Potty-Mouthed Emergents?
Anna addresses profanity and the emergent church:
“Apparently, in many Emergent church circles, it is cool to be ‘free’ to swear like everyone else….”
Who knew?
“God certainly thought Words Mean Things. He gave a commandment about the verbal mis-use of His Name. Jesus backed this up with telling us that even calling our brother a fool was a [rightly used] damnable offense. Of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.
The real source of profanity is from the human heart. Get the source pure and the stream will flow bright and clear. Let it be defiant, and you will love all sorts of profane things.”
Word.
Doing street outreach, you definitely hear some “language,” as my Southern Baptist momma calls it. As Anna says, I expect people’s words to reflect who they are on the inside, and I don’t judge. But I’d think that “emergent Christians” (and I’m not really sure what that means, btw) would have Christ inside them and would want to reflect that. And somehow, I just can’t imagine Jesus using the “f” word.
January 27th, 2008 at 4:47 pm
“I think Emergents have a broader sense of grace that gives us a peace that although we know outbursts of bad language (out of anger or whatever) is a sin, that God’s grace is more than sufficient to cover that. We don’t feel the need to grovel in guilt over uttering a curse word here or there.”
I hope that no follower of Christ “grovels in guilt” about sin, and that we all know, believe, understand and live under that all-sufficient grace. I don’t know that that’s an “emergent” thing. But then again, I’m not clear about what “emergent” means, or even why we need more labels and sub-groups in the Church. I’m not trying to be argumentative, and I will check out the links you provided and try to learn more. Thanks for commenting, even if you did use a cuss word. LOL. (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.)
January 27th, 2008 at 11:21 am
The “potty-mouthed” accusation against Emergent Christians seems to be coming up a lot lately. I think it’s a sad stereotype, and has more to do with generational issues than it does with theology, although I think (speaking as an Emergent Christian) there is a theological framework for justifying some use of harsh language.
I think Emergents have a broader sense of grace that gives us a peace that although we know outbursts of bad language (out of anger or whatever) is a sin, that God’s grace is more than sufficient to cover that. We don’t feel the need to grovel in guilt over uttering a curse word here or there.
More than that, we look at how culture has shifted and how language has evolved, and words that are widely accepted today (e.g., “that sucks!”) were anathema to the previous generation. And when Paul writes in Philippians 3:8 that he consider everything “rubbish” when “compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord” that word “rubbish” might be translated today as “shit,” it’s that strong of a word. So language usage changes over time, and Emergents are just more aware of that and comfortable with that, I think.
BTW — Andrew Jones (an Emergent Christian from New Zealand) has posted a theology of profanity (written by a Fuller Seminary student) that looks interesting: http://tallskinnykiwi.typepad.com...
And, finally, if you want to get a better picture of what Emergent Christianity is about (besides the “potty-mouthed” stereotype), ya’ll should come hear Brian McLaren next weekend here in Charlotte on his “Everything Must Change” tour: http://www.deepshift.org/charlotte
Lots of Emergent Christians will be there!
January 26th, 2008 at 8:09 pm
“…I try to keep my swearing in the context of the company I’m keeping…”
See, that’s the thing, Billy. Christians are always in the company of Jesus, because the Holy Spirit is in us. And He’s right there to remind us…
January 26th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
Okay, everyone knows I’m not a religious man… And yes I swear from time to time (especially at times like yesterday when I hit the wrong nail with the hammer) but I try to keep my swearing in the context of the company I’m keeping and to a minimum using only enough to make my point.
And yes, while I believe Jesus was a mortal man and not anyone’s savior I still can’t see him as the kind of man who would curse in polite company. With or without religion some mortals are able to remain above such things. Now had Christ Jesus followed in Joeseph’s footsteps he might have taken over the family carpentry business and hit his fingers a few times too many but that wasn’t the case.
This Emergent Church you write of seems like they must be desperate to recruit their flocks if they’re willing to forgo the rules of good conduct so easily.
As a writer I find certain words to add a certain spice that nicer words can’t impart but when used as everyday language these same words become bland and soiled to the point of having no use whatsoever.
January 25th, 2008 at 3:30 pm
“And somehow, I just can’t imagine Jesus using the “f” word.”
Bingo!
Thanks for adding your 2 cents.
~Anna