Swearing

[brandelynmarie]

Y'all should have heard me when I broke my toe!

[Oremoose]

[quote name='goldbug16' timestamp='1282086406' post='2159236']
I got to thinking about this and was really wondering, is saying something like "dam*it" sinful?
[/quote]

i always thought God d****it was because we should never ask god to codemn some one. the big head scracher for me is the expression "what the hell" its not really that bad we are not use ods name in vain sssooo....

[Nola Seminarian]

i curse like a sailor at times, it is a terrible idea. i'm trying to work on it

[tinytherese]

I'm curious to how words become swear words in the first place.

[CatherineM]

I had the opportunity to use a really good one this week. The 16 year old we are mentoring missed his curfew because he wanted to spend the night with his girlfriend who was going out of town for a few days. When we finally tracked him down the next day (his mother had not even noticed he hadn't come home that night), I told him he was thinking with his #$%^ instead of his brain, and if he didn't straighten up, he'd end up back in jail. He was shocked to hear that word coming out of a 50 year old woman's mouth. It did get his attention though, and that was my intention.

[Vincent Vega]

[quote name='Lil Red' timestamp='1323278086' post='2346564']
well, blaspheming the Virgin Mary & the Eucharist I think is the source of many swear words. Marc Barnes (at Bad Catholic blog) had a post on this awhile back.

here it is: [url="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/badcatholic/2011/10/like-relativism-you-know.html"]http://www.patheos.c...m-you-know.html[/url]
[/quote]
[quote]Les zombies [i]sont* [/i]dans l'école.[/quote]

[tinytherese]

I recall one professor who talked about how sometimes people who use swear words practically in their every sentence really don't have much of a vocabulary. They can bend the words to be used for advectives, verbs, nouns, etc. when they weren't meant to be.

Certain swear words used to describe a lower body female reproductive organ such as c*** and p**** really get to me. Constantly referring to women in general as b words is irritating too. Also, what's with people putting mother before the f word?

Edited December 11, 2011 by Lil Red

[Guest]

The f word is my favorite. Right or wrong its my go to.

[Ice_nine]

the sounds of a given word and its meaning are completely arbitrary. I don't think words have any inherent power to them. It's all how you use them. I say dammit a lot, but I don't literally want to beaver dam something to hell. The phrase has become rather empty of any substantial meaning, it's more often used as an intensifier or an adjective to express contempt, whether serious contempt or more in a joking manner. I don't think it's sinful unless it's accompanied with anger or some other sinful quality

Obviously I try to watch my mouth in certain groups of people. But with friends and family I'd need a bleep machine if someone were filming

[tinytherese]

[quote name='IcePrincessKRS' timestamp='1282145381' post='2159519']
What I was taught in Theology 101 is that swearing (or vulgarities, that is, f-bomb, sh-word, and others) [i]could be[/i] an occasion of sin (if used in anger, or because it could cause scandal) but were not sinful in and of themselves if you said it. (Being juvenile 18 year olds we all laughed and said how it was totally fine to drop F-bombs because it wasn't a sin. lol) But that "beaver dam" always is because it refers to wanting something damned to hell, literally cursing something or someone. I know that's not how the majority of people use it, and so I believe it would only be venial.

Our professor made a distinction between oaths/swearing, vulgarities, and cursing. The first was to take an oath, as in court when you swear to tell the truth. The second is what we think of as "the bad words." And the last, most specifically, the word "beaver dam," or wishing something to hell. [/quote]

What source(s) did he derive these views from? Before PM I had always been told that foul language was always a sin.

[Odin]

I think we are all called to be more aware of our attitudes and our moods (mixed with what we say). Words, however, are only deemed offensive when a society deems them such. It is similar to the middle finger...some other locations have a different finger or hand gesture to suggest the same meaning that we use. I feel it matters more about intent and feeling rather than the words themselves. For example I usually curse more when I am around my friends (not like a sailor but more often). If I notice that we are say near a family or in a theater with kids near us I censor myself (as I do when I work summer camp). The only word(s) I can say with some certainty that are bad would be anything using the Lord's name in vain since that is specified. I do believe, however, that one could argue it would also be sinful to use certain other words in a certain context...but perhaps not the words in themselves. Words by themselves only mean what we give them.

[Spem in alium]

In the end, words are just words. As Odin says, we provide the meaning. Swearing, for me, is something that should be avoided. It's not necessary, and can definitely act as an occasion for sin or for demeaning others. We should speak as Christ taught us, not as society teaches us.

What interests me is hearing people swear and then apologise for doing so - almost as if it's some kind of unconscious, involuntary thing that can't be controlled. I'm sure that for some people this would be the case. One of my friends does this very thing - he will swear (using words such as "f---" and "s---") and then apologise for his language.

I do not swear very much, and the words I use are more or less colloquial here and have lost a great deal of their profanity. "Bugger", "holy moly", "croutons", "bloody hell", or "bloody" on its own are the most common ones for me. "beaver dam", "hell" and "heck" do slip out from time to time also, though I try to limit my use of those ones.

A lot of words once considered very bad (attacking the Virgin Mary, Christ and so on) are now more or less accepted. Meanings and implications change. Though I do think some words will never lose their strength and wrongfulness.

[Laudate_Dominum]

'Tis always fun seeing old threads.

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' timestamp='1323298717' post='2346863']
Lately I'm pretty indifferent to the lower-tier swear words. Meh. Insignificant and nonsensical words.
[/quote]
You go girl.

[tinytherese]

I see swearing as something that can be habit forming. If you're used to doing it, it can be harder to even remember or try to be aware of who is around when you swear.

[beatitude]

Tonight I was on a train with a group of foul mouths whose every other word was f***. It made me really uncomfortable. I can't dismiss swearing with 'oh, it doesn't really mean anything', because while some people might be desensitized to it, there are many others who won't be and who won't enjoy being around you if they hear you using language like that. Swearing shows a lack of concern for others.

I see it like this: I receive Jesus in the Eucharist through my mouth and I want to keep my mouth 'clean'. Thinking of this makes me a [i]lot[/i] more careful of what I say to other people.