I know a lot of my more recent topics have been… not exactly sunshine and rainbows. But I feel like these are important things to discuss, and I write about these things as they hit me.
Among Christian writers, there is some disagreement on the use of crude language or expletives in narrative. Some are okay with using it. Others are not. And what about if your characters take the Lord’s name in vain? While our specific curse words aren’t mentioned by name in the Scriptures, taking the Lord’s name in vain sure is. So I will categorize this under the topic of cursing and swearing for the rest of this post. And I will point out that we are Biblically told to put away all unseemly talk from our mouths, crude joking, and the like.
The argument that I’ve heard from those okay with using language in their books is generally that they’re trying to produce a certain impression. Maybe they’re trying to be lifelike, or show that this character has a dirty mouth, or illustrate some sort of flaw. They don’t feel that it’s the same as them themself saying that word.
Then there’s the camp I land in. Especially for my particular audience, I feel that foul language has no place in my writing. After all, there are alternatives, and using language cuts down on the size of your market. If I want a character to perhaps have a flaw with watching his tongue, then I simply say, “he cursed.” To me, putting those words in my writing are the same as me saying them out loud. After all, it is my work, and I wouldn’t give something like that to a child or to a family member to read, as I feel it would reflect on who I am.
It seems to me that writers in favor of using language are better at distancing themselves from their work than I am, and perhaps that’s a good thing. But nonetheless, the author will show in their work, and even if the Christian author would never curse or swear out loud, I feel that if language is being used to an obscene amount, that is in some degree a reflection on the author and their comfort with what they are willing to give out. Of course writing one thing is not the same as speaking it or believing it — for example, my characters have flaws that are exaggergated versions of mine or things I have never personally struggled with and that does not make them mine. Nonetheless, we all know that the heart of an author is reflected in their work, and that the words we choose are very, very important. ‘Life and death are in the power of the tongue,’ right?
Will people in real life spew out profanity like it’s the only language they know? Of course. But the writer could simply say, “he swore a blue streak.” They needn’t put the words on paper. One can remain realistic to real life without annoying, distracting, or even repulsing the reader.
Flannery O’Connor didn’t hesitate to use language in her novel Wise Blood to illustrate the fallenness of Hazel Motes and those around him. But she herself said this:
The novelist makes his statements by selection, and if he is any good, he selects every word for a reason, every detail for a reason, every incident for a reason, and arranges them in a certain time-sequence for a reason.
The Nature and Aim of Fiction, Mystery and Manners
She vigorously defends her own choices, as Hazel is by no means a virtuous character — and in her case, the aim was to shock, to awaken. She selected what she said for a reason. James Schaap, in an essay on the topic of realism in writing, said this.
Anyone who’s ever picked up a pen knows that each word she chooses emerges from a process of selection. Any writer who believes that fidelity to life in certain situations simply requires a trainload of vulgarity and profanity is ignoring the truth of the writing process — specifically, that we choose each word we write. That doesn’t mean, of course, that vulgarity and profanity cannot be the language of story. It only means realistically, that we transcribe very little in the writing process. We choose.
The Christian Imagination
And it’s true. The author chooses what words to put on the page. The author chooses whether or not to describe a battle wound extensively, or whether or not to touch on the particulars of this subject or that. The author chooses every single word of their work to curate a particular feeling or atmosphere or action. The question to ask is who are you curating that for?
If you write for children, and frankly, for teens, my advice would be to keep your writing clear of language. Kids don’t need to be seeing those words.
All the same, one of the sad realities of life is that they’re bound to hear them aplenty when they’re older. Still, if you establish in them from a young age that such words are wrong to use, you’ll lessen the possibility of them picking up bad habits in adulthood and help them combat temptation when they are older. Presenting children with heroes and characters who keep their mouth clean will encourage them to good behavior of their own. Someone who can speak the truth in love without using the sinful language of the world can have a powerful impact — if you’ve ever watched Charlie Kirk get sworn at by a frustrated college student, you know what I mean.
Now, to get back to the question of who, my personal conviction is that I wouldn’t use language even in writing for adults. I’ve written short stories for all ages, but I keep them clean. On the occasions when I’ve felt a foul mouth would distinguish this character as immoral or highlight his character flaws, I simply describe him as cursing or swearing, rather than putting the actual dialogue on the page.
This is one of the things, that as Christians, can distinguish us from the world. Our stories should absolutely not be safe, squeaky-clean pictures of a false reality. There is evil and it’s black and dark and awful, and to shy away from that is a sort of falsehood in itself. But that doesn’t mean we ought to swing to the far end of the pendulum and cause our work to be undistinguishable from the violence, gore, and erotic material that the rest of the world puts out.
Language isn’t necessary. There are far more words in the English language than curses and obscenities, and frankly, I think overuse of profanity can be a mark of laziness in an author. After all, real people are capable of expressing themselves in clear English, and more depth and subtley can be brought out of a complete sentence than a swear word.
Others might worry about relating to the market they’re trying to reach. If you’re writing to the mass market, and not a Christian-specific one, I can see why you might say something along those lines, but again the fact remains that we are to be salt and light. And if your work isn’t distinguishable from others’ in terms of content, you’re not exactly being light.
Colossians 3:8 ESV
But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
We are biblically mandated to have different speech from that of our unbelieving neighbors. Our words are supposed to build up the kingdom of God, not tear it down.
As well… all our work is supposed to be for God. It is supposed to spread truth and goodness and beauty, to show our readers the characteristics of the loving Creator and Savior, to illustrate the hope that our lives are filled with. In that sense, then, are you comfortable with your gift to God containing profanity?
If you were a painter, would you paint a murder scene or a nude figure? Probably not. That wouldn’t be glorifying to God, as murder is an objectively evil thing, and because of our fallen state and our temptations, it is inappropriate to display all of our bodies to any but family or doctors. In the same way, wicked speech is inherently evil — and when a painter is willing to illustrate such details, it shows a level of comfort with them and perhaps even a sense of irreverence for God. In the same way, the work I do for God I would want to remain clean and pleasing to Him.
Now, another argument I heard actually runs along the same exact lines I used in my post on magic — descriptive, not prescriptive. And to that, I admit I must agree. If the Christian author describes a character, whether indirectly or through bold showing, as having a foul tongue, that does not necessarily mean he condones using language. Would I do that in my own writing, though? No. Along the lines of this argument, language is like violence. Violence is featured in my own writing — but it’s not like I describe the blood and guts of it. There are levels, and limits, and frankly, one should use a lot of descretion, consult their own conscience, and keep their market in mind. One thing that’s especially worth considering is if you are willing to have your characters take the Lord’s name in vain. After all, that seems to be one of the few expressions of surprise our culture knows sometimes. However, this is expressly forbidden in the ten commandments, and frankly, I think that if your characters are taking the name of our precious God in vain, and not getting immeadiately rebuked for it for the sake of a lesson, something is going very wrong in the ‘salt and light’ part of a Christian writer’s work.
I like this line from a Story Embers article by Rachel Gilson. On the topic of evil and sinful behaviors in writing, she says, “Normalization occurs when sin is treated like a personality quirk.” If your character swears up a storm and it’s just kinda left at that, then you’re in danger of normalizing that sin — because swearing and cursing are sins. We are to use our tongues for good and not for evil. But if it is made clear that that character’s behavior is sinful, be it through him receiving his just desserts or going through a redemption arc, then you’re not in danger of transferring any negative behaviors to the reader.
Of course, this topic, just like magic, also depends on your reader. This is why I would never want any sort of cursing in a child’s book, because they’re young and impressionable. The sad reality of life is that your child, especially as he grows up, is going to meet foul language left and right. But he has a far lesser chance of imitating it if he’s got a solid foundation. Along these same lines of reasoning is why we’d never feature horrific gore in a child’s book. Descriptive vs prescriptive aside, some things are just not appropriate for a child to see or think about. Some things ought not to be described.
But when we return to the topic of adults, we again get that question of whether or not what you write as description is under the same category as one speaking such things — and if the Biblical mandates to use our words carefully apply to fictional writing. For me, I would say yes to both. Other Christian authors seem to be alright with a no to the first answer, and particular justifications to the second.
Ultimately, my conviction is that Christian writers ought to differentiate from their unbelieving neighbors in many ways, one of them being our medium — our words. If our talent is with our tongues and pens, then the aim of using that talent ought to be for God’s glory. There is never a case in fiction writing where a curse or swear word will be absolutely necessary, not in my opinion. There are always alternatives that can be cleaner, more God-honoring, and open to wider audiences.
Thanks for enduring the heavy topics with me, friend. If you have any thoughts on this matter, I’d love to hear them. Have a great day! Ciao!
For Further Reading: Story Embers — How Should Christian Authors Depict Swearing?
Cover image by stockking on Freepik
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