over zealous moderator
For those who aim to follow the bible, there are several references about not using foul language.
Uh-huh.
David, you know I love you, Brother, but there's a certain naivete to statements such as this.
Christ Himself was given to being caustic, disrespectful, sarcastic, and generally being a pain in the *** at times. His message never changed, but they way He delivered that message did, on several occasions, depending on who He was addressing.
I can point out several passages where He was being those things above.
That being said, let's take a look at caustic language and a delivery of the message. I, personally, call it street evangelizing. Paul said pretty much the same thing. "When I am with ____, then I do as ____ does." It gains trust. When Paul was with the fishermen all day, given certain speech patterns, certain habits, and certain language am I supposed to believe that Paul didn't drop an (historic) f-bomb every once in a while? I'm sure he did.
I've been witness to how effective it can be. While I worked at one of the national chains we had a "regional VP" who considered himself to be somewhat of a "holy roller." He never swore, but by God, he could preach a good game that I'm sure would have made Christ Himself do a face palm. One day he was lecturing a co-worker about the Prayer of Jabez and how it benefited his life. I had to walk away. This man's theology was all about how God favored him above all others. Hardly something someone should be preaching to a person who was "on the fence" about his beliefs.
Once the "VP" was done with his lecture my co-worker sought me out. He point blank looked at me and said, "now what's the truth?" He saw through the man's lies and wanted me to explain to him what wasn't a lie. Not only was my knowledge sought out, but there's a certain hypocrisy involved when one holds themselves to a higher standard and then breaks that standard at the drop of a hat. That's what the VP did, on several occasions. This was but one of them.
But, you see, there was also a trust factor involved. I told off color jokes and laughed when others told them. I looked at beautiful women just as my co-workers did. I used course language, just as my co-workers did. It's who I am, but it's also part of who God made me. I'm a mechanic by trade, someone who works with his hands, someone who's in an environment that's full of these things. It also made me "one of the guys," who the others were able to view as honest, with them as well as himself.
Do I watch my language in "polite" company? Of course, I do. I don't walk into a church and drop the F-bomb. But, there's a harm in that, too. Men communicate differently when it's just men. That ability to communicate has to be suspended in "polite" company. This, for the most part, is a site compromised of men. Should we ask men to not be men for the benefit of those who aren't men? Is that being fair to the men who come here to communicate in a way that men do?
Let's dig up an old thread, shall we?
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showthread.php?t=174369