“bad language”

Hey everyone,

This week Colby and Tali are talking about bad language. They have not talked about this together before, so none of their ideas are influenced by the other.

Grace and peace.

Bad Language: No Thanks

So I was the one who came up with this topic, but after thinking about it, I don’t really know why I did. I’m not nearly as extreme on this as I am on other things. While I do have an opinion, I think that using “bad” language is a pretty gray area in some circumstances.

I personally do not use language that I, and society, has deemed as bad. I think that Christians are supposed to stand out within society. One area that I think we need to be different is in language. While God did not come down and give us a list of words that we should not say, society somehow did. I don’t know why or how these words, out of all the words in the world, became bad, but they did. We are called to tame our tongues and stay away from “all appearance of evil.” While not everyone will consider bad language to be evil, some will. We don’t need to try and be relatable to others by using these words because, as I recently had pointed out to me, Jesus is already relatable.

Where I struggle with this topic is the question of “where to draw the line?” And honestly, I don’t really know. I have drawn a line for myself, and it lies somewhere between “crap” and “pissed off.” But I don’t really know why I think that “crap” is okay to say but I would never be caught saying a certain four letter word beginning with “f.” If anyone has some insight into this, please let me know. Anyway, like I said, I do have an opinion, but this is something that I wonder about from time to time and, while I have many practical reasons for not swearing that I didn’t even talk about, I would like a stronger Biblical argument for it.

cussing; cursing – there’s a difference?

I guess, compared to Christians, I have this really awkward view about “bad language.”

There’s a spot in the bible where it talks about “cursing” being a sinful thing to do. I want to note the difference between the cursing of Jesus’ day and the cursing of ours. In his day it meant to literally speak a curse over a person. Today it means “to cuss.”

Given this definition (of Jesus’ day), bad language – cuss words – would not be a terribly horrible thing unless the word was used to curse someone.

Imagine I hammer my thumb and say, “fuck!” So what?

But imagine someone cuts me off and I say, “I hope your day sucks, jerk!” Now I’ve sinned. Why? Because I’ve cursed them.

Disclaimer: cuss words can sometimes be curse words. But normal words can sometimes be curse words, too. Guns don’t kill people; people kill people. In the same sense, words are neither good nor bad. It’s how people use them that matters.

I wrote a series of posts on this a while back. To read the first one, go here.

~Colby

A short break

After a few posts, Colby and Tali are going to take a break.

Colby: We’ve been doing this for a little now, and I’ve always found that it’s good to take a step back if you want to move forward. We’ll resume out posting Monday, Oct. 10.

Define “Christian”

This week Tali and Colby are discussing what the label “Christian” means to them. They will also discuss if they feel they are or aren’t a Christian.

Tali and Colby have never talked about this subject before. The views you see are entirely theirs.

I am a “Christian” (Tali)

To me, Christian simply means follower of Christ. Literally, it means “little Christ” and I think that that is a good description of what we are called to be. I think that this term is often used too loosely and is constantly referred to as anyone who maybe thinks that there is a higher power and might celebrate Christmas. But I think that being a Christian goes much farther beyond that.

I have no problem with calling myself a Christian. Recently, I have had this discussion with a few different people and have not changed my mind about labeling myself as such. Some people have brought to my attention that the label of “Christian” can evoke certain negative feelings with some people so they won’t be as ready to listen to you or take you seriously. While this may be somewhat true, in my experiences I have found that the people who are quick to judge like that have a tendency to shut off once you say the word “Jesus” or “God.” So saying that you are a “Christian” is not going to necessarily turn them away any more than other religious words.

I do think that we should try not to be insensitive to people’s past experiences with the church or with extremely hypocritical Christians, but that doesn’t mean we can’t call ourselves exactly what we are. Rather than trying to dance around the reality of our title for fear of offending someone or putting someone off, we need to be proactively trying to change the perception of “Christians,” having our words and actions be a better representation of Christ’s love.

I’m not a christian (Colby)

I hate the term “Christian.” I refuse to be called a one, although I once claimed the label.

Christianity is all about a system. I know that there are a lot of good Christians out there, but that doesn’t matter anymore. The secular public views “Christian” as a group of people who can do “this,” can’t do “that,” and only love and accept those who abide by those guidelines.

Let me suggest an alternative.

When someone asks me what I am (Christian, Mormon, Catholic, ect.), I tell them that I am a follower of Jesus (or of the way).This allows me to identify myself with Jesus while dispensing of any preconceptions the person might have.

The question we must ask then is, “Is this biblical?”

I can’t tell you when the term “Christian” came into the church. Tali is more likely to have that knowledge. But I do know that when Jesus was still on this earth his disciples did follow him, and it wasn’t uncommon for the way of Jesus to be called, “the way.” After all, it was Jesus who said, “Ego sum via, veritas, et vita.” (This is Latin for “I am the way, the truth, and the life.)

I don’t think that it’s wrong if you want to call yourself Christian, but I do know that I don’t want to call myself one. I just want to be a friend of Jesus.

To see my previous post on this subject, go here.

“Bad” language

Next week Tali and Colby will discuss the use of “bad” language. Some topics within this might include what’s acceptable as far as language goes and how it relates to our relationship with God (if at all).

See you then; grace and peace!

The debate of baptism

This week Tali and Colby are discussing baptism and whether it’s necessary to go to heaven.

Tali and Colby talked about this subject when they first met, but did not talk this last week about it. Their ideas are their own.

Tali will post first, followed by Colby’s post. The last post will outline next week’s topic.

Please feel free to leave comments, even if you just write “I read it and hated it/enjoyed it because…”

Grace and peace.

Baptism is the Point of Salvation (Tali)

First off, I will say that I do not believe that it is the ritual or the ceremony of baptism that saves a person. Only God can save. But I do believe that baptism is the point at which a person is saved. All throughout Acts, baptism is made out to be a necessary step in salvation. People who have heard the word of God want to immediately be baptized. In Acts 16, we see the story of the jailer that Paul and Silas converted. Acts 16:33 says: “And he took them that very hour of the night and washed their wounds; and immediately he was baptized, he and all his household.” If this wasn’t a necessary step for salvation why didn’t they at least wait until morning? He believed and we assumed he accepted Jesus as his personal savior, what was the rush? Also, Acts 22:16 says: “Now why do you delay? Get up and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on His name.” Not only does this verse emphasize the need to not delay baptism, but it also relates washing your sins away directly to baptism.

Another question that I would have if I did not believe this is: if baptism is not the point of salvation, what is? Is it this elusive, undefined prayer that asks Jesus into your heart? That is a good first step, but if that is all it takes, then what is the purpose of baptism? God should already know whats in my heart, and that is all that matters. I relate this to marriage. Two people are married, both legally and in God’s view, when they go through the ceremony (and documents) of marriage. They are not married when they’ve committed their hearts to each other, when they’re engaged, or when they are pretty sure they probably won’t cheat. There is a specific point in which this occurs, and I think it is the same with baptism and salvation.

Now, I do not think that just getting baptized is going to ultimately save you. Faith without works is dead. A person can get baptized but not really mean it. After baptism, a person needs to become new, their old self is put away. We cannot “continue to sin so that grace may increase.” (Romans 6:1) We must live our lives as good representatives of Christ.

I also do not think that there are a few situations where God will judge someone’s heart when they die. If someone is on their deathbed and they decide that the Bible is truth but they cannot be baptized, I believe that God will judge them fairly. Or if someone has already accepted Christ but suddenly dies before they are baptized, I think that this is another one of those situations. I also believe that children younger than ”the age of accountability” (I believe this varies from person to person) will go to heaven if they die.

1 Peter 3:21 says: “Corresponding to that, baptism now saves you-not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience-through the resurrection of Jesus Christ.” To sum up, I do believe that baptism is needed to get to heaven, but that God is fair and will judge people in some situations. Sometimes that judgement will send a “baptized” person to hell and sometimes he will send an unbaptized person to heaven. But if we are baptized and try to live a Christ-like life, I have no reason to doubt that heaven is our reward.