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Why is profanity so common?


Introduction. Profanity is defined as, "Characterized by irreverence for God ("profane," dm)...impious, base..., a profane act or utterance" (R. H. C. D. pg. 1056, 1057). Profane speech is typically language that involves taking God's name in vain, vile or vulgar, viciously degrading to others, and/or gutter in nature.

The prevalence of profanity. According to some of the latest statistics (when this article was originally written in 2001), public profanity in America is up by 800 percent. One can now expect there to be loud profanity in many public places, even places that purport to provide a family atmosphere. Women and children are now often heard emitting expletives without any shame or regard for others.

Common influences of profanity. The influences behind the incidence of public and private base speech are many. The entertainment industry deserves a top billing as far as being a leader to the shameless corruption of speech. Many movies that are now considered family oriented contain vile, filthy, and cheap language. As people watch television, they become more desensitized. We have come along ways since "Gone with the Wind." Most stand-up comedians would be speechless if all profanity were extracted from their scripts. The goal now seems to be reaching greater or lower levels of degrading language, to the point of simply wallowing in the gutter. Another and primary reason for the impetus of impious language is the depravity of man (Matt. 15: 15-20).

God's word condemns profane language of all types (Eph. 5: 4). Language that blasphemes God and belittles man reveals the corrupt nature of the speaker and must be "put away" (Matt. 15: 20; Col. 3: 8; Jas. 3: 10-12). Such useless language must be replaced with good speech. "Let no corrupt communication ("speech," dm) proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers" (Eph. 4: 29).
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