That *expletive* Discussion

Phil Kingsley sent me an e-mail about some dialogue resulting from a poem read at a Scum of the Earth gathering in Denver. I began responding to his message with an e-mail, but then decided that it might make a better blog post.

I think this is a great discussion. It seems to me that the brand of Christianity that many take on is not so much biblical faith as it is a "culturally respectable" christianity. In "respectable Christianity," somehow profanity (as defined by culture) finds itself amongst the worst of sins, while things like selfish ambition, pride/arrogance, gossip, and the subtleties of excusable and acceptable racism get swept aside as soft sins, worthy of neglect and even dismissal. Maybe our understanding of things like holiness, purity and sin just need to be re-hashed.

Soooooooo, are swear words sin? Well, unfortunately God hasn't made it real easy for us by designating certain English slang words as such (obviously). So maybe Christians should look to the necessary cultural institutions that both reflect and influence culturally determined values, such as profanity. (The only thing that comes to mind in the U.S. at the moment is the MPAA and the BBC and BBFC in the UK.) I have to be careful back here in the U.S. where words like "hell" and "damn" draw raised brows from Christians, whereas it's not as much the case in Britain. I personally believe that soft, or moderate, profanity such as these can be helpful in expressing opinions and ideas, but can also be quite abused and used unintelligently (as in the case of many Hollywood films these days), often so as to disrespect or de-humanize other people.

I also think there are bigger and broader issues that this particular topic points to that need to be discussed. For example, is a Christ-follower guilty of sin for watching a movie with a heavy dose of profanity? Does it nullify any other redemptive components of the film? How much is too much? Can we really speak for God in determining how much profanity should be allowed in a film before we walk out of the cinema or push "stop" on the DVD remote?

Should Christians really be as offended at something as biblically ambiguous as "cuss words"? Do scripture passages that mention such things as "filthy language" refer primarily to culturally informed profanity more than words of resentment, gossip, contempt, malice, rage, etc.? What about Paul's use of "scubalon" in his letter to the Philippians (a Greek word which directly translates into English as - well, a word I would probably get complaints about if I used here - let's just say it rhymes with "spit")? And by the way, the word I refer to is actually translated "rubbish" in the NIV. How respectable.

There are also broader concepts such as what it means for Christ-followers to be in the world, not of the world, sent to the world. Should we as God's children be shocked and offended when non-followers act as if they're, well . . . not followers of Jesus, lost in the darkness of their sin nature? (Much to the gobsmacking disgust of members of the "culture war" movement?)

Like I said, it's a good item of discussion and one that has far-reaching implications in regards to what it means for followers of The Way to be aliens and strangers, with a divine calling to be catalysts of redemption and change.