I spent the latter part of my childhood in a home where my parents were quite accustomed to "swearing" -- using "blue" words to get across their very colorful ideas. In seminary, I studied with Stanley Hauerwas. Stan, as the many who know him, is the son of a Texas bricklayer, who's also a theological ethicist. Stan's language is usually shocking, precisely because he swears. I don't swear. What's more, I intentionally discipline my speech from swearing. Because I follow Jesus, nonviolence is inherent in being a Christian. Such nonviolence also tempers my temper and disciplines my speech. There are two ways I think about this issue -- using swear words. First, there's a list of words I just won't ever use. Then, there's a list of words that may be used in context. That makes it easy to go through life thinking about what I'm saying. Using God's name disrespectfully is obviously off the appropriate list. But t...
A "restless" theologian in service to the church of Jesus Christ