Tuesday, March 01, 2005
"Profanity is culturally and contextually defined. There’s nothing inherently bad about any word. In our changing culture previously profane words are losing their original unwholesome associations. ‘Suck’ no longer references a sexual act in today’s context. Instead, it means something disagreeable or offensive (some might say our defense of the word ‘suck’ sucks). Likewise you could be just as profane and unwholesome using clinical language—it’s the context that makes the difference." (>>)
Comments:
Not sure why that entry didn't show up in my aggregator, but I hadn't read that one yet. Thanks for the reference, what a great article. Sometimes I really think "Christians" need to lighten up. I think as a whole (the Body) we'd be a whole lot more credible with the world if we did.
I agree completely. I loved Tony Campolo's bit.
Philip Yancey quotes that same Campolo message in "What's so Amazing About Grace?" He was making the point that as Christians, we need to gain an even more serious focus on the things that matter. It was a priority check - they were all forced to see if they cared more about language or people. Talk about a gut-check.
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