the "d" word

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rkberlin

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Hello again,
quick question about cussing. When I grew up I learned in my sacrament class ( which was held in germany ) that to use the “d” word, you have sinned and should go to confession. Now, my kids are in a German-American school here, and the “d” word ( in German ) is being widely used, even in teaching tools, such as math songs! I think it’s horrible. It’s bad enough these elementary kids drop the “f” bombs left and right ( 3rd graders! ) , saying “sh…” seems just as common. Almost every sentence is spiked with it. My kids tell me their teachers constantly talk to them like that. Sad thing, though, in germany, it doesn’t seem too big of a deal. i told the kids to not let others sway them in using these words , and that they’re wrong and bad. Should I talk to my priest about this? Any suggestions?
Peace
 
Unfortunately, grade school and high school kids today use language that in my day was used only by GI’s when they were having a bad day. And even then, they didn’t cuss around women or around their families. So, the bad vocabulary has sunk down to the lower grade levels. It’s not a sin; it’s just lack of vocabulary.

(Reminds me of a show I came across on TV, set in the old west, where the characters liberally used the “F” word. Now, historically, I’m sure that is an anachronism. They just didn’t talk like that in the old west. Using the F word doesn’t make it more realistic, but less so.)

PS–with respect to the “D” word; it would only be a sin if you really intended to convey a sincere and willful desire that God would send some particular person to Hell.
 
I think too much is being made of swear words. You can say the most awful things using “decent” words, saying something like sh** … what’s the big deal? It’s a vulgar way of saying “human excrement” I bet part of the appeal of those words to kids is that they’re “not allowed” or they’re used so much that they become a habit.

You say truly evil things and hurt others with normal words though, I think that should be the bigger emphasis.
 
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udral:
I think too much is being made of swear words. You can say the most awful things using “decent” words, saying something like sh** … what’s the big deal? It’s a vulgar way of saying “human excrement” I bet part of the appeal of those words to kids is that they’re “not allowed” or they’re used so much that they become a habit.

You say truly evil things and hurt others with normal words though, I think that should be the bigger emphasis.
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You are right. There is much worse than bad language to worry about.

Being an old codger, my objection is more esthetic than moral. I just hate to hear this language coming from the mouths of children.
 
Hello all,

I must sound very stupid but what is the ‘d’ word, you don’t have to write just allude to it ie; anatomically
 
Matthew P Baldw:
Hello all,

I must sound very stupid but what is the ‘d’ word, you don’t have to write just allude to it ie; anatomically
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I wondered this too… I** think** the German word involved is “Dich” meaning “you”, which also sounds like the english word for a part of the male anatomy.
 
Matthew P Baldw:
Hello all,

I must sound very stupid but what is the ‘d’ word, you don’t have to write just allude to it ie; anatomically
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I think the OP means damn.
 
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Wildgraywolf:
I wondered this too… I** think** the German word involved is “Dich” meaning “you”, which also sounds like the english word for a part of the male anatomy.
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I doubt it, as rkberlin learnt that in Germany; they’d use that word, quite obviously, a lot. And rkberlin stated “German of the “d” word”.
 
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rkberlin:
Hello again,
quick question about cussing. When I grew up I learned in my sacrament class ( which was held in germany ) that to use the “d” word, you have sinned and should go to confession. Now, my kids are in a German-American school here, and the “d” word ( in German ) is being widely used, even in teaching tools, such as math songs! I think it’s horrible. It’s bad enough these elementary kids drop the “f” bombs left and right ( 3rd graders! ) , saying “sh…” seems just as common. Almost every sentence is spiked with it. My kids tell me their teachers constantly talk to them like that. Sad thing, though, in germany, it doesn’t seem too big of a deal. i told the kids to not let others sway them in using these words , and that they’re wrong and bad. Should I talk to my priest about this? Any suggestions?
Peace
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:eek: Swearing is not bad enough to have to go to confession! Most of the time, it’s not a sin at all- it’s just bad manners. I would have to go to confession before Mass every time- and sometimes I still wouldn’t be able to go to communion- if it were a mortal sin. I am trying not to do that as much, as it tends to happen now at rather embarrassing times (at Mass, in front of my parents, etc.) If you swear at someone to insult them, it MAY be a mortal sin (depending on what you say, how you say it, and the context you are in), or if you swear at God it probably is a mortal sin- but swearing when you stub your toe, or break something, or forget something is not a sin at all (unless perhaps God’s name is included in the swearing- and even then it’s usually just a venial sin).
 
JB.:
I think the OP means damn.
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That one’s never a sin, unless you wish the real meaning of it on someone, or say it to offend someone (like if I said it in front of my grandparents on purpose).
 
To those who think using the word damn is not a sin - where are you getting your theology?

When you utter damn, the “God” is understood. Just like when you say, “she is smarter than you.” There is a word that is unspoken but understood “she is smarter than you are.”

So just because you only say the latter part of the phrase “God damn” doesn’t mean you are avoiding sin.

The last time I checked, using God’s name in vain was serious enough that God himself etched some wisdom on its useage in stone. That means we’re talking grave sin.

Now, if you’re like many folks and have a bad habit of uttering “damn!” every time you bump your head, you aren’t culpable of mortal sin. You committed a huge sin, but you won’t be held entirely liable come judgement day. But, and this is a huge but, once you are aware that you have a habit of such awful magnitude, you are obliged to take steps to begin kicking the habit.

People in this situation don’t need to rush off to confession every time they slip up. But every time they slip up they should bring it up in confession. Make sense? They still can receive Communion because they know that in those cases where they blurt out the curse they don’t do it with “full consent of will”. Had they had time to think about it, they would have chosen another prhrase, but instead the curse just came out of their mouth.

Good advice that I’ve heard is to say an act of contrition every time you take the Lord’s name in vain. And to begin finding suitable alternative exclamations. When I really nail my head hard or whatever I need to shout something. So I at least find sh___ a far better alternative.

F-bombs are another word that is likely sinful. Because sex is sacred. People today have great difficulty appreciating that sex is really a blessed act. Using cheap words to referr to such a blessed act demeans the act, it clouds our vision and blinds us to seeing the truth about sex.
 
JB.:
I think the OP means damn.
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It can’t be that bad of a word, otherwise the forum software would filter it out, turning it into ****! This forum does filter out words like **** and ****.
 
oh no no, that only means “with that”, a common misconception…:o
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Wildgraywolf:
Ah, okay… Then the German word in question might be “damit”?
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It just doesn’t bother me much. I lived in Europe for some years, and what i really admired was that while general “cussing” was socially acceptable, it was NOT acceptable to swear against doG. Now, I have noticed that, especially down here in The South, people really get their panties in a bunch over language.

It’s just a matter of assimilating into your culture. If you were here, and your kids’ teachers were talking to them like that, I’d worry. In Germany…meh…no big deal. Make sense?
 
To those who think using the word damn is not a sin - where are you getting your theology?
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When you utter damn, the “God” is understood. Just like when you say, “she is smarter than you.” There is a word that is unspoken but understood “she is smarter than you are.”
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And where are you getting your grammar, praytell? If someone says “damn”, that doesn’t automatically imply “G*d damn” at all.
The last time I checked, using God’s name in vain was serious enough that God himself etched some wisdom on its useage in stone. That means we’re talking grave sin.
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That doesn’t follow since it doesn’t necessarily follow that “damn” implies the use of God.
 
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rkberlin:
oh no no, that only means “with that”, a common misconception…:o
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:rotfl: Yeah, I know what it means. I was simply taking a guess as to what the offending “D” word was.
 
What makes a word a “bad word”. Not the Bible. People do!

Way way way back, saying “Egad” was like saying damn in the 70s. In the days of “Little Women” saying “Christopher Columbus” in a contemptuous manner was considered a sin.

Take the example of the word “Frak” used in the new “Battlestar Galactica” series on the Sci-Fi channel.

I use some euphemistic expressions which is only understood by some if they catch it:
“It’s an absence of perspiration off the spherical testimony of my manhood”
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or my favorite
“You are full of that which fertilizes the earth naturally”
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In short, there is no real thing as a bad word. It’s bad only in the mind(s) of the one(s) who have declared it a bad word.

The bible does not give us a list of bad words. It only says we should not take the name of the lord God in vain. Even that has some mystery to it.

Some say it means saying something like “God D@#$” or “God D@#&t”

Some say it means "Saying the name of God in any other way than with Extreme Joy or Reverance. IE saying “Oh God” in tones such as :mad: 😦 :eek: :rolleyes: :confused: :banghead: :bigyikes:

While some say that it means taking on the name of God in a manner of vanity.

Some say the context of the commandment is not so clear…
 
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