Currently Holy Sh*t: A Brief History of Swearing By Melissa Mohr see related

Currently Expletive Deleted: A Good Look at Bad Language By Ruth Wajnryb see related

The librarian looked at me funny. He didn't smile.

This is probably because I was checking out Holy Sh*t with a book that teaches children to write poem. I guess those two subjects don't mix.

B saw me reading Wajnryb. He looked at the cover and said, "Dad, really?!"

I am reading two books on swearing and that for several reasons. People I'm meeting often sprinkle their sentences with spices. The excuse is to say that I need to desensitize myself to it (as if I am still allergic to it...). From time to time, I think E has dropped F-bombs here and there. He has just started to speak and it is challenging to understand clearly what he is saying. This perhaps comes from YouTube Minecraft videos (Thanks to whoever you are who have polluted my kid's vocab....).  M has some fascinations with Cantonese swear words and he has managed to learn a few. He learns that something completely harmless in English can be severely offensive in Cantonese. FCC requires media to bleep out swear words, but I often feel that those bleeps are invitations to search my mental dictionary for the right word to complete the sentence.  I also feel that reading books on the topic isn't so different from reading heretical theological works. In the end, I want to read any grammatical and historical study on swearing and I found a number of them. For now, I only plan to read two.

One is written by Melissa Mohr, a PhD from Stanford, and another one by Ruth Wajnryb. Mohr's is written from a historical perspective and Wajnryb from a cultural and linguistic perspective. The two authors probably have two very different attitude about swearing.

Mohr was introduced on the flap of the book like this...

Melissa Mohr has recently been dividing her time between writing this book about swearing, and hiding it from her kids.

However, Wajnryb wrote about her childhood,

I swore profusely and indiscriminately. So out of kilter with my surroundings was I that I could have been dropped into the family home from another planet. (p.24)

Understandably, she wrote,

My daughter has been an accomplished swearer from her earliest toddlerdom. But even as she picked up the odd taboo word -- mostly through osmosis at home -- she also learned the rules. Restraint was needed in the company of grandmas, headmistresses, basically anyone old-looking. (p.180)

What I have learned are these so far by reading Wajnryb:

(1) Swearing and making oaths are related especially from a religious point of view

(2) Swear words are limited thus a single word can serve multiple grammatical functions: finite verb, gerund, infinitive, noun, adverb, exclamation, etc.

(3) Swear words do follow grammatical rules, i.e. people can actually think that you have committed grammatical error when you swear (as if they really care....)

(4) Swearing can be categorized: social, annoyance. There may be other ways to categorize it.

(5) Swear words can be replaced completely by other words especially religious words, e.g. "Jesus Christ" can be used to swear

(6) Swearing and theology are related, e.g. our attitude towards a certain swear words are shifting depending on our view of religion; Ch. 8 of Wajnryb is "In the Name of God" (this is an interesting chapter....); there are plenty of euphemisms in the Old Testament, etc.

(7) Swearing in one culture may sound totally benign in another, i.e. a literal translation may complete change its meaning

(8) Swear words can be incorporated into another word as prefix or infix

Xanga needs to raise money for relaunching. I support the plan. Progress so far.....

If Xanga's relaunching plan fails and it shuts down on July 15, 2013, this blog will continue at 

http://routergenie.blogspot.com/

Since poetry often communicates what is private and mysterious and unknowable, comparison is a valuable tool. In fact, it is one of poetry's chief ways of communicating. --- Margaret Ryan, How to Read and Write Poems.

A new tool to learn.

²⁹ Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30)

What is more burdensome? Christ's commands or our own guilt and bitterness?

A yoke harnesses two animals together to pull a cart or other equipment. Likewise, Jesus' yoke includes all the commands His disciples are expected to know and do. These are mostly written and stated instructions. Any unwritten rule or unspoken expectation puts in place in the church is secondary and relative. It is a form of the heresy of legalism when these secondary instructions become as authoritative as the written commands of Christ. Although drinking, smoking, dancing are never prohibited in the Scriptures (see the decision of the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15:28-29), some elevated these onto the level of the Ten Commandments (which is written). This diminishes Christian liberty (Galatians 2:4). We need Christ's yoke instead.

Jesus said: "For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Many things we do and many decisions we make may actually bring us into many troubles. Logic of sin carries consequences that can last for generations. We need grace that last forever. Natural consequences of sin are quite difficult and heavy to bear. In contrast, walking in the way of the commands of Christ is therefore a lighter burden and easier. Lie is complicated. One lie that has left the house needs more to cover its track. An easier path is the truth and truth that can become a blessing to others is spoken in love and patience. Bitterness and guilt that we take up in life are not easy to shake. They come with a playback button. Forgive-and-forget may be possible but it is sometimes not at all practical; instead, forgive-and-love solves problems that grudges cannot solve because believers are fully forgiven and what God can do in grace. Injuries of life are real and they burden us, too; however, healing by the Word is more powerful, enables us to move on and looks beyond the prison cell we have built for ourselves. The Word brings us the hope and promises that we cannot give ourselves.

If we need something light and easy in this life, we need Jesus to shoulder the consequences of our sins while we also need Him to show us a clear path through this life in a complicated and uncontrollable world. We can find it in understanding and obeying the gospel of Christ because He is gentle and lowly in heart.

June 4th (6/4/1989) is one of those things that etched in my memory like 9/11/2001 and other things. It reminds me of this song.

However, ultimately, the Gospel is still our real hope. For the Gospel changes what political power is incapable in changing.

This was the passage for a message preached at a recent retreat.

³⁶ Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.

³⁷ Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?"  ³⁸ And Peter said to them, "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  ³⁹ For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself."  ⁴⁰ And with many other words he bore witness and continued to exhort them, saying, "Save yourselves from this crooked generation."  ⁴¹ So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls.

⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  ⁴³ And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles.  ⁴⁴ And all who believed were together and had all things in common.  ⁴⁵ And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.  ⁴⁶ And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,  ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Acts 2:36-47, ESV)

Christian faith is both spiritual and material, both individual and communal.

One key purpose of the coming of Jesus Christ is to deal with sin (Genesis 3:15, Matthew 1:21); however, with this salvation from sin, they are placed into a corporate body in order that they will be discipled and taken care of. Therefore, the Christian faith contradicts religions of the world in terms of the way of salvation and the consequences of salvation although all religions agree that the world is problematic. To face a problematic broken world, the Christian solution is not to deny it, but to transform it. Transformation of the world calls for a different kind of faith.

Immediately after Peter preached (Acts 2:14-36), 3,000 came to faith and were immediately baptized. His last statement (v.36) made it clear that they have sinned by crucifying Jesus on the cross though it is adequately clear that, politically, it was the Romans and the Jewish leadership who have done that. In answering their question ("Brothers, what shall we do?", v.37), Peter said they are to repent and be baptized. Then all will receive the Holy Spirit. No exception. Peter did not mention a lengthy time of discipleship before baptism just like Jesus has instructed them (Matthew 28:18-20). The giving of the Holy Spirit was a fulfillment of Old Testament promise (Ezekiel 39:29). These New Testament saints therefore surpassed all those from before in what they possessed. However, it needs to be clear that this faith is not only about spiritual blessings, but also material blessings because the needs in the community will be taken care of within the community. Christians do not share the Buddhist disdain of the material world.

Individually, each of them needed to repent and be baptized and yet communally, they lived together and had all things in common. It is clear the early church was not practicing communism. None of them were asked to give everything up for the "state" and they sold on what are necessary to meet immediate needs only. They had also done so voluntarily. They have done these so that needs were met. Their communal life also included not just Sunday worship but daily worship (v.46). Their communal life also poured out "into the street" so that everyone loved them. As we continue to read Acts, we know they were not without critics and many would persecute them. However, the highlight on these people is that they were "having favor with all the people" (v.47). However, in a way, Luke did not attribute their attractiveness to their continual growth and kindness. Instead, Luke wrote, "...the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved." Growth came from the Lord, not their appeal in the community. These early Christians found no necessity to play politics in order to protect their moral interests and distinctive way of life. Politics were never in their favor anyway. Therefore, they simply lived and people were attracted to them.

Certainly, we know our society and culture are very different today, but we need to be drawn back to think and rethink how the Apostles' teaching, communal life, sacraments, and prayers can be shared for all (v.42). I tend to think we may need to find way to teach or fellowship on a daily basis (just like the medieval daily mass) in view of the needs and irregular schedules of our community.

Nevertheless, to focus on faith as an individual matter undercuts and undermines the public appeal of the Christian faith. Faith is meant to be confessed personally and communally (e.g. Westminster Confession of Faith and various historic creeds of the Church). A Christian faith that is purely spiritual that disregards the material effects of faith is in fact heretical (e.g. Gnosticism and her various cultic siblings in the early church) and quite useless.

Sin isolates (Genesis 3:12, etc.). Christ's death and resurrection reverses that isolation through faith so that we are adopted into His Body. May the blessings of the Lord flow to us through our communal life, establish us, and transform us into the image of Christ.

A Theology of Ministry under Development

"They have used us."

Some believers have expressed such opinion after non-believers have used services of the church (e.g. meals, programs, seminars, evangelistic meeting, etc.) but have showed little interest in the Gospel. However, we have seen these phenomena in the Scripture:

(1) None of the Israel except two who are released from Egypt would enter Canaan (Joshua and Caleb, Numbers 32:11-12) and yet God had rescued them by Moses anyway.

(2) Jesus has healed ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19) but only one came back to give Him thanks. Nevertheless, Jesus healed all ten.

(3) Judas, who has eventually betrayed Jesus, has followed Jesus, sent to do ministry (Matthew 10:5), and was allowed to manage the group fund (John 12:6). If ministry is sacred, Judas was allowed to be part of it.

(4) God gives rain and sunshine to both the good and the evil (Matthew 5:45) from the beginning until the end. God did not execute Adam and Eve immediately and they are allowed to live in it.

Either we say Israel, the nine lepers, Judas and many sinners on earth has used God, or we say God is gracious enough to allow them to use the things He has created. If God's children are to be like their Father (Matthew 5:48) and they truly believe all their resources come from God (including time), they can allow their resources to be used by everyone. Outcomes of the Church's ministry do not entirely depend on her works; instead, it depends on the Lord who works through her. In her nearsightedness, she can consider her resources as wasted and exploited by the non-believers; instead, she should acknowledge her ignorance in the exact detailed plan, timetable and work schedule of God and be faithful in her ministry planning and execution.

On a Sunday morning when I was about 16, I was walking to church. I lived in a nice neighborhood (I knew this only later in my life...) and have never had any problem. That morning was different. As usual, the street was quiet. When I was very close to the church, I found myself surrounded by 7-8 boys. They were walking on the opposite side of the street and as I got closer to the church, they crossed over and had me surrounded. Some of them were of my height and some were shorter. I don't remember if they have said anything, but one of them stepped forward and punched my chest. He was a shorter one and it hurt. I was shocked. I don't remember they had any weapon and God must be gracious. Without even saying anything, I pushed through them, ran straight into the church and hid. They have run after me into the church's courtyard. However, there were a few people there and so they did not stay long and left.

That punch stays with me until now. I am amazed how this insignificant incident affects me. When people approach me these days without a clear intention, I will tense up. When I am at an ATM machine, I will keep looking over my shoulder. Once a man was asking me something from behind when I was at an ATM machine, I tensed up and I walked off abruptly. I took a course on self-defense in college. Even so, the punch stays with me. I have taken up this allergic reaction that is unnecessary but it may be necessary so that I can understand some other things.

I can (or may be I should not pretend I can) imagine what may happen to people when something more serious happened to them during their lifetime. Some of our experience will stay.

Things happen to us outside our control. This is the one thing ministry has consistently showed me. Can't we believe things happen to us only under God's providence and they are meant to strip away our self-reliance and pride? Christ said to Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9) That may be what He wants to show me. Without weaknesses and knowing our sinfulness, how will look outside ourselves to seek the Lord?

Along this line, I have not seen anyone like Mr. W. He is in his 70s and a taxi driver from Hong Kong. He has several major surgeries because of cancer in the last 20 years. He has lost at least a part of the stomach, a kidney, 1/3 of his left lung, and a section of his right femur. He tells me recently that pain has developed in his right pelvic area. He came to Christ a few years back and has been faithful in church attendance. Each time he recovers, he will be back. I plainly tell him the Gospel does not promise that he will recover from every surgery and sufferings but that the Lord will be with him always. He accepts that. I am always amazed how he can accept that. He tells me he reads the Scriptures and prays every morning. He knows what the Lord has done for him. He has gone through much and he knows; when I complain, I don't. May be he is like this because he has been fighting traffic and other taxi drivers on the streets in Hong Kong, but may be God intents to show His grace through his frailties until the very end. It is a privilege for me to baptize him in early June.

He is faithful though we are not. May His grace moves us over to love Him.