Chris wonders about the line:
OK, I have a question, or maybe more of an issue that I think is somewhat worth addressing…I love Vox’s irreverence, however I sometimes wonder if it crosses the line into unwholesome talk. I’ve witnessed it in the posts of others claiming to be Christians, and I’ve been guilty of it myself, both here and in the daily verbal conversations I have….
I’m just wondering out loud what is the line, for a Christian, between healthy irreverence and unwholseome talk. Do we do damage to our credibility when we cross the line?
I’m sure it does cross that line from time to time. It’s not something that I do intentionally, and I definitely find it annoying when my chance use of a vulgarism immediately inspires ten or twelve comments remniscent of elementary schoolkids thinking that they’re getting away with something. Everyone draws their line in different places, mine tends to involve literal curses – evil maledictions and wishing ill on others – and not taking certain names in vain.
As for the question of credibility, that bothers me not at all. The reason is that when I consider those that the Christian community finds credible, I’d just as soon remain without it. If you believe that George Bush is a fine, upstanding leader, anointed by God, that Me So and the Littlest Chickenhawk are the leading voices of a new political revival and that Rick Warren is doing God’s work by leading the Christian community into battle against a dire threat to the planet, well, there’s almost nothing that I’m going to write that you’ll find credible, the occasional crassness notwithstanding.
Ironically, the leaders of the Bible were seldom the sort of men that we consider fine and upstanding citizens today, who provide a clean and credible example to the casual observer. Jesus Christ himself was remarkably sharp-tongued and critical; as a child I always wondered who the Sunday School leaders were talking about when they would laud how nice and meek he was. It made me wonder if they’d ever read the words in red.
Is it worse to describe someone as a “son of a bitch” than a “son of a viper”? I don’t think so. Is there something about the word “fuck” that is inherently awful? I rather doubt it. All I know that when I’m harboring great contempt for someone I am addressing, I am not the least bit crass but extremely polite instead.