The Cursing Christian

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.

Ephesians 4:29

Let's talk about it, Darn it! Alright, so when asked should Christians curse the resounding answer is NO. However, we should ask ourselves what is cursing? is the same as swearing? does cursing involve curses or any form of witchcraft? So when we look at googles dictionary, the primary definition of cursing is "Invoke or use a curse against." It's clearly talking about curses in terms of sorcery. The 2nd definition is the more familiar one "Utter offensive words in anger or annoyance." Swearing's definition is more simply "the use of offensive language." The oldest dictionary we have access to online is the 1828 websters dictionary and that defines cursing as "Execrating, imprecating evil on; dooming to evil, misery or vexation." Nothing to do with language. What about in the Hebrew? or Greek? Yep, both are defining curse in the same way our definitions do. To place a curse on something. So if these are the definitions of cursing, are the words themselves curses? 

An artist depiction of the Apostle Paul. According to some
scholars Paul may have used the word sh*t to emphasize
a point he was trying to make in Philippians 3:8

Now we know a** is used in the bible to describe a donkey. In our time and culture, it can also be used to describe a stupid person and even more commonly the butt. How often do we use this word? Is it an offensive term? Why is it offensive? Another word is sh*t. Again looking at the etymology of the word shows that it does mean poop. We changed it later to basically be a noun (person, place or thing). Interestingly enough some theologians and scholars believe the Apostle Paul used this word in Philippians 3:8. Some Bible translations have the words garbage, waste, dung, etc however in the Greek translation we see the word "Skubala" which translates closely to the word sh*t. Now I'm pretty sure the church will not allow these words to be used within the temple regardless of context. I remember a couple of years ago a preacher came to my church and used the word b*tch to refer to the actual meaning of the word which is a female dog. Regardless, you could feel the uneasiness in the church after he said that word. We never saw him again.

Alex Faith an established Christian Hip Hop artist who recently
released a song called "Tension" where he uses the word sh*t
caused a stir in the CHH community.

Of course, there's the notorious F-word. I used to say this word when I was younger but it never felt right coming out of me. I couldn't tell you the last time I used the word. Yes, I'm able to carry conversations, arguments, discussions and do music without dropping an "f-bomb." Something that seems more and more impossible today. My personal beliefs: People who use the F-word show a degradation of character. The word all in all is pointless. The meaning literally means sex. The origin goes back to the 16th century where the word is pretty much the same and it's meaning. It may have come from an Indo-European root meaning "to strike" but that's up in the air. Some people just like saying the word because it "feels good to say" but it's frowned upon heavily and considered vulgar. Vulgar defined is "lacking sophistication or good taste, unrefined." The 2nd definition is "making explicit and offensive references to sex or bodily functions." Historically it basically meant "language of common people." Some of these words are considered not bad at all. Others? Should be kept out of the mouth of the believer. The bible says don't let unwholesome talk come out of the mouth (the verse above this blog) but seeing one of the most cited figures in the scripture possibly used the word sh*t what unwholesome talk is the verse really referring to? I personally believe certain words aren't vulgar or bad. I also personally believe some words don't need to pass the lips of the devout believers (i.e. b*tch & F**k). What do you think?

Should believers curse? even if the meaning of the word is actually inoffensive?

Are Christians who curse less of a Christian than those who don't?

What about offensive gestures? Middle fingers, Bras D'Honneur. etc?

What if our words and gestures are inoffensive to Christians in other parts of the world?

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