Religious question about swearing...

[Electric Amish]

First of all, I'm basing this on my religious experience of the LDS faith. I don't know what the other religion's stand on the topic of swearing is, but I ASSUME it's frowned upon.

Other assumptions:

-There is a "god"
-"god" is omnipotent
-There is a "heaven"/"hell"
-a cuss word is really more than a word (I don't think so)

Anyway, onto the question. Why do people believe that substituting cuss words circumvents the "You're not supposed to swear" edict?.....e.g. crap vs. sh!t, fetch vs. fvck, etc...

I don't think it does. Here's my reasoning:

You are thinking the word you are avoiding saying, right? If "god" is omnipotent, he knows your thoughts, as well as your intentions. If this is true, and swearing sends you to "hell"(maybe, I don't know the punishment ), then even using the "clean" cuss words wouldn't make a difference, eh?

WTF?

amish

<edit>I'm not saying swearing is good or bad. I just find it funny that people think they are avoiding &quot;god's&quot; wrath by substituting words while holding the same intentions. </edit>

 

[Windogg]

I don't drink, have premarital relations, or swear.

Oh, sh*t, I do drink and have premarital relations.

One ticket for the warm place downstairs please.

 

[Viper GTS]

I don't smoke, swear, or gamble.

And I'll be damned if I didn't leave my cigars at the track!

:|

Viper GTS

 

[bigbootydaddy]

hmm, windogg, wanna get bunkbeds??? i heard you save some cash.

 

[yakko]

I asked a similar question to a Jehovahs Witness years ago. He never did have a good reply.

 

[kbm5]

Also being LDS, Amish, I have to disagree... sometimes. The language of the day has integrated swearing to the point that we don't realize it.

For example, who nowadays says &quot;What was that?&quot; instead of &quot;What the #%!% was that?&quot; I admit, I say the latter more often, but substitute &quot;heck&quot; for the cuss word. I don't think about swearing when saying such a sentence, nor do I intend to swear. It's just a part of me to say &quot;What the heck was that?&quot; when I see something that's weird, or whatever.

Now of course, there ARE times that I do intend to swear outloud, but 99 times out of 100 I catch myself and change it to something else. I guess the principle of self-control is still with me. What do I think God thinks of that? Hey, I used self-control, that should earn me SOME brownie points. <edit> I do admit, however, that I say plenty of choice words on the freeway, but that's when I'm all by myself. What do I think God thinks of that? Dunno. Overall, I personally doubt one will go to hell for having only the sin of cussing. Think J. Golden Kimball.</edit>

What bugs me more than people speaking substitute cuss words, however, is the use of the asterisk while typing to &quot;cover-up&quot; certain letters of a cuss word. Honestly, who's being fooled when they read something like &quot;f*ck&quot; or &quot;sh*t?&quot; Annoys the heck out of me.

 

[RaDragon]

<< I don't smoke, swear, or gamble.

And I'll be damned if I didn't leave my cigars at the track!

:|

Viper GTS >>



LOL!

 

[sandorski]

Hmm, first define swearing. Ok fvck sh1t etc are swear words, but how does the Bible define swear words? There are primarily 2 forms the Bible specifically mentions. First is using God's name in vain, such as &quot;God dammit&quot;(an expression of anger/frustration). Second there is the old &quot;I swear to God&quot;(the making of a promise).

Really, the inclusion of common swear words into banned words is based on rather fuzzy biblical references to &quot;foolish talk&quot; and other such vagaries(sp). Not saying that common swear words are ok, for they are unsophisticated and just a sign of poor social skills, but WTF!

 

[Electric Amish]

So, Gosh Darnnit is the only one we need to worry about?

amish

 

[GaryTcs]

Yeah, god's name in vain is the only swear actually labelled as a sin. The rest are from centuries of moms.

 

[kbm5]

Well, if you wanted to intepret the commandment another way, consider this:

Religious people make covenants, or two way contracts with with God, in order to get from point A in life to point B in life(or eternity). If they do something, God will do something for them, and vice-versa. Pretty simple.

Now, one of the main covenants a person makes in Judeo-Christianity is the taking the name of God on themselves, much like a married woman takes her husband's last name on her. That person is now a representative of God on earth, and supposedly is bound to reflect what God would do to others in their own lives, etc... By that logic, taking the name of the Lord God in vain would mean that a person would make a covenant with God without the commitment to fufill that covenant. The covenant (taking the name of the Lord God upon him or herself) would be in vain.

Taking the name of the Lord God in vain = hypocrisy instead of not cussing?

So, maybe swearing is okay after all! I'm still not gonna do it, though -- there's better things to do in life.

 

[linuxboy]

about the whole saying God's name in vain thing

&quot;God&quot; is actually just a philosophical concept
in the 10 commandments, the meaning refers to the name &quot;YHWH&quot; (yahway). but the idea is the same, namely, that it should be reveared.

 

[linuxboy]

and here are some thoughts on speech

speech is a form of communication and as such has tremendous power to affect others. If you curse and it pushes someone away from God (Paul's comparison to eating meat and temptation idea), then you have sinned. And if you curse by an object or an idea ( i.e. I swear I will do this by grave...) and do not uphold what you said, then there is a consequence. So cursing, just like almost all other things are by themselves pure and natural but it is our intentions and conceptions of the surroundings which influence people. And it is this actual influencing that does the damage. Consider a slightly modified relativist viewpoint (both parties are right from their perspective) and say that both are right only if the intentions are right. If this is true, then the above holds true because is obeys a higher order and that truth is the absolute. Umm... yeah, that's about it. That's the philosophical/theological answer to the dilemma.



and amish, the fact that they substitue is rather amusing but in this case, they take the lesser of two evils. They can't hold back the emotion and they are concerned about the social perception so hence the action. You'll be happy to know that you're not going to hell because of it. (At least according to protestant and catholic views, and that includes LDS)

 

[wviperw]

HYPOCRISY!! I think that if you are a christian you should not be substituting other words for cuss words. It doesn't matter what the word is, what matters is your intention in saying it. You could say &quot;tree&quot; whenever you get mad. I think that if you cuss just because you are mad, you have let your anger control you and that is just stupid if you do that.

 

[SendTrash]

on a side note, does anyone else know someone who doesn't believe in Jesus Christ, but still says his name in swearing? I am kinda offended and amused...
Ofended since they used his name in vain, and kinda amused that I wanted Jesus' name to be a swear word only to Christians.

 

[phantom505]

When I swear I just say it, but I have to admit that when you alter swears then the people around you (for some reason that I don't understand) are less critical of you.

 

[Yeeny]

I can swear like a sailor, when I am mad or get hurt. But the only thing I don't say is God ******, I just swear he will bust some lightning in my butt if I do. :Q

 

[Howard]

From your perspective, then, even thinking cuss words would screw you over?

 

[Noriaki]

SendTrash:

That's an interesting point. Jesus Fvcking Christ is a favourite phrase of mine and I'm not religious.

I believe in Jesus Christ, he was a guy that hung off a stick and murdered some 2000 years ago, but I don't think he's a god.

I've gambled, I'd engage in pre-marital relations if the opportunity arose and I felt inclined at the time, *everyone* tells me I swear to much, and there's nothing like a glass of rye and fine cigar at the end of the day.

So I think we all know where I'm going when I die.

To a hole, dug in the dirt in some graveyard somewhere, or maybe into a really hot fire.

 

[~zonker~]

Many of the characters in the Biblical record expressed their anger, Moses, Jesus, Paul, and yes God. It's part of human nature to experience anger. What makes you angry and how you deal with it is another issue entirely.

I think these things are far more important and are an indication of what is truely in your heart...

 

[MrPALCO]

Slang words used to describe sex acts and waste in a body created by God, may be crude according to the custom of the day, but they are not the words that will send you to Hell.

A brazen lack of respect for the sensitivities of Men of good manners around you is a violation of the bond of peace, and your outlaw spirit is hated by God.

If you reject Jesus with your mouth again and again over a life time, and refuse to accept him as Lord and King, Hell is your eternal prison and torture chamber.

Quit running, and come home.