You know...to me, this is not very controversial, but I posted a poll up last year on my dorm room door, with the choices of yes, no, and depends, and the voting was fairly even (this is not an official poll, but still)

So I want to hear from you. What do you think? Remember, this is an important question for every Christian, because Christians should have a mindset of not wanting to sin against God.

I think the words themselves aren't as important as they way in which they are used.

Most swear words are used in anger or in a derogatory manner. It's this attitude of spreading hate, fear, anger, etc that is the real problem. The words themselves aren't the problem it's the context in which they are used.

I think the words are a matter of the heart. After reading the Bible it's a personal conviction of mine that cussing is sinful with the discernment of "corrupt words", "evil speaking", "cursing tongue", etc. I for one would not pray while cussing; so I don't think that God likes to hear cussing from us, even if the words are spoken idly or in a non derogatory manner. I think it's out of reverence that the words we speak "impart grace to the hearers" (including God).

I don't really think swearing is a sin. They're just words, but for some reason somewhere in time they were turned into words that offended people. Think about it. Curse words are kind of like regular words but for some reason they offended someone and now they're looked at as "bad words". Cookie could be considered a bad word tomorrow, for all we know.

it's not the words themselves but the meaning and usage that I would consider sinful.

Here are 2 questions for you (1 which I'm stealing from Triune)

1. Would you swear while praying?
2. Do you think that swearing is a completely innocent act (in all contexts)?

the Word of God tells us that we should speak only Encouragement and words that Edify one another.
it is also stated that we should Praise God in our conversations and share the Truth with others.
we are also told that it's alright to be angry but to not allow our anger to cause us to sin.
i find several times in my life when i have sinned in this area out of a statement of anger, but never do i find it as a justified Conviction or a Righteous action in my spirit.

i guess one should ask themselves, exactly how does cussing Edify or Encourage another person?
how does cussing Glorify Jesus or make Him look to others seeing as i am a reflection of Christs' Image to them?
how has cussing ever assisted/proved to be Beneficial in either Bettering or Healing mankind of their brokenness, hurt, or sin?

as far as talking to God, be Honest and Truthful to God.
perhaps you feel that angry at God, that's something between you and God and He Knows your heart and why those things are coming from you.
but as for how we talk to other human beings, i think we already have straight forward enough directions from the Word as to how to conduct ourselves before and with others as Disciples of Christ.

"2. Do you think that swearing is a completely innocent act (in all contexts)?"

I see it as if you say the word in speech to repeat something that someone said (with the lack of a better word) it wouldn't be sinful; but why would you say it if you know that the word has other motivations behind it in other contexts.

tRIUNE : the point was.... ALL contexts. Even if you can come up with a few occasions where swearing could be justified.... I could come up with more where it's not so I would venture on the side of caution and avoid it as much as possible.

The thing is.... many of these words have a proper context and when used in that context it's not a big deal.

b**** = female dog
Ass = donkey
s*** = poop


can't think of any others off the top of my head.... but once you get away from those 3 most other "swears" are derogatory either in nature or in normal usage. "the Word of God tells us that we should speak only Encouragement and words that Edify one another." Can you use words like s***, whore, a**h***, etc etc in an uplifting manner? I can't

Personally I find certain words offensive. Some have proper contexts while the same word can be used derogatorily. As I've said, it's a matter of the heart. Because I've been born again according to God I'm convicted that if I find the words offensive then I believe God does as well, because of His Spirit residing with me.

As such, the word may have a proper context however if I find it offensive I don't say it. Other Christians may feel the same, and if so the Bible warns us not to cause another Christian to stumble (1 Corinthians 8:12) so I believe all words should be for the benefit of the hearers.

There are several scriptures which declare swearing as a sin:
Ephesians 4:29
Peter 3:10
James 3:9-12
Luke 6:45
Romans 7:22
1 John 1:9
2 Corinthians 5:17
and many more...

yes cussing is a sin...anything unholy is sinning. We are all sinners...it is our choice whether or not we choose to live our lives as sinners or be saved by GOD himself...

geeogree : Can you use words like s***, whore, a**h***, etc etc in an uplifting manner? I can't. Maybe you can't but jesus did, now I'm not a stickler for numbers but I remember a story about Jesus defending a "whore" (probably not exact noun) and he never sinned, so yes you can use words that other people see as derrogatory or cuss words without sinning. I tend to agree with your original post of the meaning behind the words.

Jesus defended a prostitute.... and we can't know for sure what sort of language he actually used in her defence...

I also can't imagine myself being as selfless and kind as Jesus was. He may have been able to use many/most words in an uplifting manner, but I doubt I could.

geeogree : maybe this'll help what i'm trying to say. Take a rehab for instance, words like druggie and addict or crack head or prostitute are thrown around all the time, but in the therapy setting those very negative words are used for the goal of uplifting these people.

I don't believe in the idea of putting these words in a category of their own. Why do we hear it in school more than people would expect? Because it is seen as rebellious. Why do we see people using every naughty word in the book on the internet? It's seen as breaking some boundary.

Due to the fact that they are a forbidden fruit, we will find it hilarious to say when we're younger. If this wasn't so, we'd just have words. Swearing was probably use of words for sexual things back in Bible times, so I see it as a situational thing. Don't say the F word in front of kids, for example. That word was already taboo anyway. Nothing made it any worse.

I don't think that swearing would really be a sin, although I do beleive that it is innapropriate and that there are times when it's acceptable.

But now it doesn't matter if swears have different contexts like female dog and donkey because I can honestly say that I have never heard someone refer to a dog as a b**** without reffering to the swear itself.

Swearing isn't a sin, and as geeogree said, it's the context their used. All "bad words" mean something. b****, for example, means female dog. If you pointed to a purebred dog and said: "That's a nice b****", would it be wrong? However, would it be right if you said it to a woman? That's where the "badness" comes.

Silver Maestro: Listen to breeders. They refer to them as b****es.

I suppose the aspect of context makes sense, though in a matter of appropriateness I think in a way it's the same saying "it's just a finger, why are you offended?"

SilverMaestro : yo, dog breeders and kennel use the word "b****" as a medical term for the sex of the dog all the time without krackin a smile. Stepmom had a kennel, sold silkyterriers, tripped me out the first time I saw her do it.

Swearing is a sin if you ask me...

But hey, I do it all the time. Its a damn good stress reliever...