Vulgar Culture
As my kids begin new schools, and face new blessings and challenges, one of the themes that has again emerged (as of necessity) is the culture of vulgar language.
I know I posted about this already, and don’t want to beat a dead horse, but since it’s already dead…
Pagan
While pondering this afresh, I recently came across Colossians 3:8 and my thoughts on this topic were reignited. Hence, this post. St. Paul reminds the Colossians of their pre-Christian pagan manner of life, ’…in this way you too once conducted yourselves, when you lived in that way. But now you must put them all away: anger, fury, malice, slander, and obscene language out of your mouths.’ Scottish Biblical scholar William Barclay (Fulton Sheen’s fav commentator), commenting on this passage offered this aside:
There can never have been a time in history when so much filthy language is used as it is today. And the tragedy is that today there are many people who have become so habituated to unclean talk that they are unaware that they are using it.
That was 1957.
Revealing Language
The Jewish-Christian view of language sees ‘the word’ as a primal sign of God’s image stamped in humanity, and icon of God’s all-creative Word who became flesh to reveal to us the regal purpose of language: to make known the dignity, beauty, truth and goodness of existence. The core-call of the Christian is to be a unique, set-apart sign of the way-we’re-supposed-to-be; to live a ‘Christian difference.’
After reading Fr. Purcell’s book, I was astounded by the staggering mystery of the origins of human language, and amazed by the thought that this God-breathed universe labored for billions of years to birth human beings that could finally give it a voice to return to its Maker a Godlike language of thanksgiving and praise.
Did that unspeakably immense history conceived in the mind of God unfold only to give birth to the F-bomb?
Our language either reveals or conceals the divine image stamped in the human heart, and when we stand before the ‘dread judgment seat of Christ’ we will be asked to account for the every word. Mine will be a long judgment.
Our bodies were created to glorify God, were transformed in Baptism into Temples of the ineffable Trinity, and our voices are the prime instrument of that Temple. As a friend of ours from Boston said (with a Baahstin accent) after a remarkable conversion back to the faith, ‘I can’t cuss any more, cuz now I know the Holy Spirit’s listening!’
Lingua Franca
This summer I spent time with a priest who has served for 40+ years as an exorcist. One thing he mentioned stuck with me, ‘One universal characteristic of exorcisms is that the inhabiting demons know how to curse in all languages; and profanity is their lingua franca.’
Why? Because they’re in the business of concealing, not revealing God.
Final Anecdote
I remember in July of 1987, about 6 months after my ‘conversion experience,’ I was working in a factory in the machine shop. The men there were good and hard working men, many of them had been there for decades. And they were, naturally, known for their salty language.
Now, after my return to the faith I had made what was for me a radical decision to never swear again.
One day we were all taking lunch and talking shop, and, as ever, the profanities danced off their tongues like a litany. I thought, ‘Man, I tired of acting like I’m holier-than-thou,’ and I threw in to the conversation (with pleasure!) a juicy cuss. They all stopped dead in the middle of the conversation, and the bearded elder of the group said, ‘Nope. That’s not who you are, Neal. Don’t lower yourself.’
And they continued on reciting their litany, and left me making an final, inner resolution to take The Pledge.
Sola gratia.
Okay, I’ll let the poor horse alone now.
My husband and favorite deacon has always worked with production workers. They tend to temper their salty language around him. This was true long before he had a conversion experience and before his ordination. Now if he says hell in a moment of frustration, people are shocked. Heh
Good post, Tom, I hear the “saltiest” language in the schools where I work. It’s not just the students, its the teachers also!!!!
Awesome to hear this coming from a fellow Roman Catholic. I don’t want to use any rash generalizations, but personal experience along with the stories of others has showed me that quite often Catholics are looser with their language. It tends to reflect a looser way of living in those who use colorful language, such as partying and drinking to great excess, and in general living a very unspiritual life far removed from God.
The sad thing is that converts often see this and adopt it because they think the difference is not one of being a lax Christian in general, but rather a Protestant vs. Catholic thing. I know, I am a convert, and I’ve been tempted to myself.
Very, very insightful. I appreciate your sharing that as I will use it in my own thinking about this issue.
Thank you, I appreciate your blog and will be following it from now on. Keep up the fantastic work!
Thank you for this post. It reminded me that I’ve started to slip into some bad habits again, and since I profess my mouth belongs to Christ, I ought not to speak like it is connected to the refuse of Hell.
I am glad it was to good effect – it’s why I write, so you power me to continue writing.
[...] in a newsroom, it’s as much a part of the vocabulary as “rewrite”—I appreciated this posting from Dr. Thomas J. Neal, via New Advent: I was astounded by the staggering mystery of the origins of [...]
Thank you so much for this post. As a Catholic high-school teacher the F-bomb and its companions are a daily litany. Your words give new direction and inspiration in how to gently reform our language towards the greater glory of God.
Robert, thank you for your comment. YOU are the reason I write, and your place in the Catholic school world is precisely where the changes need to begin if the Young Church is to be the Future Church. Thank you.
[...] [...]
Great article, Tom. Since our son was born we’ve both been trying to watch how we speak around him. Yet another way he’s making us holier!
On the topic of language, I thoroughly enjoyed “Through the Language Glass”. Have you read it?
Through the Language Glass: Why the World Looks Different in Other Languages
ANthony!
So good to hear from you!!
How true it is that our children teach us holiness as we begin to see ourselves as imitable models.
No, I have not read it, though it looks awesome; and seems to be a bio-extension of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s
early 20th century revolution in philosophy that placed language at the center of thought, and disallowed
the abstracting of truth from language. Many a theologian has found fruitful interchange between
Wittgenstein and John 1:1.
Thanks for the reference!!
My love to your beautiful bride.
God bless,
Tom
My dear friend, Amanda sent me this as a reminder for HER to watch her tongue…however, I know that in my two-faced life I need to watch my own (and I told her I could read between the lines). Our friend, Julie remarked that in her line of work (writing) it was associative and she had begun to pick back up some bad habits in her language. Socially endemic!!
In this, I realized 2 things:
1. I’m a hypocrite. I watch my words around my family (trying to set the example and all), and then I let it rip at work and realized it’s so UNnecessary, so I’ve added a filter. That filter needs work, but it’s in progress!
2. I don’t use that language in my blogging, however, the blogs that DO are wildly popular and I find it so bizarre. If, at some point, my children read my blogs, how could I explain myself? It’s just not me.
Great article, as always!! Great blog! Blessings!!