Posted on 02/19/2014 1:50:16 AM PST by markomalley
Msgr Pope ping
If I stub my toe, hit my thumb with a hammer or spill a cup of coffee and there’s no one else in the room, does my use of colorful and harsh language make a sound?
Ping!
Only your pets know for sure.
“Only your pets know for sure.”
And when the dog leaves a big steaming pile for me to step in, I must’ve had it coming. It’s kind of like thinking that if I curse the weather, it’ll just get worse. Not really but...
I have a cat who leaves me a Spew at least once a day.
Much from American cultural heritage comes from America’s Christian past. It is Christian Civilization that is civil; not pagan, not Jewish, not Buddhist nor what have you.
Jesus teaches civility because He wants us to build a Christian Civilization, much unlike the one He walked in.
If the gang of obamabots gets its way, American civility will be gone in short order.
I believe there is a time and place for expressing anger and the use of profanity can help articulate that. In other words, it helps to get their attention.
Much of the “gentleness” of the culture is just the dominant femininity of the culture. But we can’t be light and salt without stepping on toes. God tells us to warn of the wrath to come and that’s not a popular message, not when people love their sin. We also can’t adequately conduct church discipline without stepping on toes and casting the unrepentant from us.
I try to tell people outright that the language they just heard offends me and leave it at that.
Sometimes I will just walk away.
The Ten Commandments
1. I am the LORD your God: you shall not have strange Gods before me.
2. You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.
3. Remember to keep holy the LORD'S Day.
4. Honor your father and your mother.
5. You shall not kill.
6. You shall not commit adultery
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor's wife.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.
There is another applicable Biblical reference in Deuteronomy 23 where God requires his people to dig a hole and relieve themselves outside the camp and refers to their waste as “indecent.”
I agree that it is indecent and I don’t enjoy hearing it inserted into the conversation with vulgar language.
Being offended by something doesn’t mean you think you are somehow “better” or more holy than anyone else. We are all condemned sinners having no righteousness of our own. However, as we put on the righteousness of Christ and grow in our faith, we become more sensitive to the contrast between the sacred and the profane.
Thanks. How much do I owe you?
I try not to use bad language, but if I hear terrible news or hear something outrageously stupid(like from you know who) then sometimes one or two just slip out.
Here’s a story. A long time ago I was involved in a political forum of libertarian persuasion, now defunct. The forum got overrun by diverse opinion-makers, none of them really libertarian and most just posted whatever would pop in their heads. Some were outright disruptive. It became impossible to have a calm discussion about anything. I was trying to impress on the forum management that posts must be moderated so that disruptions, — offtopic posts, large graphics, flamebaits, personal attacks — are edited or removed. I had no luck with that proposition, so I changed the tactic: I started using abusive language myself whenever I felt like it. From a generally polite guy that most people know me I became an embodiment of Tourette syndrome. And — nothing happened. The management just accepted the fact that I use foul language. No moderation was introduced, I got myself a bad reputation, and the forum folded.
The moral of this story? I don’t think foul language is ever useful. It just lowers the plank for everyone else.
I get the impression that just talking about the use of profanity (without having given examples here) and expression of anger (without having done so here) is tantamount to the actual use of profanity and actual expression of anger here in this thread. If I let it happen elsewhere then why should anyone else here be concerned? I’m no less a civilized American citizen for it.
Personally, I think the whole idea of “zero tolerance” appeals to ‘maturity snobs’ more than anyone else and that it does more harm than good.
I disagree that talking about a form of speech is the same as using it. The former does not expand the vocabulary of the thread. Similarly talking about murder is not the same as committing murders.
Just as having conversations about race (Holder, Obama) and “climate change” (Obama, Kerry) does nothing to
solve any of those so-called problems no matter how far they think it takes them.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.