There was (and is) a professor where I went to seminary who loved to swear in class. He even threw in plenty of GD's and JC's. A lot of what he did I believe was to get people out of their comfort zone so they could see things from a different perspective. We get so comfortable with our little Americanized version of the Bible that we need to be shocked out of it from time to time. I do, however, think he secretly enjoyed having someone get offended and walk out the door (they didn't have much choice but to come back for the next class though--they needed to pass his to graduate).
As I think about profanity, swearing, or whatever you want to call it, I believe we get way too worked up about it. Our offense to it is very cultural (as is most "vulgar" language, as I learned while on a mission trip to Mexico. I used the wrong Spanish word for hot and was told by my interpreter that I was really giving the wrong impression to the woman I was speaking to. Funny, the teacher never pointed out that distinction in my High School Spanish Class). As a matter of fact, I think we should swear more often in the church. It might do us some good.
You see, we get offended when someone swears in church (rarely do we take such offense in our every day lives, except when children are around or involved) and we think we're being reverent. The truth is, I don't think God cares too much about swearing; not even the JC's or GD's.
Let's start there. We believe that people are using "the Lord's name in vain" when they say Jesus Christ or GD it. Likewise, we often say, "in Christ's name we pray" at the end of our prayers because Jesus said, "If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it." (John 14) The truth is, the words Lord or God or YHWH or Jesus Christ have very little to do with asking for something in God's name. Are they literally names of God? Yes. But, to ask for something in Jesus' name is to ask for our wants and needs to be in line with Jesus' will for us. It's not a part of a magical formula. Say these magic words and Jesus will have to do what I want. It's more about asking for our will, our wants, and our needs to be put in line with Jesus' will.
In the same way, to truly use the Lord's name in vain is to falsely say that God is blessing an event, an action, a group of people, etc. So if a dictator says that God wants him to wipe out a group of people and that God will bless all of those who help in doing so--that is using God's name in vain.
Honestly, our political leaders use God's name in vain in this way all the time. To simply say "God Bless America" can be fine, but to say it and to also mean--"God blesses us, our particular set of political beliefs, our country over almost all others" is blasphemous. To ask God to bless our troops is fine, as long as we're not implying that we're asking God to help them kill others (I prefer to pray for all combatants on both sides). Asking God to bless something in the Scriptures is serious business. We no longer look at it that way. We just want God to bless what we like and what we're for (and we'll use God to further our own agenda as well). And so we get upset about someone saying GD it instead.
Now some may quote to me, "So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great exploits. How great a forest is set ablaze by a small fire . . . it stains the whole body, sets on fire the cycle of nature, and is itself on fire by hell . . . no one can tame the tongue." (James 3) It is true that James talks a lot about taming the tongue. But, I don't believe he is concerned about swearing or social etiquette. In that same passage he says, "With it (the tongue) we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse those who are made in the likeness of God."
James is really concerned about the plague of most churches. Gossip. Backstabbing. Misrepresentation. People being judgmental. (Please note that those aren't four letter words he's concerned about). James isn't concerned about our cultural sensibilities. He's more concerned about our relationships with one another, how we treat one another, and how we love one another.
If gossip and rumor mongering ended in the church and it was replaced with bad language, I honestly think the church would be better off and would be closer to God's intention for it. It is gossip and rumors that destroy Christians, lives, and relationships. Often they rise up out of anger, frustration, jealousy, fear, and hate.
So--I don't have a problem if we were to start using more "vulgar" language in church, if in turn we were more careful about what we said about God and what God approves of and what we said about our brothers and sisters sitting next to us (especially when they aren't within ear shot). Let's get offended by hate, slander, lies, and propaganda--and let's start by changing the ways we engage in that behavior. If we have time to deal with four letter words after that, then we'll be in a great place!
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