'By the Founder's Beard!': A Salvationists guide to swearing

Almost all of us at some point have let some unfortunate words fly out of our mouths...sometimes at inappropriate times or unguarded moments.... stubbing my toe is a particular favourite of mine...

I know there are a wide variety of opinions on what constitutes  swearing and how acceptable it is from Christians, so here's a short exploration of the issue...

What is swearing?

The first question and probably the most obvious place to start is what is swearing?

I guess any word or phrase used in anger or to put down or belittle others would constitute swearing and really is probably unacceptable...I don't suppose they'd be much argument there...but what about well known 'offensive' words? (if you want examples...use your imagination...we all know the ones I'm talking about.)

Are the words themselves offensive, or is it their use that makes them wrong?
I work in an environment where swearing is a natural and accepted conversational tool...it is simply how people talk; there is no morality connected to it (most of the time). Although I do try not to get sucked into that culture.

We talk about Jesus speaking to people on their own levels and in accessible ways. In that situation would Jesus use swear words in the same way he used parables to get his message across?

William Booth is quoted as saying he'd go to great lengths to be accessible, relevant and to reach the lost:

"If I thought I could win one more soul to the Lord by walking on my head and playing the tambourine with my toes, I'd learn how!"

Do we think this would include swearing... I doubt it, I think that's a big leap...but it's something to consider that joining a culture of conversational swearing might make us more accessible...but there comes the danger...we could easily fill every church and Salvation Army hall if we compromised our beliefs, didn't take moral stances and essentially did everything simply to please and entertain people...here's the link to a post I wrote about this issue. 'How to improve church attendance in 5 easy steps' our first priority and duty is to God, and the mission He has called us to undertake and we must not compromise that.

Does swearing compromise our mission and calling? Just for a little food for thought consider that language has changed and evolved and continues to. There was a time when the word 'knackered' was unacceptable in Salvation Army circles...I think it's mostly ok now...has swearing simply become part of our accepted lexicon with no moral connotations?

Gosh Darn it!
I was watching the Simpsons the other day and anyone will know the devout, church going Ned Flanders often uses gibberish when he talks..."diddly doodly" and so on...in one episode it's explained that this his way of expressing anger...is this godly man one of the worst potty mouths in the show?

https://youtu.be/K_hprv7uaK4

The question is, are the alternative words that Christians sometimes use to avoid swearing in fact swearing themselves...and if they are then they are just as morally reprehensible as the more well known words...

Speaking of alternative swear words, here's a link to a video that helped inspired this post...Tim Hawkins Christian cuss words. https://youtu.be/aHGbKuZzq3E

Context and intention
So this is my opinion... context and intention is everything...I don't really think it matters what words we use and that words are not necessarily good or bad in themselves...but it's how and where we use them that's the issue.
If you know that people around you particularly fellow believers will be offended by them; then it's probably best to give them a miss in order to show ourselves as people that love and support each other and take notice of other people's concerns.
And of course as above using any words to put down or belittle others is totally unacceptable... regardless as to whether you or they consider the words offensive or not.

In conversation...well that's the tricky question...let's be honest if your non Christian friends/co-workers hear you cussing up a storm expect to have questions asked because even in conversational swearing there is a morality attached to certain words...I suppose it's up to each of us to decide where our lines are...the bible clearly speaks out against swearing (Ephesians 4:29, Colossians 3:8, Psalm 10:7) but once again, as above, I believe that it is the context and intention that makes a word moral or immoral...not the words themselves.

So in summary; I don't offer a solution or hard-line stance on this issue just an opinion...and here it is:
Be kind, be holy.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind and strength...and love your neighbour as yourself...if we keep all this in mind and put others before ourselves I don't think we'll go far wrong...if in doubt though, keep it clean.







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Jesus Christ: Humanitarian, Showman or Dictator?

Today I'm asking probably one of the most foundational questions about Christianity:

Who Is Jesus Christ?

Is He a liar or a fool, mentally unstable, a power hungry despot, a great teacher, a good man, or just a figment of the Gospel writers imaginations?

Or is He... something more...

Matthew 4:1-11 (What kind of Saviour)

I love the account of Christ's temptation in the desert. We, as readers are still trying to understand who Jesus is and what He's about...we know He's the Son of God, who has come to save us from our sin...but we're still wrestling with exactly what that means.

The crowds at the river Jordan have seen and heard strange, bewildering things and like us, don't really know what's going on.

Jesus enters the desert and faces some foundational temptations: physical need, ego, and power...

It's as if He's being given the choice of what kind of Saviour, what kind of man He's going to be.

THE HUMANITARIAN (verses 1-4)

So let's imagine you're stuck in the desert, no food or water, starving...but with the power to do something about it, what do you do?

Pretty reasonable request I suppose, to get yourself some food, but that wasn't the point of entering the desert; it was to meditate, to seek nourishment and energy, not from physical things but from the Father. Jesus is presented with the choice of relying on His own power or that of the Father.

Now, before I get carried away, I have to clarify that food, water, a safe place to sleep etc are important, of course they are.

As a Church and as Christians we cannot ignore the needs around us, we are commanded to do something about it, to serve our fellow man. 

But if we become simply a charitable organisation, we lose the heart of who we are. Jesus could have spent His earthly ministry simply doing good. He probably wouldn't have been crucified, but He would have failed in His mission to reconcile God and man, the very heart of why He was sent.

The fundamental truth of humanity is that we are not just physical beings but spiritual, and both physical and spiritual needs must be met...but really the physical only affects our short earthly lives...the spiritual, echoes into eternity. (shameless gladiator movie reference)

'Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" (verse 4)

THE SHOWMAN (verses 5-7)

The next temptation is that of ego...the desire to put ourselves on a pedestal, to make ourselves the centre of the world. In the account of Christ's temptation, His own particular challenge was to put His humanity aside, to complete His mission by putting on a show, by wowing the crowd, essentially by putting style over substance.

But Christ is not distant or aloof...He walks with us, meets us where we are. Whatever situations we are facing Christ is there at the heart of it, not playing to the crowd but invested in our situations and in us as individuals that loved and valued by Him

For us, the challenge is to remember Christ's attitude and example.

The Church loves it's Choirs, bands, stained glass windows, buildings, traditions...the list goes on of course. And these are not necessarily bad things in themselves, they can be amazing and truly make us aware of God's presence...but they aren't the most important things...not by a long shot.

We must care, love and walk beside our hurting world, it won't be healed by fancy shows and nice looking buildings...but by getting involved in our world, walking with the broken on their level, by genuinely caring about each other and the things that matter to each of us... that's where we'll find Christ...waist deep in the nitty gritty of life.

THE DICTATOR (verses 8-11)

The final temptation that Christ faces in the desert is the temptation of power.

The temptation to make the world fall into line...to use intimidation and control to achieve His ends.

Of course power like that comes at a cost...it means once again losing sight of who we are and why we're here.

Had Christ accepted the proposal He would have moved away from the Father's purpose, away from worshipping the Father and instead worshipping satan, and power itself...this always reminds me of the scene in the first Lord of the Rings movie; the Wizard Gandalf refuses to use the evil power of the ring, knowing that although he would be much stronger, the power would corrupt him and destroy everything he was. He would lose his very being in order to achieve power for powers sake.

As the Church we face a similar temptation, we seek power to achieve political and social objectives which in themselves are good and righteous.

I have met Church leaders like this... people who would make fantastic social justice champions and politicians but have lost sight of the God who calls them, the mission for which they have been equipped...Christ has been replaced by social, and political ends...again these are honourable aims...but when these leaders rely on themselves and without realising it, subconsciously push out Christ, they are worshipping a different power, putting results ahead of what their true focus and mission should be.

Putting Christ first doesn't mean that we won't be as affective at achieving social and political change, the opposite is true...what it does mean however, is that our aims and mission become aligned with God's. It means that we might have to sacrifice looking good or popular in order to make sure that the glory goes to God.

Christ made that decision...to worship God alone, it meant sacrifice and humiliation but it also meant final victory and put Him at one with the Father. He was made to be nothing so that the Father would get the glory and honour...and this is what is asked of us today.

THE REAL JESUS

"To holy people the very name of Jesus is a name to feed upon, a name to transport. His name can raise the dead and transfigure and beautify the living." - John Henry Newman

The title of this post was deliberately controversial and thought provoking... hopefully it will as intended provoke some thought and discussion and not unintentionally cause offence.

Jesus is of course far more than a Humanitarian, Showman, and certainly not a dictator. He is a Friend, guide, guardian, protector, teacher, master, servant and king. He is all of these things...but so much more.

He is not an abstract concept, or a distant unreachable cosmic entity. He's a real, living, loving, laughing individual being; God incarnate, who walks, laughs, cries alongside us, and who builds us up, rebukes, corrects and desperately calls to us to walk, serve and live by His side.

But it's one thing me telling you all this, it's not up to me to tell you what you should believe...your job is to decide for yourself who Jesus is to you. What will you do, and how will Christ change and inspire you?

Is He just a good teacher, moral example or something more...who do you say Jesus is?

I'll give the final word to C S Lewis...he gives us some brilliant thoughts to ponder as we try to answer all these questions for ourselves:

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

 - C S Lewis (Mere Christianity)

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