Is it wrong to swear?

[Kelfa28]

In response to the part that I bolded:

In the United States Air Force, no NCO or officer may swear at a recruit! They can’t even say that you are a “cow;” they can only say that you “act like a cow,” for instance.

I spent 4 years in the USAF and I was never sworn at in the line of duty. We may have cursed our heads off, other wise, but, never sworn at in order to get orders carried out! It was illegal to do so, and would have been grounds for an Article 15 or a Courtmartial.
In fact, in our Group of the Strategic Air Command, we were not allowed to swear on duty, and had made up a code of numbers to represent certain curses.

One hundred percent correct.

You can easily get your point across without resorting to swearing or using curse words. It’s impolite and ineffective.

I’m currently in the USAF Air Guard. I went through basic and no Military Training Instructor ever swore at as. They were quite creative and almost eloquent with their language choices when they wanted us to do something but they never swore. Looking back it was almost hilarious. “Move your clown shoes to the dayroom now!”

There are quite a lot of misconceptions about the military out there. My Fiance has been in the military for 10 years and is also a devote Christian and Catholic convert. At the end of the day, the Air Force is run like a corporation more then a military operation.

As for swearing. I believe it’s certainly not professional, polite or even okay to swear. I was told by my priest it’s generally a venial sin but can cross into mortal sin territory, certainly if you use the Lord’s name in vein.

I try very hard to not swear. At my civilian job, I’m a paramedic, and it can be quite difficult to “keep it in” when you’re working to save a life.

 

[kch86]

Especially if you need to express yourself at times and to let off steam?? As a tool of effective communication?

They’re just words. They’re pretty empty of meaning. The literal meaning of sh** is the same as excrement, which is not something that is inherently evil in any way. F*** is just a naughty word for “have sex,” which is not something evil either. And then we have naughty words for body parts, but those body parts aren’t exactly evil.

They’re taboo words, and because we try to avoid using them in polite company, they carry with them additional emotional power.

I am of the opinion that they can indeed be used as a tool for effective communication. They can also be used in a positive sense.

Tell your best friend that he or she is the f***ing awesomest person you know. They will smile. And because you swore, they’ll know you really mean it .

I also vaguely remember a study claiming that swearing also aids in social bonding as it is an expression of trust: by definition, it cannot be done in polite company and only among friends and people you can trust not to judge you.

We’re not Puritans, and I’m pretty certain that swearing is okay in certain circumstances, or at worst a venial sin provided nobody in your presence is offended by it and you do not use the words to express hateful or evil concepts. However, swearing is offensive. Using these words carelessly in a manner that will hurt, offend or cause scandal can probably cross the line and become a mortal sin.

You must follow social norms and never intentionally swear in the company of somebody who might feel offended by it. Furthermore, swearing in an argument with close friends or family can be especially hurtful. Be careful.

 

[GraceDK]

Especially if you need to express yourself at times and to let off steam?? As a tool of effective communication? Like an occasional sh or an F word to emphasize your points more clearly? Occasional and NOT habitual.

I am not asking if it sounds nice or courteous or if it is ill mannered. I know it isnt nice and thats not where I am trying to get at. I am asking if it is morally wrong or if it could land you some time in hell or purgatory.

Please dont give me a lecture about how it can turn into habit…Or thats immature… Been there heard that a million times. I just want a yes or no answer

I did not say blaspheming like saying “Holy something” or “G*dd**mn” because thats obviously mortal…

Thoughts?

One of the commandments are: Do not take the Lord’s name in vain.
Also its written in the Bible that we will be judged on every word that comes out of our mouth.

Bad language causes scandal to your brother and is a bad example.
Smart people don’t let any surrounding influence them to the extent where they become idiotic to listen to.

 

[edwest2]

Weird.

So lets say you work in a very pressurized environment where bad language is actually used to get people to move and do things?

Let me give a few examples,

“Hey Hank, better get your st on time or your fired"
“Don’t F around, you came here to work not to chit chat”
"This office looks like st!, get it cleaned!”

Or lets say you are trying to get people to move faster
“Hurry the F up or well be late”
“Don’t F’ing slackin off”

In the military, they swear and intimidate recruits to get them to carry out orders more efficiently… I actually admire that system

just a few examples, just so you can get a perspective of where I am trying to get at

It’s wrong.

Peace,
Ed

 

[sw85]

Why?

Many of our best troops, including my children, are Catholic. They are attentive Catholics. I was an attentive Catholic while I was in the service. My father was an attentive and devout Catholic while in the service.

God bless you, for you and your family must be saints! The military is not a culture which encourages the cultivation of Christian virtue, with the sole exceptions of self-sacrifice and obedience to authority.

The modern military now encourages fetishization of homosexuality, compels NCOs to train in pregnancy suits in order to “develop empathy” (because as we all know, the military subjects pregnant women to training!), and seeks to level the natural and healthy distinctions between the sexes. I would wager that most Catholics who enter the military leave it with their Catholic sensibilities in ruins.

Sometimes it’s right to swear at God.

I did when my first born was born with down syndrome.

“Swear at”? As in “Damn you God,” not “God, I swear that I will do your will and care for this precious child, whose care you have generously trusted me”?

If you mean the latter, I suppose that kind of swearing is good. If you mean the former, no, it’s positively evil.

 

[Lilsheep88]

Thank you, David Filmer. As always, very informative and very educational posts.

Hmmm. I wonder if Holy Scripture has anything to say about this.

[BIBLEDRB]Proverbs 21:23[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Psalm 18:15[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Psalm 140:3[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Sirach 19:17[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Sirach 23:7-9[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Matthew 15:11[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Matthew 15:17-18[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Matthew 5:22[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Ephesians 5:3-4[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Colossians 3:8[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]James 3:2[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]James 3:6[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]James 3:9-10[/BIBLEDRB]

(Note that these citations are from the Douay. The chapter/verse numbering of some Old Testament passages might differ from more modern translations).

 

[juno24]

LilSheep, didn’t you have a similar thread a couple of months ago asking if it was OK to yell at people and throw F-Bombs at them to get your point across? If that was your thread, then you already got the answer. It was wrong at that time, and it is wrong this time.