I WAS a sailor, and my language was as salty as the briny deep, as I WAS in the military, it was socially acceptable.
One of the first things God changed in me when I was saved was my language. I don't
claim to be pure in that regard to this day, but compared to what I was, I'm an angel.
Every once in a while I see a former boatmate who lives in our same town. His language is
peppered with profanities even now.
Back in my cooking days I worked for a chef who cussed quite a bit. I told him that he was losing
language, that because he was so profane, the cuss words he used had lost their effect. I can't repeat
his answer here at FDW, but you can use your imagination.
From the free dictionary by Farlex:
pro·fane (pr
-f
n
, pr
-)
adj.
1. Marked by contempt or irreverence for what is sacred.
2. Nonreligious in subject matter, form, or use; secular: sacred and profane music.
3. Not admitted into a body of secret knowledge or ritual; uninitiated.
4. Vulgar; coarse.
Do you realize that you may be profane (by this definition) simply by showing contempt
for what is sacred? That to say, "I don't believe in God." is the same as cussing like a rap artiste?
Wow. I thought I was bad.
It all comes down to God, and how we are either accepted or rejected by Him. To be clear-it is all
HIS decision, who will be saved or not-I didn't achieve a single thing, I did not have anything to do with
my Salvation except to say yes (which I was prompted to do by God).
So those brought into His family lose their profanity-(most of the time-we are still sinners though saved by Grace-we still make mistakes and I wouldn't claim that I don't ever speak profanely. )
those on the outside of His Grace are simply profane by their lives and actions, whether they cuss or not.
May God save you.
8 comments:
Here's an experiment you can try at home.
Go dig to the bottom of the bookshelf where you have a Bible form your 'Confirmation' a few decades ago.
Open it to John and read chapter three.
You will feel such a struggle, such contempt, you will feel that you disagree with everything that is written...if you are not a Christian.
You cannot even make sense of it, cannot apprehend, take hold of the things of God written there.
Before I became a Christian, I couldn't stand to read Scripture.
There you go. Some experiment, huh?
I had a classmate in college who would be more offended if you took God's name in vain than if you strung together all of the seven words you couldn't say on TV. Someone said "OMG" (the words, not the letters, obviously; I'm trying to be specific without offending if I can) in her presence once, and she said "Please don't swear." Since he hadn't used one of those seven words, nor any word for perdition or being sent there, he couldn't figure out what she was talking about; I had to explain it to him.
Do find vulgar language (the seven words and similar ones) as offensive as profanity in the stricter sense, taking God's name in vain?
Hi Lu-For me it's simple-profane by definition has to do with God. Vulgar/cussing/simple 'profanity' have to do with everything else.
I don't sweat vulgar cussing that hasn't anything to do with God, though really, it doesn't impress me to hear such talk.
But I am used to it.
One time, though-last Thanksgiving at the dinner table a 20-something was using the most vulgar cussing while sitting next to her 93 year old Grandmother.
It wasn't my house, or my Grandmother, but I was offended that the young woman couldn't curtail the cussing out of respect
for her Grandmother.
Depends on the grandmother: I've known a couple who could turn the air blue with the best of them. But, other things being equal, I agree with you: it's so little work to moderate our language to suit our surroundings that we should all make a habit of it, and not pat ourselves on the back for doing it, either (Eph. 2:10, sort of). Since I never know in what surroundings or company I'll find myself, I've trained myself to be pretty circumspect most of the time (though when alone with my husband I'll say almost anything that comes to mind, which is, after all, what spouses are for).
With that in mind, I will refrain from saying here that I don't believe in God, if you like, or, more precisely, that I'm not sure if I believe in God, but I am sure that I don't believe in the same one you do. By saying this I mean no disrespect for Christianity: it works for some people, and I respect that, though I can't believe it myself. (I think to pretend I believed it when I can't would be disrespectful.) But if you find it disrespectful, I will respect that.
This grandmother I've known for 25 years, and I've never heard a single vulgar/curse word from her.
"With that in mind, I will refrain from saying here that I don't believe in God, if you like, or, more precisely, that I'm not sure if I believe in God, but I am sure that I don't believe in the same one you do."
Lu, as you know, a blog is for expressing opinions-I am never offended when you or anyone else says that they are agnostic or atheist or whatever. It's not about me being offended-likewise I never apologize for my beliefs.
"By saying this I mean no disrespect for Christianity: it works for some people, and I respect that,"
Age old issue, Lu-if Christians are right about God, He is the God of all creation, including those who do not accept that He IS God.
If we are wrong, if our God does not rule all of creation, then everyone lives in entropy and chaos, and there are no possible absolutes, so nothing matters at all.
Who could live in that world?
I think you have a false dichotomy there. What we see when we look around us could reflect any of an infinite number of realities, of which your God ruling all creation is one possibility. Here are a few others, just off the top of my head:
- There is no supernatural, no God, no Satan, no afterlife. When we die, we don't exist, just as we didn't exist before we were born. I believe this is most likely true.
- The universe is ruled by a malevolent deity (or more than one) who will continue to rule forever.
- Different parts of the universe are ruled by different deities, who have various powers and predilections, sort of as portrayed in those Greek myths we read as kids.
- The universe is ruled by a basically benevolent deity (or more than one) who wishes us well and sometimes helps us, when not suffering from narcolepsy and/or ADHD. This seems to me less improbable than Christianity.
- In his house at R'lyeh, dead Cthulhu waits dreaming.
- We are the product of chloranthrobiogenesis.
I don't equate the nonexistence of the supernatural with complete entropy and chaos. I strive to leave the world a little better than I found it. As you've pointed out, we can all do that.
Hi Lu-"reflect any of an infinite number of realities,"
your reasoning falls apart right there at the start.
We can't imagine the infinite-it is beyond the ability of our minds to process infinity, so the "IDEA" that there could be an infinite number of realities are just words without meaning.
but we certainly TRY to imagine such things-the "Old gods" of Lovecraft were pulp nonsense-easier to believe in Doc Savage than Cthulhu.
Perhaps you'd prefer Zelazny's "Amber" series-our creation is only a shadow of the true reality, Amber-the lords and ladies of Amber (and Chaos) can move between shadows and a few of them end up on our earth.
All of the possibilities on your list are lesser, smaller, weaker than the true God. You want a God that you can comprehend. You reject God who is incomprehensible to you.
I used to be just like that,and I see that same ideal promoted by my family and friends.
God is bigger than that.
It's taken me a while to get back to this one. Rather than chase red herrings I'll keep it simple: I don't want God to be anything in particular. I strive for, as a well-known pop philosopher put it, dedication to reality at all costs. The reality that I see shows no sign of God. This may mean that God has rejected me, or it may mean that you are wrong. But it's not either God or chaos. The reality I live proves that to me.
Post a Comment