St. Paul and Swearing

Today is the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. I was pondering over several ideas for today's blog and I was being repeatedly interrupted from my thoughts by different seminarians as they came in and out of the computer room. Just by chance, a conversation started up that posed the question as to whether or not it was a sin to use vulgar language. Instantly I was able to draw the connection between this question and our beloved St. Paul.

When I was a teenager, I went on a workcamp mission trip in the fine state of Ohio. It was an interdenominational camp and so I was the only Catholic in my group. But as with any group of good Christians we set about our work with Christian joy and unity. We were rebuilding an old trailer which had been condemned by the state in order for a single mother to move back in with her infant son. I was attaching the 2x4s to the underside of the trailer as one of the early steps toward putting up metal underpinning on the trailer, which required me to get on my back and nail the wood upwards into the trailer frame. As my hammer hit the nail some dried and caked mud fell directly onto my face and in my mouth (in this case the punishment was delivered before the crime). I coughed and spit rolling out from under the trailer before I let loose a string of vulgar language that only a teenager could concoct.

One of the Protestant girls in my group turned to me and yelled out, "Ephesians 4:29!" I had no idea what she meant... "What?!" "Ephesians 4:29" "What are you talking about," I said between spits. She got up exasperated and grabbed her Bible out of her bag. "Catholics! Don't you ever read your Bible?" I grabbed the Bible and looked up the passage from St. Paul's letter (I did read my Bible and I did know where Ephesians was). I have never forgotten this passage since. "Do not let unwholesome talk come from your mouths, only what is good in building each other up. Do not offend the Holy Spirit."

There are those who interpret this to mean that we should never use vulgar or profane language. The problem is there is no steadfast definition of which words in common parlance are considered vulgar. For example, "Hell" is a theological term, however the way in which someone uses it may be vulgar, profane, or it can even be used as a curse (in its true meaning). To say, "Go to hell," is to curse them and surely violates Ephesians 4:29. However, to say, "that was a hell of a game guys..." becomes more vague and blurry.

Then in Phillipians 3:8, St. Paul uses the Greek word "Skubala" which is translated into English from the Greek as another "S" word. The point he is making is that he considered all his earthly gains to be "Skubala" in comparison with the Glory that God has prepared for him in Jesus Christ. St. Paul was not ignorant or careless, he chose the word on purpose. It is supposed to shock you, it is supposed to illicit in us the vulgarity. That is what makes a great contrast, he wants us to know that even the best things here are gross compared to what God has waiting for us. I am sure that St. Paul did not write this letter to be read to the local kindergarten class nor is he advocating this word's constant use. The key is not to lead others to sin by using any word in a scandalous manner, even "good" words.

There is a constant debate on whether someone should consider the use of certain words as sinful. The Catechism of the Catholic Church remains silent on this issue of the use of vulgar language. It does however teach us in CCC 2145 that we should not abuse the name of God, Mary, or the saints. Catholic Apologist Peter Kreeft writes "If 'profanity' must be used at all, profane things should be profaned, not sacred things. The name of 'God' or 'Jesus' should certainly not be used where a word for excrement would be appropriate!" (Kreeft, Catholic Christianity,211).

That we should guard our tongues is evident in throughout the teachings of Christ specifically in the Gospels and in the Apostolic Tradition of our Church. Was it not Jesus who warned the Pharisees that it was not what went into their mouths that made them unclean rather it was what came out of their mouths? Check out James 3:1-12, here is a piece, "⁵ Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. ⁶ The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell."

Whatever our current daily vocabulary may be, including any habits of boasting, vulgarity, using the Lord's Name in Vain, Slander, Gossip, or speaking hopes of harm to others (cursing), we must all seek to use our language for the highest good. St. Paul again gives us great insight as he writes to the Philippians in Phil 2:10-11
^"10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father."

We are given a voice to proclaim the Glory of the Father through Jesus Christ. Not everything we say will be to this end and that is ok. We must always be careful, on penalty of sin, of saying anything that will detract from the glory of God. For many of us, this may be a process of conversion that gives us control over our tongue. For some it may be a reminder that even St. Paul used the "S" word, you know "Skubala", in the Bible and that vulgar words in and of themselves contain no evil. Let us resolve to practice discipline over our tongue so that we do not so easily err and "Set fires" to our lives and even our own souls. Let's not panic if we've used or heard a "bad word," but let us repent when those same words have detracted from God's Glory in harming ourselves or others. We should encourage one another with our words, build each other up in Christ, and certainly not offend the Holy Spirit.