Coarse language

@Daeus Good topic. 🙂
I think it depends. I am not utterly opposed to it, if it is absolutely necessary (Now whether you think all language isn’t necessary, see paragraph below). There is some unspoken rule that cuss words shouldn’t be in Christian fiction, and I’m not condemning that rule. I’m just saying I would be ok if it was broken occasionally, but only for the following reasons. I personally won’t use cursing in my book. I’m not saying my characters are saints, but they can curse without me writing down what they said.

The only time I think cursing could be necessary is if you feel that if you gloss over a curse word, your readers will think your character or book is cheesy or fake, if you know what I mean. That’s a danger you risk glossing it over. I’ve read books where, yes, they are clean and I appreciate that, but they aren’t as real (for more than the cursing reason). I think there is a solution though, if you don’t want cursing in your book and are concerned that your reader won’t take you serious if you gloss it over. I read a book where characters cursed, but the curse words were not in the text (except for the fake ones that only related to that world). It worked for this book because the writer did not gloss over other dark stuff. It seemed real, even though the cussing was omitted.
So it depends on what kind of fiction your going for. If your going for clean and more lighthearted fiction, then your readers will appreciate it. If you decide to go for gritty, then your readers will appreciate it. It just won’t always be the same readers. It depends on the audience. I’m not saying you can’t be clean and realistic. That can totally happen. You just need to be able to find a balance.
Of course, this is only one angle to the argument. But that’s all I’ve got for now. 🙂
On similes using heaven and hell, I think its ok sparingly. The reason I say sparingly is because you don’t want to trivialize heaven and hell into a byword.
And I agree with not using God’s name in vain.
Hope that made sense. 🙂

This topic never gets old.
Great points, @Christi-Eaton and @Winter-Rose and @Daeus. I tend to agree with all that has been said so far, but I think I also tend to take a more cautious view of it. Language doesn’t bother me in a book so long as it’s not all over the place. I can block it. But there are those who can’t. And for the sake of those brothers and sisters in Christ and their purity, I would avoid using it myself, even sparingly. You can make darkness totally real and totally awful without spelling out a single swear-word, so why use words that have the potential to compromise a reader’s conscience? As I said, I don’t struggle with it. But I can’t be my standard, because I’m not writing for myself. We each have our separate struggling points. For some it’s occult stuff. For some it’s sexual material. For some graphic violence. And for some it’s unclean language. That’s not my struggling point, but if it were, I know I would appreciate it if I could pick up a piece of Christian literature and not have to worry about anything in the way of temptation to unclean thoughts or words.
Is it a sin to include such words? No. They are a part of reality, and therefore a part of the truth, and therefore have legitimate part and parcel in the structure of a story because that’s all a story is— a reflection of truth. But just because we acknowledge their existence does not mean it’s helpful for us to spell out the entirety of their ugliness. Just as sexual immorality is a sad fact of reality, but it is by no means helpful and potentially very harmful to spell out the details even if it is a necessary part of your story.

So even though I’m convinced it’s not a sin, I choose not to include it for the sake of those who struggle with it. Might it be a little harder to make your story real that way? Perhaps. But isn’t it worth it for the sake of a human conscience?

@kate-flournoy
I really liked what you brought up. Its true that what one person struggles with may not affect another person. We do want to reflect what is real and can’t predict or meet everyone’s needs, but as a Christian we have a responsibility to be careful. We can show darkness without delving too deep.

Great point @dragon-snapper, Though I may alright in reading it to an extent, (It’s why I am learning to be careful with what books I recommend on KP and write book reviews on) I know that some readers are highly sensitive, and causing them to stumble is the last thing we want to do.

Also, we must remember that we need to strive to glorify God in everything we do.

3. It doesn’t glorify God. In my opinion, as Christian writers and putting that seems like we show that we don’t mind it. Do not be conformed to this world. I’m not saying that you/we are if we use it, but God very clearly does not want us to use that in any instance. Yes, characters make mistakes, but it leaves me, personally, going away with an icky vibe from the book.

I agree with @Dragon-Snapper here.

I don’t know how rational of a view this is, and it’s not directly related to the actual words’ significance, but whenever I read a book with swear words in it, it immediately makes me have less respect for the author. When I see them putting those words in their book, it makes it seem they don’t mind using those words themselves (and sometimes that is the case; but with someone like you, @Daeus —I know you wouldn’t use those words. If I read your book though, not knowing you, I might be disappointed, when otherwise I thought everything in your book was great so you must be a great Christian. You might BE a great Christian, as you are, but I might not think so.) Then it could mess up your credibility in other areas. (As with Christian witness—you want to show people Christ through yourself and how you live, but if you do something bad and unChristian, people aren’t going to be impressed. “That’s Christ? Uh-uh. I’m not gonna go near these Christians. They’re so hypocritical.”) I’m exaggerating, obviously; you know I don’t think that way about you. 😛 But to someone who doesn’t know you, and maybe isn’t a Christian, it might mess with the view they’re getting.

But why would you put a bad word in your book anyway? I know, realism. It is less realistic if you do something like ‘What the—‘. But you can avoid the word, and still let it be known it was said. That’s not much less realistic. For me, reading that even if it’s a little less real would be better than actually seeing the written word.
When I watch movies with swearing in them, I cringe every time I hear a bad word. It’s not because it makes me weakened, and feeling like saying those words myself, but they’re just icky words that should not be said and I don’t like to hear them or see them, even coming from bad guys.

I haven’t thought much about the simile question, but I think I agree with what @Winter-Rose said here: On similes using heaven and hell, I think its ok sparingly. The reason I say sparingly is because you don’t want to trivialize heaven and hell into a byword.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by Emma Flournoy.

@Dragon-Snapper good point, but may I point out that they’re not talking about swearing. They’re talking about similes. Likening something to heaven or to hell, not saying ‘by heaven’ or ‘by hell’.

In which case, by the way, I would also tend to agree with @Winter-Rose.

@Dragon-Snapper good point, but may I point out that they’re not talking about swearing. They’re talking about similes. Likening something to heaven or to hell, not saying ‘by heaven’ or ‘by hell’.

Yeah. 😀