphasis and meaning that cuss words have is drawn from the fact that they are profane, and this in itself is why they are used even to describe things like crap...

I hope this helps...

And may the Lord clense us all from the filth of speech that births death and decay into the very source that is suppose to bring life

tony

ps...the word 'biblethumper' is also obviously a profane word by the first person who posted, and that is why he used it because he finds that it is something bad/profane/wrong to him

I should clarify one point. Society does deem certain words vulgar, it's true, but the word's we're talking about are not what society at large has deemed vulgar, but what a largely Christian portion of the population has deemed vulgar. If Christians realized that these words were not any more wrong than the euphemisms (substitute words) we use for them, then they would not be a problem anymore.

And let me get personal for a second, in an effort of full disclosure. I don't curse/swear, and I don't use any of the words we're talking about here. It's not something I grew up doing, and it's not something I've struggled with, though I have friends who do. I think it's important for me to say this because it may lend my opinions more credibility. I'm not writing as a guy who swears and wants to continue swearing; I'm not trying to justify it. What I am trying to do is point out what I see as an absurdity in our perception of language. Many things offend me, but someone choosing to using the F word, S word, or whatever else, does not offend me. Why is saying, "What the F are you doing?" more offensive than saying, "What in the world are you doing?" The intent and message are the same. You may personally have a problem with these words, but it bothers me when people whom these words happen to bother try to make everyone else bothered by them to, and then try to use scripture to back it up. If I get some people together and decide that "Blerg" is a new swear word, does everyone else have to agree with us and stop using the word? In the same way, there is nothing intrinsically wrong with these words.

sometimes i like to say the word CRAP

[carpetmanswife]

i say that too but ...it does come across as quite undignified
better than the alternative..i spose??? shrugs*

As for vulgar words I suggest listening to George Carlin, he gives a good explanation.
Though there are many reasons not to use bad words I have to object to the grammar part mentioned. Almost all curse words are simply Interjections which is the simplest of all wordclasses.
Is the "d" word even a cuss word? It is simply a word stating someones spiritual status. Someone can be condemned, it means the exact same thing yet we do not think its a cuss word.
Attacking words is meaningless they mean exactly what you say they mean using swedish as an example:
Tjej today means girl, it started out meaning prostitute and was used to the point where everyone started calling women it. Today it has nothing to do with prostitutes. Instead we use Hora, which infact started out meaning something along the lines loved. Now women have started calling each other it in a "playful" manner and sooner or later it will end up meaning girl.

So banning bad words or blaming the words themselves is nothing but a ridiciulous attempt att controlling others language and by that their minds.
If you need more proof there are the trials against rock music, twisted sisters among them where Dee Snider got accused by Barbera Bush for writing lyrics that promote suicide and blasphemy. I sadly can't remember his exact quote but more or less: This song is about our baseplayers fear of a surgery that was scheduled if you find those things in our lyrics, it's in your own mind and if you are thinking those things, you are the one we should be afraid of.

In short: Words are not bad, there is no such thing as obscene language, it is as pointed out by the previous speaker how you use them. If you start calling someone prince everytime he screws up, how long before it's a cuss word you think?
Now that being said, don't take Gods name in vain and don't be rude or mean to people.

Originally Posted by carpetmanswife

i say that too but ...it does come across as quite undignified
better than the alternative..i spose??? shrugs*

yes it does... my mom always told me if i didnt have anything nice to say dont say anything at all.... normally i have nothing to say in general EXCEPT for that one word.....

To think that someone just chose to band a word is absurd, societies do not work like that...and it is societies as a whole who choose to mark words as profane NOT INDIVIDUALS ON WHIMS...there are very good and elaborate reasons why words are forbidden by societies/groups of people...but it is as exhaustive as the origins, history and the usage of the words are themselves...


Oh really? Ever studied group psychology? It's called norms. people do it as soon as they are more than one. You decide what is good and what is bad everything from words to behaviours. It's created totally on whim and there are no elaborate reasons as to why. I can state several examples:
When the teacher called out how many days there were in a month everyone said 30 or 31 except one that after there was silence said 28 and everyone laughed, from then on. 28 was used as a cuss word and was considered offensive towards everyone:

People started throwing ketchup at each other during school lunch, the teacher called out "No more KETCHUP!" Ketchup was then a cuss word, considered offensive. I can go on and on. The "b" word for example wasn't offensive. Still breeders use it all the time and they don't cuss, they are simple using the proper name given to female dogs. It's like someone decided that "cow" was offensive, now we may only call them Bulls.


Go ahead make your own words that are 'profane' and see if they stick, because truth is everyone has them even in their personal vernacular....for example, the word filth means something very different then the s word, and gosh darn it means something vastly different than its profane counter part...

See above.


Gosh when used by itself connotates a sense of suprise and bewilderment that using God's name in vane does not...and darn it reminds you of the feeling you get as a kid when you were one seat away from winning the cake at the cake walk and not that your condemning something...but even condemning has a different feeling and 'atmosphere' around its meaning than the d word...let us look at it who would ever throw out God condemn it as a blasphemy? It just does not make sense, but the other corrupt and vulgar usage derives its feelings and meaning from the very fact that it is vulgar...

Darn = means condemned, it's simply considered less offensive because we choose to use it that way.
–verb (used with object) 2. to curse; ****: Darn that pesky fly!

So it's simply you choosing that using darn and condemned is okay, but not the D word. Even though they mean the exact same thing.