Cursing in Church: Being Who We Are Everywhere We Go

An Honest Look at Language

Jesus glanced at Peter with a burred sternness and said, 'Peter, you are my rock, to which you will build my church on, but first you've really got to get your fucking shit together.'

Okay, so maybe that was paraphrased excessively, but the curiosity still remains. How come so many of us have our lives outside the church separate from our lives IN the church? Now, you might think that this article is based on the predisposition that our 'outside' lives should reflect our 'church' lives. Ladies and gentlemen: hold on to your butts, because, and I say with sincere honesty, that I am sure to quickly disappoint you. What I am suggesting, and I believe many people ponder is how come we cannot let our outside lives often BE the church life? A disclaimer to readers: I don’t believe in censorship. I’m not even entirely sure why we have it! I struggle with understanding why vocabulary is often limited because of religious standards. I believe words only hold the power to which we assume our own accreditation upon them. Context is so much deeper than a word sitting by itself, and communication is so complex and language is only one facet of something so much broader often deeper than words alone. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Letter From Birmingham Jail is one of the greatest examples I can think of. MLK's ethos use of the word nigger in his letter invokes emotion in unparalleled fashion. I cannot even imagine the temperance that writing would have had should Dr. King have been too concerned of stepping on the local bishop’s toes. Of course this is an exaggeration… but is it?

Now, I cannot recall off the top of my head ever having remembered reading Jesus using ‘unfavorable vocabulary', but the context sure as shit was! Jesus was never afraid of whose feelings he might hurt when he spoke Truth! Do I know Truth? Do any of us know Truth? I sincerely doubt it, but we are all gifted with the experience of truth, and the emotion and conviction that follows. That is still a very real experience. Try not to think of that idea as we would understand it as humans, but instead as a God who has the capacity and omnipotent know-how to orchestrate multiple realities at once, should that be something that he or she or whomever wants to do. And even that idea only scratches the surface! It is certainly a good reminder that we are in good hands.

Am I suggesting that we all start using curse words at church? I don’t really know. I’m sorry to disappoint you if you are looking for a precise answer, because I don’t have a one for you there, but I do know that the word fuck, among others does not mean that my language is limited and struggling. It is simply true for me that there are many, many words that help define me whether big or small. The idea of censoring language to avoid hurting the feelings of the status quo is simply not a very good argument.

Do I curse in front of other people's children? I try to avoid that out of respect for the parents, however I wonder what impact it would have on a young person to hear 'degenerative' speech used in a beautiful context. How much better for a child of God to hear the disgustingly powerful word nigger used in a way to describe a time of great injustice and ideology of blind hatred, than to hear it used in music without meaning, without substance. That is the perplexed beauty of free choice. The biggest paradox of free speech is free speech itself. Let it shine brightly or in any awkward manifestation for they are all the reality we know.

Am I suggesting that pastors rise in front of their congregations, gatherings, or assemblies and begin dropping F-Bombs like it’s World War III? Well, is that your intention? Is your intent to display and demonstrate free speech for the sake of being heard? Or is your intent to be who you are in a place where you are supposed to be who you are. Often, I believe people do not attend church or quit coming, because the place and gathering that is supposed to be the safest is often convoluted with preconceptions and narrow mindedness, combined with a rabid tendency to project our own self-righteousness onto others. Fuck that. That’s bad news bears for a population of people who are supposed to welcome in new ideas, harbor safe and open communication, and are called to meet people where THEY are, not what is convenient for me in my life right now.

I feel saddened for pastors who are not allowed to be themselves. Wonderful and passionate men and women of God who have their very souls choked out by the oppressional image of what a spiritual leader should be. Doesn’t that sound a little bit like idolatry? Idolatry for pastors instead of the one who called them: Jesus, sent by God, and living amongst us presently in the Holy Spirit. That is our authority. Not our churches, not our congregations, not our neighbors, not our governments, and not even our families. No, we are called by God who is forever behind, and forever in front of us, and who knows that He created us all so differently. That what may not be right for you, may be very well right on the nail for me. Embrace diversity, they go hand-in-hand.

I am quite convinced that God is incessantly more concerned with how we treat one another in our intent, than with what words we use to speak. Please be you. Be unique. Remember that God made you just the way you are, and he wants to see you succeed as a righteous individual. Everyday look in the mirror and decide to be your own protagonist.

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