Do you know when it happened? Historically speaking, and I'm clearly guessing here; we ought look at sometime after the American revolution, and prior to the war of Northern aggression? Cursing came. . . to a screeching halt!
Now, I'm predicting over here that you're already saying; "Don't be a knuckle-head Junior, of course cursing didn't end!". Uhm, are we so awfully certain, just. . . "here"?, I'd likely respond. See, my point of contention herein is that "Victorian" ethos, yonder among the Brits, and a corresponding "School-marmish" neo-ethic prevailed. In the war of ideas, they won the day. I, Mike Labor, am hereby asserting, that socially, internationally, and really; cursing (in fact) did end.
The "progressives" in our midst, to this day, continue to grouse about the Victorian inhibitions (usually sexual) which we to this day; "suffer under", did you notice? Together, the international drift of things, was toward a public decency, a civilized, and sophisticated outward carriage of the person, such that, certain things are just never said. They. . . won, deal with it, and move on. Heck, to this very hour, one can just tune into talk radio, to hear the many callers as "desperate" to grasp; "What "can we do" to restore decency and common sense in the land? I am "concerned about standards" in television, (or is it?) movies, or the pop-music "industries", what can we "do" to . . . restore our former greatness?". Kinda sad, huh? I say, this Victorian/School-marmishness ethos, like all our endeavors, produced, unintended consequences, and as such is flatly unable, and unwilling to ever once note that cursing and cussing may well be brothers, but were never identical twins. Nowadays, the brothers are no longer on friendly, speaking terms. . .
Cussing remained, cursing departed, it's about that complex. Geo. Carlin outlined for us, some-when our cult-ural seven (or so?) taboo words. And, as long as those are not said, we might safely infer that cussing did not occur. Decency, is thus preserved! Uhm, "Yeah, for 'progress'. . . or some such?". Somehow, cursing was relegated to a backwater status, that (should it actually exist at all) only witches, or perhaps voodoo queens really ever curse, as in; "the verb; 'To place under the influence of a spell, or incantation, to bewitch'. . .". Spooky thought; that! The very idea of causing by ordered speech, an "inexplicable" ruination of foes, simply disappeared off our radar? Or, did it?
To break a foe via verbal, and/or body ritual, so to crush, to hound and frustrate said foe's life unto an "uncanny" collapse. . . whatever in heck that finally proves to be; cannot be the same as using the "f-bomb" in public! Different brother, but at the divorce, cursing "officially ended" whereas cussing stayed put, but lives on only "technically, and in private".
Personally, I have mixed emotions on the topic of cussing. As a believer, I'm supposed to be opposed to the practice, but in fact, find it difficult to "care". For the unbeliever, his growing up years very likely included more than a tad of salty language, and so to speak, it is his "natural mother-tongue". Now, I've yet to hear of the Wycliffe translator all jazzed about translating Scripture into that particular "heart-language". . . Further, I doubt that such, a Carlin's Bible would prove so awfully popular a best seller. This particular "vulgar tongue" ain't prezackly what our friends set out to do, I'd hazard here.
The downside of such, it seems is that if one's actual, and daily used language is perpetually off-limits, then prayer f'r instance, is going to be forced over into an awfully blasted slender topical menu. See, like maybe the Almighty ain't yet wise to that lingo, we'd best set a good example with the Chap, and only talk-nice. . . it's for His own good, you see; we wouldn't want to corrupt the Gent upstairs, now would we?; is the reality which "accidentally" falls out. So, in prayer, we don't have much we "can say"! Yet worse than that dumb misery, in the paucity of our talking-back to Him, those things we really do intend to say, are found to be "un-safe" to ever once assert? Sad, and stupid?, yep; that's us! Thanks tons, Vicky. . .
Join me then as we observe a cult-ure devoid of cursing, officially at least, and opposed to cussing, at minimum in principle, also, I say also, is "co-incidentally" one in which prayer, by in large is gone dormant. I think it wrong headed of us to teach children to; "Tell Him your heart", but to never ever apply your real heart-language! So, I retain an ambivilence just "here". Am I wrong? Such guck of ours yields the big mystery of; "Just why are our young folk wandering from the Captain. . . what did we do wrong?" A Carlin Bible is (likely) not the cure here, but I say, the product of disenfranchising the next gens, is precisely the "Vick-stress'es actual victory". Recall, that side won. Who knew?
Supposing then for a moment, that you unaccountably escaped this pointless trainwreck we view here, and indeed do pray, why do we believers retain the School-marmish prohibition against cursing? Why are we the ones to enforce the divorce decree? What prezackly, are we to "do" with David's prayer; "Teach my hands to war!"? The institutions of this world those bureaucratic idiocies we love to mock, plus the plain futility of erecting "more, and new rules", the stubborn blindnesses and meanness of "the great", all this noise about us; finally tips! From sheer blockheadedness, plus pointlessly boneheaded incompetence of our public "servants", this inevitably leaks over into flatly evil deeds. Had you noticed? Those damnable TSA creeps fondling old ladies and. . . even babies? This is clearly, clearly gone beyond the usual clumsy stupid boondogglery; it's hellish.
Uhm, does the School-marm ever "allow us". . . to note this? At what point exactly, I inquire; since when do dead foreign queens "authorize" our rightful, and bound duty. . . to (the verb) Curse?
Recall our actual situation on the ground. The reality is; the men might well be yet be sheared off from their hellion captors, and plainly we are under orders to bless even the creepiest of creeps. So what? This discussion is not about that topic, we are discussing lawful cursing! And to those wrecks, those ex-persons which fell from above, along with their thoroughly damned-to-hell king, we are free to say; with good King David: "Yea, shatter his jaw. . .
Break inwardly his knees, and make his path slippery. . .
Chain him in darkness, and grind him. . .
Down!".
And in that speaking, be without a single hesitation.
Do you see my meaning? It is we, we who with and in Lord Christ, have authority to both. . . bless, and curse! Of course, we bless our (human-ONLY) enemies and say; "free that sordid TSA pervert from his dark fixation, before he goes too far, and can never come back"! But such is a moot and unrelated point in this C.P.E..
We have mistaken (think I) nice/decent with good/holy. Moreover, we did it on purpose! The clue is covenantal. The merely "nice" person has yet to be freed to indeed Fear Him, and this contrasting with the good one who does, and is free to say so. It's about our mouths being opened, so to speak truth. Truth, by definition; excludes, deal with it already.
Speech: "By your words, you shall be judged" means ergo, every careless thoughtless word of mine shall surely come up for review. If the high-holy sacrifice at Calvary, for any reason whatsoever "fails" to cover my guilt and shame, if it "forgets to forget" my lawful condemnation, I. . . have. . . no hope. . . period!
Yet we do! Our Hope lives. He in Person the High Word (Himself!) to shatter-forever, to tread down, destroy, and ruin; lives at peace with the High Blessing; to feed, to call home, to heal and to raise (again) alive. It's never some bland homogenization, a little of this, and a dash of that, it's the Covenant Reality; it's a both/and type of full-tilt-bozo, glad acceleration to the victory finish! Immanuel takes the trainwreck of Holy Judgement upon Himself, taking-with-Him, His foes in that righteous disaster.
Out of that wreckage, He-alone (and then, them hidden-in Him) is the only Survivor! But, that's enough, and far more than enough, it's a flatly supernatural victory, Covenant realized, Covenant enacted, and frankly, I'm damned glad of it!
Note to reader; okay I quit trying to "not-repair". Let's just be honest, and call this C.P.E., a newbie, and move on. . .
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