Comments on: Watching Our ******* Mouths

By: pamhogeweide

pamhogeweide — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:26:11 +0000

I love Jesus and the F word. A lot. I am well-read and an effin amazIngly steong thinker and communicator. And dropping F bombs in everyday conversation is my natural dialect.

It is the most emotive word that I know.

Sometimes I use it in writing.It’s like strong seasoning that when used properly can add a layer of flavor that kicks effin ass.

Just sayin’…

By: David Aubrey

David Aubrey — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:15:30 +0000

I’m proud of Dylan.

By: Everybody is Talking About It « Restless Ones

Everybody is Talking About It « Restless Ones — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:28:41 +0000

[...] “Watch Your ******* Mouth” [...]

By: Tim McGeary

Tim McGeary — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 20:14:52 +0000

This is a really coincidental topic to something that happened to me over the weekend. I swore in front of my parents for the first time in my life, and I was seriously sweating about it beforehand because I knew to be honest to myself, and to quote myself accurately, I had to say “Dammit”.

I have problems with few words. I dropped a few while playing basketball at lunchtime. But it was the first time I’ve played in 2.5 years after a major injury, so honestly, it felt completely normal. But yet I was waiting for one of my parents to say something… and then nothing. After 30+ years, it’s about time.

As for the context of this site, Jordan, I agree with the others: you did an effing good job presenting a hell of a topic; you definitely have your shit together.

By: Isaac

Isaac — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 02:57:48 +0000

I really liked this article (and the blog), I agree with the idea that there is an appropriate time and place for all language. Just like sex, alcohol, and all the other traditionally taboo elements of Christian culture, foul language is in the same boat.

I think it is important to recognize that using foul language is one of those things that the world sees as something Christians don’t do. On the one hand, your language might cause someone to think critically of your faith, but on the other hand they might find it to be relief from Christians they’ve experienced in the past. I’ve experienced both, though I don’t have a resolution to this dilemma, any thoughts?

Lastly, I will say that people who drop the f-bomb every other sentence in everyday language typically come off as pretty stupid, regardless of their worldview.

By: Matt Miles

Matt Miles — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 22:39:13 +0000

And don’t forget the King James Version’s “His loins smote together” meaning “He pissed himself”. That has to be one of our all-time favorite KJV-isms.

By: Bryan Catherman

Bryan Catherman — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 21:39:51 +0000

This is a great discussion. There things (in this case specific words) that work in some environments and not in others. Painted faces, giant foam-fingers, and megaphones are right for a football game but generally wrong for church (unless you’re pentecostal). Contractions are fine for my comment here but taboo in my master’s thesis. Hands in pockets in outside the local coffee shop:no problem; while in a military formation: out of the f—ing question!

It is the responsibility of this website to determine where in the world it fits. I would argue that it serves as something of a bridge between the secular world and Christianity, while dodging the traditional American Christian cultural. That being said, the a reader on this site should be able to navigate the articles without feeling like they sat next to the painted-face, super-fan at church.

In addition, for a group professing to be creative writers, I’m sure there are some super creative and interesting ways to say the same thing. (In many cases, this is how the Bible gets away with it. For example, goats weren’t just having sex, they were jumping on each other; seductive women weren’t just hot, they were like honey on the lips. And I think it might be kind of funny of we used the term begat today.)

By: Dave Zimmerman

Dave Zimmerman — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 13:11:00 +0000

This probably won’t be the last time BWC has to struggle with this essentially editorial question. Pottymouthing is part of the great emergence, I think. This open discussion of how to struggle Christianly with it is as helpful as anything you’ve done here. Scum of the Earth in Denver had a similar challenge in a church setting a few years’ back; the pastor’s book (coming out next spring from IVP) walks through their process in a really helpful way. But you handled this really well, and I respect you for it.

By: sarah

sarah — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 01:03:16 +0000

thanks for this piece. i think swearing is like the NT church struggling with whether or not to eat meat sacrificed to idols. it wasn’t inherently right or wrong; believers were supposed to do whatever was least offensive to their brothers.

by the way, jordan, the cross-shaped urinal drain raises its own set of questions. what are you, the evangelical version of Duchamp?

By: EmilyTimbol

EmilyTimbol — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 16:33:11 +0000

Steve! Who told you!? Yes, I talk a lot of shit. But I also use the word as an adjective, occasionally. I won’t lie, I like to do it sometimes in Christian social settings just to shake things up and see how people react. Usually it works well and gets people more relaxed. Sometimes not though.