the tindog coffeehouse

Recently, the extraordinarily obscene gansta rap duo known as Insane Clown Posse made headlines when they “came out” as evangelical Christians. In an F-bomb-laden interview with The Guardian, they explain how for 20 years, they’ve just been tricking their audience into believing they were the scum of the earth so that they could at some point spring it on them that no, they’ve actually been Christians all along.

ICP’s, um, “unorthodox” method of spreading the Gospel begs a number of questions, not the least of which is whether they’re really saved or if this some sort of publicity stunt. I mean, after all, when was the last time anyone has even heard of them much less give them any attention?

Obviously, I can’t answer that one, but it does raise another question: As a Christian, is there any acceptable use of cuss words, whether it’s in music or books or in real life? At what point does our language cross a line which makes it impossible to share our faith or live out the Gospel? Or is there a line at all?

Jars of Clay lead singer Dan Haseltine asked such questions yesterday on Twitter, and I’m not sure there are any concrete answers.

I think it all comes down to context. First, what’s considered a cuss word and what isn’t? I could say “poop” instead of the more offensive “shit”, but I’m still using it as an expletive. It’s just a more culturally-accepted, euphemistic one. So why is “poop” OK but “shit” isn’t? Because somewhere along the way we as a society just decided that it is. Second, why is a cuss word in a secular movie forgivable but one in a Christian movie isn’t? We would be shocked and outraged to hear a single utterance of “damn” in Fireproof, but we’ll happily slap down ten bucks to go see a “G-D”-filled Rated-R movie in the same theater.

Why? Context.

I’ll readily admit to cussing on occasion, but I don’t cuss at work in front of co-workers nor do I cuss in front of my kids at home. I make that choice because I don’t think that’s the right time or place for it (even though other co-workers don’t always have such inhibitions). Does cussing make me any less of a Christian or not cussing make me any more of one? No, of course not. It’s just a recognition of certain social boundaries I live by.

That said, very little truly offends me, including cuss words. As I mentioned when reviewing Derek Webb’s Stockholm Syndrome, I thought the controversy over the use of the word “shit” in his album was way overblown. Nevertheless, when taken as a whole, I felt like the album came across as arrogant and counterproductive. Had he omitted that single word from “What Matters More” he probably could’ve gotten the otherwise-unedited album into Christian retailers without too much fuss, but he purposefully chose not to in order to create a negative reaction among the Christian community. So it wasn’t the word itself I had a problem with, it was the intent behind it. Again, the context.

So I guess my answer to the question of whether cuss words and Christ can coexist would be a qualified “maybe”. It depends on the specific situation. We shouldn’t be quick to dismiss Christians like Webb solely based on a couple of words any more than we should dismiss movies such as Taken and Man on Fire or TV shows such as Lost, secular productions with overtly Christian themes.

Instead, we should focus on the intent behind the words and the message those words are meant to convey. If the cuss words are used just for the sake of using them, for trying to fit in with the culture around us, or to add shock value, then I don’t see how that is in line with how God is calling us to live as Christians. But at the same time, there are certainly cases where Christ can be found in very un-Christlike places.

Previously:
Derek Webb’s ‘Stockholm Syndrome’: Conflict and controversy