Does it matter if you swear?

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Elena321

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Does becoming more Catholic/spiritual mean you become like some “goody” and lose your personality (if that makes sense)?

For example,I swear sometimes but more in a conversational sense like OMFG but never swearing at people or in hurtful or really vulgar way.

To me this is not a moral or spiritual issue but is more just a social construct.
Eg:we might be taught socially that it’s not “becoming” for women to swear.

It’s not a big deal,I’m not that attached to swearing,but more the concern that you stop being yourself.
 
Yes dear, it does matter.

Try not to swear.
But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; (Mt 5:34)*

There is no reason to consider that solemn oaths in a court of justice, or on other proper occasions, are wrong, provided they are taken with due reverence. But all oaths taken without necessity, or in common conversation, must be sinful, as well as all those expressions which are appeals to God, though persons think thereby to evade the guilt of swearing. The worse men are, the less they are bound by oaths; the better they are, the less there is need for them. Our Lord does not enjoin the precise terms wherein we are to affirm or deny, but such a constant regard to truth as would render oaths unnecessary.**

And yes too, in some ways, to be spiritual, you have to lose yourself and to be more and more like Christ. Let Christ increase, and myself decrease.

You are a new person in Christ, not of the old. The old self is gone and you are the new self.

That does not mean you should lose your personality but only that part of the personality that is antithesis to Christ.
 
Your language should be pure and uplifting. It cheapens a person to speak this way. Using words like that do not make a person more fun…

Modesty is not just about the way you dress. It’s about how you present yourself to others…people will assume you are a certain way if you are loose with your words.

Remember too, that u recieve Jesus in your mouth…why would u want to corrupt it with language like that?
 
Yes, it does matter. To “swear” is a misuse of certain words or intent. To swear is a Promise or contract with the Lord or as in an important legal contract. To “swear” is a very important mental, emotional, spiritual-an oath.
If you are referring to cussing or cursing-that isn’t so good either. Your "OMFG has a meaning/connotation behind it that you should consider. Like it or not, every word that comes from our mouths is the cause for judgement by others so avoid having a potty mouth.
My sister, when angry or frustrated, would substitute the 4 letter word that starts with “S” with the expression of “Oh Sugar!” Find a better way to express yourself. Peace.
 
Elena, I understand your concern.

I don’t think that “cussing” or saying “bad words” is automatically a mortal sin.

St. Paul had no issue with using some foul language to call attention to something he was saying. He said that his life was s*@$! before Christ. And he was right. Mind you, most Bible translations shy away from an accurate translation (they translate as “dung” or something else instead).

However, I don’t think we should use that as an excuse to be vulgar and I also agree that it matters. We should minimize the usage of foul language as much as possible. I think this enters into the virtue of prudence and purity.

That said, just because you don’t cuss all the time does not mean you lose your personality. Instead, substitute those words for something more meaningful and expressive. If you think about how common cussing is in our society, its really nothing particularly special nor does it add to your personality. I hear people saying “f’ing this” and “f’ing that” all the time- they don’t even think about it. It’s a verbal “tick” which they’ve developed which adds nothing to their speech. Instead it robs them of more meaningful content and personality.

I would advise this: Leave the cussing for when its prudent. There are moments in which I think a well placed foul word can be effective. That’s because it can be used to reflect the foulness of a particular reality at a particular time, rather than just becoming a verbal “tick”. Or, you may choose never to cuss at all. Either, as far as I understand it, is acceptable. What’s not becoming of a Christian is habitual and senseless cussing.

To use God’s name in vain is a big no-no all the time, however.
 
Just a quick question. How does swearing “define” your personality? For good or better? Peace.
 
There are some big toics where I feel this forum offers a more scrupulous guideline than one need follow. This is one of those topics. Just ask a priest the next time you’re at confession to put your mind at ease by getting his expert advice.
 
Elena321 said:
,I swear sometimes but more in a conversational sense like OMFG but never swearing at people or in hurtful or really vulgar way.

To me this is not a moral or spiritual issue but is more just a social construct.
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Are you serious?:confused:

It doesn’t get more vulgar than to say OMFG.

Think about what you are saying. Are you kidding me?
If you think that doesn’t hurt God, you should rethink everything you say you believe.
That is probably the lowest thing you can ever say.
Those words should never pass your lips, it’s disgraceful and disrespectful to God.
 
Swearing in that context you mentioned is not a mortal sin to my knowledge.

Venial, yes.

Inappropriate, yes.

As far as OMG/OMFG

If you are using God’s name in vain, be very careful with that as it can be mortal depending on context.

We live in a secular and desensitized world now where this sort of vulgar talk is quite common. So can be difficult for Christians to avoid being exposed too much to this stuff. And the more you are exposed, the more likely you are to adopt this habit.
 
Most swearing or cussing is a derivative from other word that are “dressed” to sound more acceptable, but again, think about the origin of such words. I really did not see where the original poster was accused of being in mortal sin-we don’t know that-but that she really should find better ways to express herself. The English langue is rich and poetic so finding better word should not be a problem-retraining the tongue will be a bit harder. Peace.
 
mommy_k said:
Your language should be pure and uplifting. It cheapens a person to speak this way. Using words like that do not make a person more fun…
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Im not sure this applies today or not, I know it did in the past though, but times have changed drastically.

I have been in meetings with some pretty successful and important people, mostly local city and business leaders, lawyers, etc and it is surprising how many of them use the ‘F’ word here and there, I do not hear much cursing using Gods name, but the F word gets used by much more people today than it used to.

My doctor curses up a storm and he is ranked as one of the best in my area, he is extremely intelligent, but uses the F word a lot, I have gotten used to it now, but at first it was strange to hear him talk to a new patient like this, but that is just how he is, he has a very unique personality, but he is very well liked and respected by all his patients, and the medical community, so…?
 
mikekle said:
Im not sure this applies today or not, I know it did in the past though, but times have changed drastically.

I have been in meetings with some pretty successful and important people, mostly local city and business leaders, lawyers, etc and it is surprising how many of them use the ‘F’ word here and there, I do not hear much cursing using Gods name, but the F word gets used by much more people today than it used to.

My doctor curses up a storm and he is ranked as one of the best in my area, he is extremely intelligent, but uses the F word a lot, I have gotten used to it now, but at first it was strange to hear him talk to a new patient like this, but that is just how he is, he has a very unique personality, but he is very well liked and respected by all his patients, and the medical community, so…?
Click to expand...
So what u are saying, is in order to be well liked and fun, a person has to use degrading and foul langueage? And ust because its normal for society to use language like that, we all should? And even worse are u calling me old? 🙂 😃

But seriously i have friends of different social and economic backgrounds, and to me, the ones who know better than to assault a listener with bad language have more dignity and “class” regardless of thier station in life.

How would u feel if a priest greeted u this way or spoke to u in a manner like that? We too are to be examples of the faith in all matters, regardless of what society accepts.

I also agree to with Irish mom…that the expression used in the op was seriously bad…
 
It certainly does matter.
You may remember this:
“In the beginning was the WORD”

What you say is written on a person’s heart. You can’t take it back no matter how many times you say you take it back. It’s out there. Floating around in the cosmos. Think of it this way:
You have a feather pillow. You burst it open, the feathers go everywhere, blown to the four corners of your community. Just try to get them all back into the pillowcase. you can’t you never will. They’re gone. Out there, dirtying up the place.

The phrase you reference is vulgar, not only in fact, but it an **affront **to God Himself.
Make every effort to never use that phrase again.
I’m serious.
(And, while we’re at it, it’s also against forum rules).

What you say reveals something about YOU and YOUR character, not the exclamation that you seem to intend.
It says “I am not be taken seriously, as I think nothing of offending God or anyone else.”
Stop it.
I can’t say this strongly enough.
 
Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Against the argument that everyone does it.
 
Irishmom2 said:
Are you serious?:confused:

It doesn’t get more vulgar than to say OMFG.

Think about what you are saying. Are you kidding me?
If you think that doesn’t hurt God, you should rethink everything you say you believe.
That is probably the lowest thing you can ever say.
Those words should never pass your lips, it’s disgraceful and disrespectful to God.
Click to expand...
The G doesn’t mean God (in my case).Im referring to gosh or goodness.
The focus is more the F.

Instead of this saying,we could substitute it with WTF as an example.
 
pianistclare said:
It certainly does matter.
You may remember this:
“In the beginning was the WORD”

What you say is written on a person’s heart. You can’t take it back no matter how many times you say you take it back. It’s out there. Floating around in the cosmos. Think of it this way:
You have a feather pillow. You burst it open, the feathers go everywhere, blown to the four corners of your community. Just try to get them all back into the pillowcase. you can’t you never will. They’re gone. Out there, dirtying up the place.

The phrase you reference is vulgar, not only in fact, but it an **affront **to God Himself.
Make every effort to never use that phrase again.
I’m serious.
(And, while we’re at it, it’s also against forum rules).

What you say reveals something about YOU and YOUR character, not the exclamation that you seem to intend.
It says “I am not be taken seriously, as I think nothing of offending God or anyone else.”
Stop it.
I can’t say this strongly enough.
Click to expand...
Please see/refer my post number 15.
 
mommy_k said:
So what u are saying, is in order to be well liked and fun, a person has to use degrading and foul langueage? And ust because its normal for society to use language like that, we all should? And even worse are u calling me old? 🙂 😃

But seriously i have friends of different social and economic backgrounds, and to me, the ones who know better than to assault a listener with bad language have more dignity and “class” regardless of thier station in life.

How would u feel if a priest greeted u this way or spoke to u in a manner like that? We too are to be examples of the faith in all matters, regardless of what society accepts.

I also agree to with Irish mom…that the expression used in the op was seriously bad…
Click to expand...
Please refer/see my post number 15.
 
I DID read post 15. Unbelievable, frankly.
Did you read my post? Or just gloss over it.
Do you really think we buy that, or that God doesn’t really know?
No one ever, has thought that that particular vulgar acronym means oh my bleeping goodness. That’s so funny it’s really sad. 😦
And THEN you want to replace it with another vulgar acronym. :eek:

You don’t seem to have a grasp what a swear word is, and why it’s bad.
You also have not read the literally dozens of threads here on cussing.
One day, when the church offices were closed and there was no only 4 or 5 people there, someone said omg. Just those three letters, omg. And the priest went ballistic.

On another thread you wonder how to not care what people think of you . :confused:
I guess you have answered your own question. You really don’t care.

If you’re looking for justification or permission to use foul language, you likely won’t find it on a Catholic site.
 
Elena321 said:
The G doesn’t mean God (in my case).Im referring to gosh or goodness.
The focus is more the F.

Instead of this saying,we could substitute it with WTF as an example.
Click to expand...
I regret commenting on this thread.😊 I should have known better.
 
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