Cursing is a sin? Show me proof.
Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.
-Ephesians 4:29
(That's not enough. Who says such words as shit and fuck are unwholesome? Who says they cannot not be used to build others up? Just like special powers; It's all about how you use it.)
I have wondered about this topic quite often and I am now motivated to actually write about it. My topic is basically this: Swearing, cursing, profanity, whatever you want to call it, should not be considered bad.
Through my many years of life Its become apparent to me that swearing has become part of my vocabulary. In part because at one time it was dangerous to swear and currently because darn and shoot just don't seem to cut it. I was doing some thinking and decided what's the big deal anyway, everyone does it and a relatively small portion of people I hang out with are bothered by it. As a generation I think that we are sophisticated and intelligent enough so that we have been able to overcome the taboo that is swearing. Now I guess society could be blamed but I'm not sure blame is necessary. If you consider that the Baby Boomer generation overcame the taboo of sex this is not a big deal. There is "sex" on television these days I say "sex" because it's usually implied. When I see two adults under the covers and at just the right time they cut to a new scene I generally get the idea that they had sex.
So I wonder, "What is so horrible about a few measly words?" No one gets upset if you scream out "ARRRGGG!" so why do they act so shocked if you drop the "f-bomb" (I have decided not to swear out of courtesy). If I could I would perform a study on this subject but I obviously don't have the time. The best I can do is theorize that if people would not be shocked by such language, there would be no such language. Yet I also believe that such a scenario is not likely to happen because, some one will always find a way to shock and disgust people whether or not by words alone.
This brings me to a perplexing question: "Why do humans get shocked in the first place?" Some might say it's because we are the only hyper-intelligent being on Earth or even the universe (that's another paper entirely). I'm not sure that I can accept that, when modern man was still in it's infancy, I don't believe we got shocked by anything that others may have, well, grunted or physically done. I think that this whole taboo around swearing came about because of the way we now live our lives. I believe that most people have something lodged in a very uncomfortable place and that they need to pull it out so that they can finally sit and relax. In other words people are too uptight these days.
So in a nut shell, I think that people should be allowed to socially swear without worry. I also believe that day will never come because when we can accept today's current profanity some one with just come up with more. And that in general people desperately need to relax and have a time to unwind.
(thing) by Big Alba (4.6 mon) (print) ? Sat Sep 21 2002 at 13:30:04
Disclaimer: The following node contains dark Occult information and/or rituals. It may be considered morally innappropriate and may even be illegal where you live. I do not neccessarily believe the following information to be factual, however it is believed so by Occultists and/or mythological texts. What you do with this information is your own choice, and if you choose to follow these ritual(s) and you hurt yourself, you do it at your own risk. You have been warned.
Cursing
Cursing is the art of causing pain and misery to another being. It is mostly done as an act of revenge, though it has been done in spite, or simply to eliminate someone who has gotten in the way. Ways of doing this vary from extensive spellcasting to simple chanting; such methods shall be explained later.
The History of Cursing
Cursing has existed since the beginning of time, the earliest known useage of it was by God and other religious leaders through smiting an individual. It was adopted mainly as a Dark Art, many witches and sorcerors throughout the medieval ages, and in later ages tends to be more of a witch tradition than any other (amongst Western society). Amongst African cultures, primarily the Zulus, cursing was a common practice of Voodoo. During the Medieval period Cursing was outlawed by the Papacy, along with all other practices deemed as a Dark Art; this act was rather ironic, as even God himself used Cursing. Nowadays, Cursing is still practiced in many forms.
Methods of Cursing
* Chanting: This is any form of verbal communication that is indicative of wishing harm or misfortune upon another person. The closer it is to an ordered chant, the more powerful this form of Cursing is. This is the most common form of practiced Cursing.
Ex. "I hope you get what's coming to you!" is a form of Cursing, however a chant like, "Bring plague down upon (insert name), oh, strip his pride and burn him down." would be more powerful.
* Somatic: This is any form of gestured communication that is indicative of wishing harm or misfortune upon another person. This is a much less powerful form of Cursing, however can easily be combined with another form of Cursing to create a more powerful, overall curse. This is the most common form of Cursing.
Ex. Sticking up your middle finger, gesturing while chanting or spell casting.
* Spell Casting: This is the most potent, and also most illegal form of Cursing. It always requires Chanting, and usually requires Somatic components, but most of all, a brew must be created. This is simply made from boiling water, a sample of the victim and a sample of the curse. For example, blood or hair from the victim would be a sample of the victim. The sample of the curse varies greatly; if you wished to curse him with your venomous hatred, you would spit in the brew; if you wished to curse him with disease you would throw in a diseased object etc. Once the ingredients have been added, once must simply stir the brew while Chanting something to the effect of, "(insert victim name), thou shalt choke upon thine (insert curse), thou shalt wallow in thine misery etc." Often Somatic components are added, such as gesturing in anger while chanting, or waving ones hands over the brew. The more personal the sample of the victim is, the stronger the curse. For example, blood would be more powerful than hair; an entire limb or an organ would be more powerful than blood. Therefore, to obtain a truly powerful spell component, one must inflict harm on the victim prior to Cursing, making this form highly illegal.
* Smiting: This is a religious form of Cursing. It can be either a Chant or Somatic curse, or a mixture of both. The strength and ferocity of the curse is greatly dependent on the Deity behind it.
Ex. "May your soul burn in hell!", "The Dark Lord shall avenge my humiliation, just you wait!"
Cursing is probably used now more than ever before. Simple gestures, such as Up Yours, and swear words are forms of Cursing. Practiced Cursing is just as common as it used to be too, and while not entirely illegal (unless physically harming a victim, not simply mystically), it is considered morally inappropriate. Still, it is one of the better accepted Dark Arts.
(idea) by montecarlo (2.9 hr) (print) ? Tue Oct 08 2002 at 0:57:04
A complex, culturally dependent phenomenon
Cursing is a more complicated matter than meets the untrained ear. As a specific national of any specific nation, you might ponder for a moment and then be ready to make a complete treatise on the subject. But if you are multilingual, then certain complications appear. Fact is, people of different cultural spheres and/or language domains curse in a profoundly different manner. A few examples:
# Scandinavians curse mainly religiously/anti-religiously - hell, devil, damned, etc.
# English-speaking people curse mainly sexually - fuck, cunt, prick, etc., with some religious exceptions.
# Turks curse mainly "animally" - dog, pig, donkey, etc.
# Southern Europeans curse mainly sexually, but also religiously and animally.
# Everybody curses fecally - shit, crap, piss, etc.
A hurdle, blocking the solution to this problem, is the deplorably low frequency of genuinely multilingual / multicultural people. To know some school-French (pardon my French, - sorry) or school-German is not enough by a long shot - your German-teacher would just blush and give you a punitive extra quiz on verb forms if you dared to ask what "Schwanz" meant in German. Knowing a foreign language well enough to understand the nuances of national cursing and swearwords takes intimate knowledge, time and patience, which most casual students and visitors don't have. So a complete understanding of human cursing does in effect not exist.
Still, certain hypotheses may be brought forward:
Cursing is -- among other things -- a way of reacting out negative emotions -- e.g. when you have been screwed by your used-car salesman, when you have hit your thumb with a hammer, when you have been cheated by your husband/wife. In all cultures, certain things are held holy, or taboo. One way of demonstrating your negative emotions is to be defiant, rebellious. In your desperation, you utter a chain of words that are contrary to everything that you hold holy or taboo. What is holy or taboo in different cultures? A short list:
# Scandinavians have been held in a tight grip of puritan religiosity, for centuries.
# Brits, Americans and Southern Europeans are victims of social anti-sexuality.
# Turks belong to an ancient totem-culture, where animals have had a profound significance.
# Everybody is trained, from early childhood on, to abhor feces.
Due to globalization and American TV-dominance, American cursing habits have been widely adopted, which clouds the issue. Scandinavian kids today say "fuck you" (in the original) when cursing, in spite of the fact that a translation would sound ridiculous - "make love to you" (which is all that the corresponding Scandinavian words mean).
( www.Everything2.com )
-Ephesians 4:29
(That's not enough. Who says such words as shit and fuck are unwholesome? Who says they cannot not be used to build others up? Just like special powers; It's all about how you use it.)
I have wondered about this topic quite often and I am now motivated to actually write about it. My topic is basically this: Swearing, cursing, profanity, whatever you want to call it, should not be considered bad.
Through my many years of life Its become apparent to me that swearing has become part of my vocabulary. In part because at one time it was dangerous to swear and currently because darn and shoot just don't seem to cut it. I was doing some thinking and decided what's the big deal anyway, everyone does it and a relatively small portion of people I hang out with are bothered by it. As a generation I think that we are sophisticated and intelligent enough so that we have been able to overcome the taboo that is swearing. Now I guess society could be blamed but I'm not sure blame is necessary. If you consider that the Baby Boomer generation overcame the taboo of sex this is not a big deal. There is "sex" on television these days I say "sex" because it's usually implied. When I see two adults under the covers and at just the right time they cut to a new scene I generally get the idea that they had sex.
So I wonder, "What is so horrible about a few measly words?" No one gets upset if you scream out "ARRRGGG!" so why do they act so shocked if you drop the "f-bomb" (I have decided not to swear out of courtesy). If I could I would perform a study on this subject but I obviously don't have the time. The best I can do is theorize that if people would not be shocked by such language, there would be no such language. Yet I also believe that such a scenario is not likely to happen because, some one will always find a way to shock and disgust people whether or not by words alone.
This brings me to a perplexing question: "Why do humans get shocked in the first place?" Some might say it's because we are the only hyper-intelligent being on Earth or even the universe (that's another paper entirely). I'm not sure that I can accept that, when modern man was still in it's infancy, I don't believe we got shocked by anything that others may have, well, grunted or physically done. I think that this whole taboo around swearing came about because of the way we now live our lives. I believe that most people have something lodged in a very uncomfortable place and that they need to pull it out so that they can finally sit and relax. In other words people are too uptight these days.
So in a nut shell, I think that people should be allowed to socially swear without worry. I also believe that day will never come because when we can accept today's current profanity some one with just come up with more. And that in general people desperately need to relax and have a time to unwind.
(thing) by Big Alba (4.6 mon) (print) ? Sat Sep 21 2002 at 13:30:04
Disclaimer: The following node contains dark Occult information and/or rituals. It may be considered morally innappropriate and may even be illegal where you live. I do not neccessarily believe the following information to be factual, however it is believed so by Occultists and/or mythological texts. What you do with this information is your own choice, and if you choose to follow these ritual(s) and you hurt yourself, you do it at your own risk. You have been warned.
Cursing
Cursing is the art of causing pain and misery to another being. It is mostly done as an act of revenge, though it has been done in spite, or simply to eliminate someone who has gotten in the way. Ways of doing this vary from extensive spellcasting to simple chanting; such methods shall be explained later.
The History of Cursing
Cursing has existed since the beginning of time, the earliest known useage of it was by God and other religious leaders through smiting an individual. It was adopted mainly as a Dark Art, many witches and sorcerors throughout the medieval ages, and in later ages tends to be more of a witch tradition than any other (amongst Western society). Amongst African cultures, primarily the Zulus, cursing was a common practice of Voodoo. During the Medieval period Cursing was outlawed by the Papacy, along with all other practices deemed as a Dark Art; this act was rather ironic, as even God himself used Cursing. Nowadays, Cursing is still practiced in many forms.
Methods of Cursing
* Chanting: This is any form of verbal communication that is indicative of wishing harm or misfortune upon another person. The closer it is to an ordered chant, the more powerful this form of Cursing is. This is the most common form of practiced Cursing.
Ex. "I hope you get what's coming to you!" is a form of Cursing, however a chant like, "Bring plague down upon (insert name), oh, strip his pride and burn him down." would be more powerful.
* Somatic: This is any form of gestured communication that is indicative of wishing harm or misfortune upon another person. This is a much less powerful form of Cursing, however can easily be combined with another form of Cursing to create a more powerful, overall curse. This is the most common form of Cursing.
Ex. Sticking up your middle finger, gesturing while chanting or spell casting.
* Spell Casting: This is the most potent, and also most illegal form of Cursing. It always requires Chanting, and usually requires Somatic components, but most of all, a brew must be created. This is simply made from boiling water, a sample of the victim and a sample of the curse. For example, blood or hair from the victim would be a sample of the victim. The sample of the curse varies greatly; if you wished to curse him with your venomous hatred, you would spit in the brew; if you wished to curse him with disease you would throw in a diseased object etc. Once the ingredients have been added, once must simply stir the brew while Chanting something to the effect of, "(insert victim name), thou shalt choke upon thine (insert curse), thou shalt wallow in thine misery etc." Often Somatic components are added, such as gesturing in anger while chanting, or waving ones hands over the brew. The more personal the sample of the victim is, the stronger the curse. For example, blood would be more powerful than hair; an entire limb or an organ would be more powerful than blood. Therefore, to obtain a truly powerful spell component, one must inflict harm on the victim prior to Cursing, making this form highly illegal.
* Smiting: This is a religious form of Cursing. It can be either a Chant or Somatic curse, or a mixture of both. The strength and ferocity of the curse is greatly dependent on the Deity behind it.
Ex. "May your soul burn in hell!", "The Dark Lord shall avenge my humiliation, just you wait!"
Cursing is probably used now more than ever before. Simple gestures, such as Up Yours, and swear words are forms of Cursing. Practiced Cursing is just as common as it used to be too, and while not entirely illegal (unless physically harming a victim, not simply mystically), it is considered morally inappropriate. Still, it is one of the better accepted Dark Arts.
(idea) by montecarlo (2.9 hr) (print) ? Tue Oct 08 2002 at 0:57:04
A complex, culturally dependent phenomenon
Cursing is a more complicated matter than meets the untrained ear. As a specific national of any specific nation, you might ponder for a moment and then be ready to make a complete treatise on the subject. But if you are multilingual, then certain complications appear. Fact is, people of different cultural spheres and/or language domains curse in a profoundly different manner. A few examples:
# Scandinavians curse mainly religiously/anti-religiously - hell, devil, damned, etc.
# English-speaking people curse mainly sexually - fuck, cunt, prick, etc., with some religious exceptions.
# Turks curse mainly "animally" - dog, pig, donkey, etc.
# Southern Europeans curse mainly sexually, but also religiously and animally.
# Everybody curses fecally - shit, crap, piss, etc.
A hurdle, blocking the solution to this problem, is the deplorably low frequency of genuinely multilingual / multicultural people. To know some school-French (pardon my French, - sorry) or school-German is not enough by a long shot - your German-teacher would just blush and give you a punitive extra quiz on verb forms if you dared to ask what "Schwanz" meant in German. Knowing a foreign language well enough to understand the nuances of national cursing and swearwords takes intimate knowledge, time and patience, which most casual students and visitors don't have. So a complete understanding of human cursing does in effect not exist.
Still, certain hypotheses may be brought forward:
Cursing is -- among other things -- a way of reacting out negative emotions -- e.g. when you have been screwed by your used-car salesman, when you have hit your thumb with a hammer, when you have been cheated by your husband/wife. In all cultures, certain things are held holy, or taboo. One way of demonstrating your negative emotions is to be defiant, rebellious. In your desperation, you utter a chain of words that are contrary to everything that you hold holy or taboo. What is holy or taboo in different cultures? A short list:
# Scandinavians have been held in a tight grip of puritan religiosity, for centuries.
# Brits, Americans and Southern Europeans are victims of social anti-sexuality.
# Turks belong to an ancient totem-culture, where animals have had a profound significance.
# Everybody is trained, from early childhood on, to abhor feces.
Due to globalization and American TV-dominance, American cursing habits have been widely adopted, which clouds the issue. Scandinavian kids today say "fuck you" (in the original) when cursing, in spite of the fact that a translation would sound ridiculous - "make love to you" (which is all that the corresponding Scandinavian words mean).
( www.Everything2.com )