Using swear words?

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All of the four letter words being used by the media are bad. F- S- and so on. Relativism has no place here.
 
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All of the four letter words being used by the media are bad. F- S- and so on.
But earlier you said:
When your parents tell you ‘these are bad words,’ don’t use them.
So if someones parents tells them that saying s–t is OK, is it wrong or not?
All of the four letter words being used by the media are bad.
You say this with what authority? Who is the ultimate arbiter of what words are sinful?
 
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Let’s picture ourselves standing before the Holy Family; Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Can we picture ourselves using vulgar language and profanity comfortably around them?

We can’t, can we?

Shouldn’t we want to treat all other people (our brothers and sisters) the way we would treat the Holy Family??

(says the woman who can count on one hand the number of times she has used vulgar language. . .in the last 4 or more decades. . . and have enough fingers left over to lift her teacup. . .)
 
Assuming the words are not blasphemous, then our conscience is the arbiter.

Individual consciences can differ, as shown by this thread.
So then, since consciences differ, then is the true objective nature of such words unknowable to all but God?
 
Let’s picture ourselves standing before the Holy Family; Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. Can we picture ourselves using vulgar language and profanity comfortably around them?

We can’t, can we?
True, but that does not mean that using such words in an appropriate setting is OK.
 
IDK. I don’t concern myself with objective natures and what God knows. I only concern myself with what I have to mention in the confessional.
 
It’s less the words and more how you use them. Angrily screaming, “You idiot!” is hardly charitable, despite the lack of vulgarity. On the flip side, saying, “You’re f*****g awesome!” may or may not be charitable despite the vulgarity.

In the end, there’s no list of words in Scripture or Magisterium that are deemed improper. Why the f-word is considered vulgar and “idiot” not is mostly down to culture and history that is far removed from us. Granted, there are some obvious cases that aren’t simply down to culture:
  • Using God’s name as a curse word
  • Intending to harm someone
  • Not properly respecting the sacred (including using God’s name as a curse word)
  • Not using slurs including, but not limited to, racial, homophobic, and transphobic slurs
  • Not being a stumbling block (e.g. be careful with how you talk about sex)
Of course, most of those can be done without using any profanity, which I think just highlights how it is less the word itself and more how it is used.
 
You are being tedious. Hollywood will tell you, but you won’t look it up.
 
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These threads always end the same way, with several of us giving answers that it depends on the context and other posters insisting bad words are always sinful (and in some cases bragging about how they never use them).

Each person is entitled to their opinion on this subject. I don’t see my statements as moral relativism, I see them as a common sense viewpoint on the use of language. YMMV.
 
(says the woman who can count on one hand the number of times she has used vulgar language. . .in the last 4 or more decades. . . and have enough fingers left over to lift her teacup. . .)
I took this humorously and not as a self-righteous comment.
 
??? Can’t imagine an appropriate setting for vulgar words, really.

Of course, I’m a woman. An older woman. OTOH, I can’t think of any really manly men who would curse in front of women and children. . .and frankly, not even in front of other men. What words ‘require’ or are enhanced by the use of vulgarity? Really? What satisfaction does a person get from using that kind of language? The thrill that, “my mommy wouldn’t let me say this when I was 5, but now that I’m 15, 25, 35, 95, I CAN say it, I’m the boss, yippee?”

And for women, come on, sisters. . .dropping F-bombs (even if you served in the navy and ARE a sailor), makes you ‘as good as the guys’ because you have “my mommy wouldn’t let me say this” issues too?

Some of the best, most important, most heart-tugging, or funniest, pieces in languages world over .amazingly. . .contain no swear words, no crude vulgarities. Isn’t it incredible --manly men could express themselves in situations that would bring today’s metrosexual to his knees in agony. . .and do so without crudity. Women could express themselves in language clear as crystal and strong as steel. . .without anything ‘off-color’.

What happened???
 
Thank you. That is how it was meant. It’s not ‘bragging’, either, it’s just a statement of fact. Don’t worry, I have plenty of faults, and plenty of areas where I need improvement; by the Lord’s mercy, this just isn’t one of them.
 
Actually it made me laugh out loud because I pictured teacup in hand with pinky extended straight out! 😆
 
This post was hidden by flags as it should be. Clearly you have an opinion you think is right, and are trying to say that objective truth, and are not answering any of my objections. I am done talking, because no amount of contrary evidence will change your mind on this matter.
 
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