Why is foul language a huge evil?
Alas, the level of speech culture today is so catastrophically low that neither politicians in public speeches nor journalists are ashamed to resort to “profanity,” as swearing is called in linguistics, let alone “mere mortals”: many speak obscenely, managing to hardly resort to other words.
All this is very sad, especially because foul language is not only and not so much a cultural problem. And least of all the problem of culture. The pastors of the Russian Orthodox Church speak about why foul language is evil, why it is dangerous from a spiritual point of view, and what powers the person swearing calls upon, giving advice on how to refrain from foul language and how to resist the temptation to swear. 1st ordeal, sin of the tongue
Foul language is enslavement to demonic forces
Hegumen Nektary (Morozov):
– The word is a universal tool that is given to us to communicate with people, but we most often turn our prayer to God into verbal form. There is, of course, such a prayer, as St. Theophan the Recluse says, when we pray not with words, but with a feeling, some kind of thought that has not taken shape in words. But most often we still turn to God verbally. When a person uses the gift of speech given to him so unreasonably, carelessly that he allows himself to utter angry words, this is both illogical and unnatural, for, as the Apostle James points out, both bitter and sweet water cannot flow from the same source (cf. James 3:11–12). A person cannot glorify God and blaspheme someone with the same lips.
When a person swears, he insults not so much his lips as his heart, and then it becomes very difficult to truly turn to God.
Archpriest Sergiy Pravdolyubov:
– Words are not neutral. They are interconnected with the world around us. Unlike animals, which were called dumb in ancient times, man has the highest degree of literature and intelligence. He can glorify God with his tongue, or he can scold or curse someone. You can say simple words: “I don’t know this Man,” and renounce Him. Or you can say: “I am faithful to Him even to death!” - and become a martyr.
The obscenities used by many people are euphemisms, that is, words that are not fully understood to their final meaning, only hints, half-names. And open swearing without embellishment is scary and terrible!
One prisoner of the Solovetsky special purpose camp spoke with trepidation about how he heard full-fledged curses of great masters of such curses among prisoners in 1936. He said that the man who swore so masterfully did not study in either a seminary or a theological school, but he swore with such subtlety and knowledge of dogma and theology, almost impossible for an ordinary person, that it became clear that this was a broadcast of the thoughts and words of those terrible forces that always fight with God. Repeating such words is joining the power that perceives God in this way. Lightened meanings and euphemisms do not eliminate the very essence and power of these words. That is why we must firmly and responsibly guard against the use of such words and avoid first subordination and then enslavement to these demonic forces.
Archpriest Maxim Kozlov:
By using foul language, we sin against one of the features of the likeness of God in us - the ability to speak
– The sin of foul language, in my opinion, is terrible because we sin against one of the features of the likeness of God in us. This trait, according to St. John of Damascus, is the ability to speak. Accordingly, the enemy of the human race most of all wants to distort in man that through which man becomes like God. Distort love, distort the purity, simplicity of the soul. He also seeks to distort the use of the gift of speech, which distinguishes us from all other visible creation. And the fight against bad language is not the fight against a bad habit. It is a struggle to remain a Christian.
How to resist the temptation to say a rotten word
Archpriest Oleg Stenyaev:
– The Holy Scriptures say that we must beware of idle words, we must beware of rotten words. Thus, in the Epistle to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul writes: “Let no corrupt word come out of your mouth, but only what is good for edification of the faith, so that it may bring grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:29–30).
Advice for angry people: if irritation approaches, then try to speak as slowly as possible
A person must be very careful with his words, so I usually give this advice to angry people: if irritation approaches, then try to speak as slowly as possible. As the Epistle of the Apostle James says: whoever can bridle the tongue will also bridle the whole body (cf. James 3:2). When a person switches to slow speech, it is easier for him to control it. He will be able to avoid idle and rotten words and slanderous statements.
We must control our speech as much as possible. Even when we reprimand something to people, we must clearly understand why we are doing it. Do we want to help a person? Or do we want to disgrace him or even destroy him? We are commanded that we should not approach any sinner with words of reproof unless we have words of correction for that person. This is something you should always remember.
Archpriest Alexander Kuzin:
– Foul language is a consequence of the heart being overwhelmed by unclean passions, “for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). It happens that a generally clean person ends up in an environment where foul language reigns - in the army, at a construction site, etc. It takes effort not to give in to temptation. If you gave in, repent. If you don’t give in, you carry your cross of confession of Christ – and help you, Lord.
Archpriest Pavel Gumerov:
- Foul language is a great sin. And not only foul language, but any rude, abusive word. The Apostle Paul says: “Let no corrupt word come out of your mouth” (Eph. 4:29). It is completely unacceptable to litter your speech with obscene language - not only for a Christian, but also for a person who simply has a conscience.
But this is not only a serious sin, but also a crime. The Administrative Code of the Russian Federation considers obscene language in public places as an offense - “minor hooliganism”, which is punishable by a fine or administrative arrest for up to 15 days. This article is very rarely used, but if there are witnesses or a meticulous policeman comes across, the person can be fined or sent to prison for 15 days. And if obscene language is used against a specific person, then this is already an insult - not an administrative crime, but a criminal one. Article 130 of the Criminal Code provides for punishment for insult using obscene language. As you can see, everything is very serious.
You cannot take abuse lightly. This is always an insult to the feelings of another person, but if someone wants to insult another person, then they are insulting something sacred to them. And the most sacred thing for a person is his mother or his faith. Insulting faith is now punishable by law. But even by insulting a mother, you inflict a very serious offense on a person.
By using obscene language, we participate in the pagan invocation of dark forces
Why is foul language a serious sin for a Christian? Because, as, for example, Bishop Varnava (Belyaev) writes, the roots of foul language are in the pagan phallic cult. This cult of worship of all sorts of abominations was present among many pagan peoples. So if a person utters these words, even without wanting to offend someone, just for the sake of connecting words, he not only insults the mother of the person he is addressing - and not only his mother, but, as our ancestors also said, he insults The Mother of God and our land are three insults at once. So, he still, willy-nilly, reads pagan spells of the phallic cult. This cult is associated with pagan worship of the powers of fertility and was accompanied by all sorts of obscenities. It was or is among all pagan peoples, including Slavic paganism. It is still practiced by various Rodnovers, when they dance around a phallic pillar. So, by using obscene language, we participate in the pagan invocation of evil spirits.
By using foul language, you, as a Christian, renounce the faith and serve all sorts of unclean infernal entities. So this is a very scary thing.
During the day, record how many times you swore, and in the evening give 10 bows for each rotten word
Breaking the habit of swearing is difficult. This is passion, a persistent sinful addiction. One military man gave such very good advice - and among the military, unfortunately, this passion is widespread. So, he said this: “During the day, I tried to record how many times I swore, and then, when I came to the barracks in the evening, I bowed 10 times for each swear word. And when you bow 100 times, I don’t want to swear next time.” This is how a person corrected himself. It seems to me that it is very effective when you record your sin yourself and then want to punish yourself for it. Of course, it is difficult to record; Maybe it’s worth keeping a notebook of some kind so that you can note down how many times you couldn’t resist. But the advice seems good to me.
It is impossible to curse and pray!
Archpriest Alexy Uminsky:
– The sin of foul language has a double evil feature. First of all, this is a dirty desecration of oneself. Because the word is great in itself. Because we know that the word is God. God is the Word. And “by the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the breath of His mouth was all their strength” (Ps. 33:6). Because even the word “man” itself – a Russian word, sometimes incorrectly interpreted as a compound of “chelo” and “vek” – means “verbal”. Man means “verbal.” And the Slavs - from the word “verbal”. The word is what makes a person human, what distinguishes a person from an animal. That which makes a person the image and likeness of God. And when a person begins to humiliate, destroy, and devastate this word, then the person devastates himself.
Second: the word has power. Our great Russian poet Nikolai Gumilyov wrote beautifully about this power of words:
On that day, when God bowed His face over the new world, then the Sun was stopped with a word, and cities were destroyed with a Word.
And the eagle did not flap its wings, The stars huddled in horror to the moon, If, like a pink flame, the Word floated in the heights...
Foul language is the destruction of the world. God creates - and man destroys
The word can create, and the word can destroy. The Word of God is creative. And the human word can be creative. The word of the saints is creative. Words of kindness and love are very creative. But swearing and foul language are destructive. They carry within them the specter of the most terrible destruction of the world. God creates, and man destroys; God builds, and man destroys. And therefore foul language has these two meanings. Or maybe even more meanings. But it seems to me that these two that I mentioned are the most dangerous.
Priest Alexander Shumsky:
– No one said this better than the Apostle James: “So the tongue is a small member, but does a lot. Look, a small fire ignites a lot of substance! And the tongue is fire, the embellishment of untruth; the tongue is in such a position between our members that it defiles the whole body and sets the circle of life on fire, being itself set on fire by Gehenna” (James 3:5-6).
Indeed, there is no better way to say it. He uttered a black word - and everything is desecrated: both body and soul. And the people who hear this are also defiled. You don’t swear yourself, for example, but you’re among those who swear, and after a while you feel like you’ve been sprayed with shit from a spray bottle—you want to go to the shower to wash yourself. Because whether you want it or not, you still absorb these words into yourself, even though you don’t say them.
According to the apostle, the tongue, inflamed by Gehenna, also inflames the circle of life. This is inflammation, this is pus—spiritual pus that accumulates in the wound and then breaks out. It's a terrible thing.
Foul language is anti-prayer, it is essentially a sacrifice to Satan. Once I said to one foul-mouthed person: “You can swear for hours without experiencing any difficulty in pronouncing these words. And try to say for at least one minute: “Lord, have mercy!” Two words – just one minute!” And he couldn't. He got angry and swore at me after that. This is such a sad experiment. Ask the person to pray for a couple of minutes instead of swearing - at least for an argument. After all, he won’t say even a short Jesus Prayer. He will still get angry and start fighting.
It is impossible to swear and pray!
Deacon Vladimir Vasilik:
– Foul language is scary because it plunges a person into the world of demonic possession. By uttering bad and blasphemous words, he becomes a demonic vessel and a demonic mouthpiece. One philosopher said that we become what we eat and we become what we say. Therefore, both foul language and slander are terrible. Because a person, by saying nasty things, himself becomes like them - in other words, he himself becomes a reptile.
I understand why people curse. They use foul language in order not to fight, in order not to hurt each other's faces, but this is a bad solution. This is called a black confession, it is a release of steam, a release of emotions that actually do not go anywhere, but settle even deeper in a person and poison him. Ultimately, under certain conditions, they can provoke him to commit a crime.
The only way to avoid anger and swearing is confession and prayer. Moreover, the Spirit of God and the Holy Spirit are incompatible with foul language, just as a bee is incompatible with smoke.
And one more point: by uttering swear words, we humiliate and insult our mother; and secondly, we insult the Mother of God. And it is known that the Lord punishes for this. How did Russian soldiers march on the Kulikovo field? With prayer, with spiritual chants. And on the day of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos, the Mother of God, God granted them victory. Why did we often lose battles in the 19th and 20th centuries? Because they were walking with swearers. So we get the full reward for this. For inability to guard your lips.
For a modern person, personal asceticism and the ability to abstain are more important than ever. More than ever, with the current abundance of food, fasting is important. And therefore, thank God, the draft decision of the Pan-Orthodox Council on fasting, which was recently published, does not in any way encroach on its basis. If during the previous risky farming, during the famine that periodically began, people found the strength to fast, then we are ashamed not to fast. It's understandable why people curse. From gluttony and drunkenness. From drunkenness, of course, more. “Why did your sister Sodom sin, if not because she ate her bread to the full and satiety?” Ezekiel asks.
Here are the obvious reasons for foul language: promiscuity, gluttony, drunkenness, wounded pride, a large number of negative emotions, which a disciplined and moral person, with God’s help, can and should deal with.
Top 10 tips and techniques on how to stop swearing
If you have seriously decided to get rid of obscene language, we bring to your attention a selection of effective techniques that will help you achieve a positive result and radically change your quality of life.
Penalty bank
All you need is a jar or box, where you will have to put a certain amount (you set it yourself) for each obscene word. This method can be regarded as a punishment - when you have to give away money, or as a reward, when you spend the accumulated amount on your little whims.
Advice! You can place such a jar at work if you want to get rid of obscene speech in a team. Spend the collected money on the needs of the department.
Double words
One of the simple and accessible ways to stop swearing is to replace swear words. For example, words that begin with the same letter or are similar in sound, but are censored. If you suddenly utter a swear word, immediately say a substitute word. Thus, gradually the brain will get used to the replacement, and you will wean yourself from bad language.
Changing your social circle
In many cases, a person is forced to swear because his environment and social circle require it. Obviously, if you change your social circle, pay more attention to your choice of friends, your conversational style will change and your speech will clear up. Always strive for the best, focus on those who are better than you, and then the results will pleasantly surprise you.
Elastic band on the wrist
The secret is simple - put a rubber band on your wrist and hit yourself with it every time you utter a swear word. Some may find this method somewhat cruel, but on the other hand, it is effective. Gradually, the person’s brain will begin to associate foul language with pain and will refuse such words.
Lexicon expansion
Many people justify their habit of swearing by the fact that it is better and easier to express their thoughts with the help of swearing. This is categorically wrong. On the contrary, swear words are empty words; they do not carry any semantic or intellectual load. Believe me, the Russian language has a huge number of bright, powerful, well-aimed words through which you can express your thoughts.
Gradually replace obscenities with new censored words and after a while you will be perceived as an educated, interesting person.
Advice! Write down a list of the most common obscenities and write down “good” words for them, enrich your vocabulary with the help of books.
Think positively
Please note that obscene language appears in speech when a person is upset, angry, or in a bad mood. To stop swearing, try to learn to think positively. The task is not easy, but it is quite possible. Breathing practices help with this. Remember that any life situation is solvable and you should not give up.
Think about the consequences
Constantly think about how your life will change when you stop swearing. First of all, you will begin to respect yourself, and accordingly, the people around you will respect you. You will feel more confident because you can express your thoughts more clearly. It will be easier for you to make new acquaintances and you will have useful connections.
Find motivation
To achieve something, it is important to have strong motivation. Always remind yourself of the positive consequences of not swearing, this will be the important incentive that will help you improve your speech.
Also, as motivation (we talked more about self-motivation in the article “The Art of Motivating Yourself”), you can set yourself a goal - to find a well-paid job, to achieve a promotion on the career ladder, and this is only possible by completely abandoning swear words.
Start a relationship
New relationships, as a rule, inspire, inspire, make a person better, since there is a desire to change for the better. That's why the best way to stop swearing is to fall in love.
Another great reason to reconsider your conversational habits is the arrival of a child in the family. Agree that adequate parents will never swear in front of their heir.
Be loyal to yourself
Obviously, the habit of swearing was not formed in one day; therefore, it will not be possible to stop swearing in one day either.
Prepare yourself to have both successful days and failure days. The main thing is to remind yourself why you are doing all this, imagine yourself when you get rid of the habit of using swear words.
In the name of mother
We present to our readers an article from the magazine “Orthodox Pilgrim”.
“For every idle word that people speak, they will give an answer on the day of judgment: for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
(Matthew 12:36-37)
Nothing in our time is more devalued than words. I just want to follow St. righteous John of Kronstadt exclaim: “What is less respected among us as a word? What is more changeable among us as a word? What do we throw around like dirt every minute if not a word?”
Swearing came from the pagan rituals of the Slavs
Before the baptism of Rus', the ancient Slavs used swear words during pagan rituals. With the help of these special words, the pagans scared away evil spirits and turned to other worlds. They demonstrated their fighting spirit and willingness to fight the demons.
After the adoption of Christianity, they began to explain to people that foul language is a grave sin. Nevertheless, swear words became commonplace, and new derivative swear words appeared.
Profanity is a grave sin.
The tsarist government severely punished foul language. Those who swore were publicly flogged with rods so that others would be discouraged.
In the tsarist army, swearing was severely punished. Suvorov told the soldiers: “Pray to God. Victory comes from him. He is our general."
Got it
Foul language, or more simply put, swearing, has recently become a ubiquitous and widespread phenomenon in the widest strata of society. There are even special courses for children, where, for the money of their parents (!), children are taught to swear and they organize reporting concerts in front of moms and dads, where children from the stage read rhymes that are not at all for children, written exclusively in obscene words. All this happens officially within the walls of leisure cultural centers! And what else can you expect when obscenities are appropriately located on the pages of newspapers, books and fashion magazines, when it can be heard from the theater stage, the TV screen, when in almost all recent films (especially foreign ones) the characters speak this vile dialect.
Sports and swearing have become almost synonymous. To understand this, you only need to attend a football match once or live near a school stadium. On Internet social networks there are entire communities of so-called amateur (and not so amateur) writers who create in the language of genitals.
So what kind of infection is this? Where did she come from? And is she really that scary?
What is profanity?
People who have only recently become acquainted with Orthodoxy may have a question: what is foul language? Filth is an ancient word that meant something disgusting and sinful. Thus, in a broad sense, profanity is any vicious speech (lie, slander, blasphemy). However, most often this term refers to abusive language and swearing. And also the sin that lies in their use.
Foul language
A secular view of the problem
There are many opinions about what constitutes a checkmate. So, some scientists believe that these are just innocent words that were previously used without a shameful connotation, and then suddenly (why would that be?) became indecent. For example, at a Russian wedding they sang so-called reproach songs, which contained obscene insults to the groom in a modern way, so that the bride would not have to reproach her chosen one later. Or the peasant scared away evil spirits with obscene language, confident that “the devil is afraid of swearing.”
However, no matter how our ancestors treated “innocent” words, it seems that they also understood that this was foul language. In the 17th century, one anonymous author even wrote “A Teaching on Swearing,” where he explained that three mothers are insulted by such language: the Mother of God, the natural mother of every person, and the Mother of Cheese, the Earth. What do you think, what good can a person expect from life who constantly violates God’s commandment: “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days on earth may be long...” (Ex. 20:12)? That's right - nothing!
Secular psychologists argue that the use of swearing is evidence of a low level of control of one’s own emotions and an increased level of aggression.
How to stop swearing as a teenager - advice from a psychologist
In adolescence, children often protest – against rules, prohibitions, and parental control. Obscene speech is one of the ways to express your protest. If you suddenly hear that your child has started using swear words, try to find out what caused this behavior.
Sometimes boys and girls start arguing when they fall under the negative influence of a dubious company. Try to control who your child spends time with.
If possible, block TV time, and also review history on your computer and mobile phone.
The main thing is that you must show by example how a well-mannered, competent person should communicate.
What does the Church think about this?
“Foul language is a vile vice, which in the Holy Scriptures is equated to mortal sin (Eph. 5:4-5), writes Bishop of Vasilsursky, vicar of the Nizhny Novgorod diocese Varnava (Belyaev). – Obscenity is inherent in all centuries, places and peoples. This vice is a purely pagan heritage. It is entirely rooted in the phallic cults of the Ancient East, starting with the “depths of Satan” (Rev. 2:24) and the dark abysses of depravity in honor of Baal, Astarte and others, and ending with the classical heirs of the biblical Ham. Moreover, this vice and some kind of secret strange attraction to it are directly dependent on how close a person is to God. And if he moves away from the Divine, then he immediately begins to enter the realm of Satan and acquire this nasty habit of calling on the name of the evil one instead of God and remembering shameful things instead of divine things.”
The Church even brought up the issue of obscenity for discussion at its councils and considered it necessary to turn to the assistance of state power, especially in those cases when pagans allowed themselves to express themselves obscenely in places sacred to Christians. Here is an extract from the decision of the Council of Carthage in 419: “In these days, even though there is shame, they perform obscene dances in the fields and on haystacks, and with obscene words insult the honor of mothers of families, and the chastity of other countless pious wives who gather on the holy day, so that one almost has to run away from the refuge of the most holy faith” (Rule 71).
Prayers for the passion of foul language
Jesus Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner (or sinner).
Prayer
Almighty God, who created all creation with wisdom, raise me up with Your hand, having fallen through many sins: grant me Your help, and grant me freedom from worldly temptations, from the devil’s snares, and from carnal lusts. Have mercy and forgive me all who have sinned all the days of my life; anoint my soul with the oil of grace and generosity of Your only begotten Son, the Lord God and our Savior Jesus Christ, with Him all glory befits You and the Holy Spirit forever. Amen.
Prayer to the Honest and Life-Giving Cross
May God rise again, and may His enemies be scattered, and may those who hate Him flee from His presence. Like smoke disappears, let them disappear; As wax melts in the presence of fire, so let demons perish on behalf of those who love God and sign the sign of the cross, and say in joy: Rejoice, Most Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord, driving away and the demons have the power upon you of our Lord Jesus Christ, who descended into hell and trampled underfoot the power the devil, and who gave us Your Honest Cross to drive away every adversary. Oh, Most Honest and Life-Giving Cross of the Lord! Help me with the Holy Virgin Mary and with all the saints forever. Amen.
Demons applaud
Saint John Chrysostom attached great importance to the words coming out of our mouths and warned: “Truly, there are many ways of destruction through the lips, for example, when someone curses, when he mocks, when he talks idle talk, when he is vain as a Pharisee...”
When using obscene words, think about who you serve instead of God, to whom you “pray.” “You are not just doing a frivolous thing, you are not making a simple rude joke,” says Bishop Varnava (Belyaev), “your words are not a simple vibration of air waves. But you pronounce - although, unfortunate one, you don’t believe in it - terrible spells, you incite and attract the most vile demons, at this time you make an unnatural verbal sacrifice to Satan. You are becoming, through the most foul methods, a sorcerer, a magician, a sorcerer, perhaps without knowing it or even though it is true. However, business remains business – and demons surround you and applaud you.”
How to deal with the passion of foul language
The main means of combating this passion are sobriety, prayer and participation in the Church Sacraments. Sobriety is discipline of the mind and heart, careful attention to one’s spiritual life. It is necessary to remember that swearing is a sin, to control your thoughts. Banish swear words not only from the tongue, but also from the mind and heart. You should exclude from your life books, films, songs that contain profanity. It is also useful to avoid communication with foul-mouthed people.
Prayer is any sincere repentant appeal to God. It protects from demons, brings comfort and strength for spiritual struggle. Saint John Chrysostom teaches:
“Where there is prayer and thanksgiving, the grace of the Holy Spirit comes there, and demons are driven away from there.”
Priests advise resorting to a short prayer every time you want to use a swear word or when it simply comes to mind. The universal Orthodox means of “defense” in temptations is the Jesus Prayer (or the short “Lord, have mercy”).
The main Sacraments for already churched people are Confession and Communion. In the first, a Christian brings sincere repentance to God (in the presence of a priest) for the sins he has committed - with the firm intention of not repeating them. The Lord accepts repentance, cleanses a person from sins and gives strength to eradicate them from the soul. Venerable Ephraim the Syrian instructs:
“Confession serves to destroy sins. God wants to hear our sins from us not because he does not know them. On the contrary, He wants us to come to the consciousness of our sins through confession.”
Communion consists of partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ under the guise of bread and wine. There is a union of man with the Lord, a mysterious sanctification and renewal of our nature. Saint John Chrysostom calls Communion
“saving healing for our wounds, inexhaustible riches and bringing us the Kingdom of Heaven.”
Archpriest Valery Dukhanin notes that regular participation in the Church Sacraments is of the greatest importance in the fight against foul language. Spiritual illness goes away after a person joins the Source of purity - the Lord. The soul staying with Him subtly senses spiritual destruction, realizes its harm and does not allow it to penetrate itself.
Holy Fathers on foul language
The Apostle Paul writes: “Fornication and all uncleanness must not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints. Also, foul language and idle talk and ridicule are not becoming for you, but on the contrary, thanksgiving, for know that no fornicator, or unclean... has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God” (Eph. 5: 3-5). In the Epistle to the Colossians, the same Paul calls: “And now put aside everything: anger, rage, malice, slander, filthiness of your mouth” (Col. 3:8).
At the end of the 2nd century after the Nativity of Christ, Clement of Alexandria taught in his lectures the students of the catechetical school in Alexandria who were preparing to receive Baptism: “We must not only refrain from indecent speech ourselves, but also by the severity of our gaze, turning away our heads, the so-called wrinkling of our nose, and often put a muzzle on the lips of those who indulge in such speeches with harsh words. For what comes out of the mouth, it is said, defiles a person” (Matthew 15:18).
But John Chrysostom: “Do you want to know how great an evil it is to speak shamefully and shamefully? Look how those who listen to you blush from your shamelessness. In fact, what could be worse and more despicable than a person who shamelessly swears?.. How can you teach chastity to your wife when with your shameless eyes you incite her to go into debauchery? It is better to spew rottenness from your mouth than foul language. If your breath smells bad, then you do not touch the common meal; but when there is such a stench in your soul, tell me, how do you dare to approach the Mysteries of the Lord?.. Nothing angers Him, the Most Holy and Purest, more than such words; nothing makes people so arrogant and shameless as when they speak and listen to such words; nothing upsets the nerves of chastity so easily as the flame kindled by such words. God has put fragrance in your mouth, and you put words in them that are more stinking than any corpse, killing the very soul and making it insensitive.”
Foul language is a prayer to Satan
Priest Lev Arshakyan:
– Obscene language is, in short, a prayer to Satan, by and large. She is the crown of that malice that hides in our heart and spills out from there. This greatly harms the one who defiles himself with this demonic malice and spews it out of himself in the form of obscene language.
True, what forces me to show some caution in relation to obscene words is that Elder Pavel (Gruzdev) sometimes resorted to them. Apparently, the decisive factor here is what is going on inside a person. He certainly had peace within. He may have picked up these words in the camps, but they did not come to him as an expression of anger. Maybe they were useful to someone as a way of humility.
But this is a separate case. We cannot try on the experience of the elders. It is important for us, lay people, ordinary people, to understand that this is blasphemy against the Mother of God, against everything holy, that this is a prayer to demons. This greatly destroys health – both mental and physical. This breaks our relationship with God and calls demons to us who feed on our sins. Man is becoming more and more enslaved by them, which can lead to very disastrous consequences.
How to escape
First, turn your mind to God and arm yourself with the Jesus Prayer. “If you learn not to say anything superfluous,” advises John Chrysostom, “but constantly protect both your thoughts and lips with conversation from the Divine Scriptures, then your guardianship will be stronger than adamant... Have you seen those punished for slander? Look at those who receive the reward of blessing. Bless those who bless you, and curses those who curse you (Numbers 24:9). Bless those who drive you out, pray for those who attack you, so that you may be like your Father who is in heaven (Matthew 5:44-45)…
But you are talkative, do you have this disadvantage? It’s better to speak to God about your deeds - and this will not be a disadvantage, but will be an acquisition... Do you want to be far from bad words? - avoid not only bad words, but also disorderly laughter and all lust...
First of all other members, let us moderate this (tongue), we will bridle it and drive out of our mouths curses and abuse, and foul language, and slander, and the evil habit of swearing. Let's learn to defeat the evil demon. He usually harms us in all ways, but especially through the tongue and lips. For no other member is so suitable for him to deceive and destroy us as an intemperate tongue and an unbridled mouth.”
Galina Digtyarenko
“God has put fragrance in your mouth, but you put words into them that are more stinking than any corpse, killing the very soul and making it insensitive.”
John Chrysostom
“Profanity is a vile vice, which in Holy Scripture is equated with mortal sin.”
(Eph. 5:4-5)
“The Lord put a guard over my mouth, and a door of protection over my mouth.”
Children and swearing
Many adults do not consider it necessary to think about why it is forbidden to swear in front of children. They believe that children do not remember or understand anything yet, and therefore will not perceive profanity as something harmful. But this position is fundamentally wrong.
Mat is very dangerous for children of any age. First of all, he is a conductor of violence in the life of a child. Foul language most often becomes a companion to fights and any kind of aggression. Therefore, children very quickly become saturated with this energy and begin to actively broadcast it into the world around them, surprising their sometimes rather prosperous parents with their behavior.
Secondly, dependence on swear words almost instantly develops. Psychologists quite often draw a parallel between it and alcohol or nicotine addiction. A child who uses profanity from a very early age will have great difficulty breaking this habit. The process will require incredible effort from him.
Thirdly, foul language reduces your child’s chances of finding happiness in the future and becoming a happy parent of a healthy baby. Therefore, try to convey to your children as clearly as possible why you should not swear.
The truth about the “Russian” swearing. Bishop Mitrofan (Badanin)
Alas, swearing in Russia has become almost a national treasure. You can hear it anywhere and everywhere, from people of all ages and professions. Moreover, some swear because they no longer know how to speak differently, others do it by imitating those around them or, like teenagers, to spite teachers and parents.
According to Bishop Mitrofan (Badanin), Bishop of North Sea and Umba, by swearing, unbelieving people bathe in verbal defilement, which destroys their soul from the inside. It would seem that the bishop, a former officer of the Northern Fleet, should not be alien to swearing, but the bishop’s position is tough!
“If there is no God, then everything is allowed, which means you can say these terrible words that came to us from paganism,” says Bishop Mitrofan on the pages of his book “The Truth about Russian Mat.” “A person gets used to them because they contain the energy of evil. This addiction is similar to a drug addiction. Without swearing, the foul-mouthed person can no longer think or act. The power of swearing gives him courage and... subjugates him to the Prince of Darkness. Mat from a spiritual point of view is anti-prayer.
Before the revolution there was almost no swearing
The Bishop of North Sea studied many documents and came to the conclusion that swearing took root in our country after the collapse of the Russian Empire. Before 1917, it was not common for Russian people to swear, since they were believers, and religion strictly forbade them to swear.
— My great-grandfather served for 12 years with the famous Admiral Makarov, was in his special team, which developed the latest types of weapons - sea mines, torpedoes. He completed two circumnavigations of the world, starting out as a simple sailor. So for him the most terrible curse was the word “chumichka”. That is, a ladle! When they finally take your great-grandfather out, they annoy you, he will call you a freak. That's all he could afford. Because the people were believers, and they could not commit the sin of foul language,” continues the bishop.
This is a verbal curse!
— Nowadays, some defenders of swear words like to refer to the birch bark letters of ancient Novgorod, where obscene vocabulary was noticed. But let us immediately note: out of more than a thousand letters found by archaeologists, these unclean words were found in only four. This is quite a bit,” writes Bishop Mitrofan.
– Those phrases that were preserved as swear words were used in pagan rituals as magical spells, a means of attracting unclean spirits. One of the most important purposes of these words was to damage the enemy, to curse his family. It is not for nothing that all these words were in one way or another connected with the reproductive organs and the process of reproduction. In the Bulgarian chronicles of the 13th-15th centuries, the word “mattered” does not mean “scold” at all, but rather “cursed.”
The watershed between life and death - due to obscene language
Bishop Mitrofan is confident that the Soviet government deliberately introduced obscenities into the lives of the people. Firstly, in order to destroy his spirituality. And secondly, swearing served as a tool for forcing people into exhausting work during collectivization and industrialization.
- It was a position! The deep spiritual position of the Soviet government. Academician Likhachev wrote about this: one of his own is the one who swears! As they distinguished in the camps - whoever does not swear is not ours. They were shot first, because such a person does not support this regime. That is, he is a hidden enemy. This is where the line between life and death lay. If you swear, they will give you a position. And some stood until the end and were shot,” the author sadly says. - Likhachev knew what he was writing about, since he had lived through the camps to the fullest.
“Swear words will turn you into a Muscovite”
— Heavy dirty words of obscenity almost defeated the Russian people. The sin of the tongue, of lustful, obscene words, has acquired the status of the norm in Russia. And he confidently and brazenly claims to be some kind of heroic symbol of the Russian spiritual tradition,” the bishop laments. – The nationalist forces of the former republics of the USSR are successfully speculating on this sad misconception of ours, skillfully playing out, admittedly, a fair statement: “Living with Russia means living in swearing”, “In Russia they don’t swear - they speak it”, “Swearing will turn You’re a Muscovite.”
There is no core of faith in the army and navy
“It is with sadness that we must admit that the most persistent traditions of everyday swearing have developed in the army and navy. Now, when we are talking about introducing the institution of military priests, about the need for spiritual change in army teams, and returning purity to the souls of soldiers, the most obvious obstacle to this process will be the habit of swearing, the former naval commander, and now a priest, is sure. – You’re simply amazed at the gusto with which the sailors of the Russian fleet pour out this verbal dirt on each other. This bastard language is terribly inconsistent with the courageous beauty of naval service, ancient maritime traditions, and the noble severity of the naval uniform.
The modern army and navy are faced with a huge problem - the spiritual emptiness of existence. That component of the faith of Christ, which was so strong in the Russian army in the past, is almost completely absent today. The guys are deprived of the most important weapon of a warrior - the core of faith... Why is it that such a vile tradition of obscenities, brought by revolutionary sailors, drunk on the blood of officers and the permissiveness of 1917, turned out to be more expensive for us than the traditions of Russian officers, the traditions of the holy admiral Fyodor Ushakov, Generalissimo Suvorov, admirals Nakhimov , Sinyavina, Makarova?
Word of salvation
“In January 1994, a reconnaissance group of the Airborne Forces special forces, escaping pursuit of detachments of Chechen separatists, took refuge in a dilapidated building of the University of Chechnya. Here the special forces discovered our infantry - several conscript boys led by a captain. Having united, they took up a perimeter defense and accepted the battle. A day later it became clear: there would be no help. Almost everyone has run out of ammunition. And the feeling of doom began to overwhelm us more and more.
The thought immediately came to me: we must decide to make a breakthrough. We, the officers, understood well that this attempt was hopeless, especially with conscripts who were still children... Everyone prepared for the throw into eternity. Around us, the enemy constantly shouted his “Allahu Akbar!”, putting pressure on the psyche and trying to paralyze the will. And then we somehow decided at once that we would shout “Christ is Risen!” It was a strange, externally inspired decision. It’s no secret that in all extreme situations of that war we usually screamed with wild, furious obscenities.
And here it’s completely the opposite - the holy “Christ is Risen!” And these amazing words took away our fear. We suddenly felt such inner strength that all doubts disappeared. With these words, we rushed into the breakthrough, a terrible hand-to-hand fight began... There were no shots, only the sounds of terrible blows. As a result, we broke through. Every single one! Yes, we were all wounded, but we were all alive. And I know for sure that if we had gone for a breakthrough with our traditional obscene scream, everyone would have died there.”
It was not for nothing that Bishop Mitrofan put these memoirs of the former airborne special forces soldier Nikolai Kravchenko, and now a priest of the Orthodox Church working in the troops, in the book. In his opinion, this story is one of the signs that the period of spiritual timelessness is ending in Rus', that it is time for everyone to return to the origins of our great country. And we need to start by at least refusing to swear.
The history of the mat
Many people are so accustomed to swearing in their everyday speech that they don’t even think about why they shouldn’t swear and where these strange words came into our culture. However, scientists have been interested in profanity for a very long time, and they have been studying this issue for decades.
Initially, there was a widespread belief that mating came to the Slavs from the Mongols and Turkic tribes. But a more thorough analysis of these languages showed that there was nothing like swearing in them. Therefore, it is worth looking for the roots of foul language in more ancient times.
Ethnopsychologists were very surprised by the similarity of Russian swearing to the spells of the ancient Sumerians. Many words were almost identical, which led scientists to think about the sacred meaning of profanity. And, as it turned out, they were on the right track. After much research, it was discovered that swearing is nothing more than an appeal to pagan spirits, demons and demons. It was widely used in pagan cults and rituals, but even then only special people who used their power to achieve certain goals could use foul language. Still don't understand why you can't swear? Then you should read the article to the end.
Many words that we use today several hundred times a day are the names of ancient demons, while others are a terrible curse sent in ancient times only on the heads of enemies. That is, using swear words every day, we consciously turn to the dark forces and call on them for help. And they are always happy to provide it, and then present a bill for payment, which may be unaffordable for many.
It is noteworthy that even our ancestors were clearly aware of the harm of swear words. They didn't need to explain why they shouldn't swear in public places. An ordinary person could use profanity no more than ten times a year and only in the most exceptional cases. At the same time, everyone understood that retribution for this weakness would be inevitable.
Of course, to many our explanation will seem like a fairy tale. After all, modern man believes only in facts and figures. But well, we are ready to consider this issue from a scientific point of view.
Spiritual understanding of swearing
The problem of swearing also requires a spiritual assessment. “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34) is stated in the Holy Scriptures. If a person’s heart is overwhelmed by impure passions, then they inevitably spill out. This can manifest itself both in words and in actions. The word is, on the one hand, a simple matter, but at the same time complex. It would seem that it might be easier to say something, chat, rather than carry bags. But the consequences of just one word can be very different. The word can be creative and it can also be destructive. With just one word you can express love, and also with one word you can declare war. The word gives life and the word kills.
Profanity is a destructive word. Here is what the Apostle James says about this: “So the tongue is a small member, but does much. Look, a small fire ignites a lot of substance! And the tongue is fire, the embellishment of untruth; the tongue is in such a position between our members that it defiles the whole body and sets the circle of life on fire, being itself set on fire by Gehenna” (James 3:5-6). An incredibly deep and accurate assessment of how much a word means and can do. This is not surprising, because “by the word of the Lord the heavens were established, and by the breath of His mouth was all their strength” (Ps. 32:6). God created all things with the Word. Man, created in the image and likeness of God, is endowed with the gift of speech and must think about what he says. No wonder the popular wisdom says: “the word is not a sparrow; if it flies out, you won’t catch it.” The Lord Jesus Christ points out the severity of God’s Judgment for foul language: “You have heard what was said to the ancients: “Do not kill, but whoever kills will be subject to judgment.” But I tell you that everyone who is angry with his brother without cause will be subject to judgment; whoever says to his brother: “raqa” is subject to the Sanhedrin; and whoever says, “You fool,” will be subject to fiery hell” (Matthew 5:21-22).
Opinion of the Holy Fathers
Photo: Flickr.com
The Holy Fathers gave their explanation for bad words. Tikhon of Zadonsky considered them to be poison, closing the door to sincere prayer and gradually poisoning the immortal soul. And popular wisdom said: swear words are disgusting to the Mother of God, who turns away from those who curse with them and desecrate their image or the image of their mother. It is for this reason that women, using obscene language, can suffer from men, choose completely unsuitable life partners and feel unhappy, even if at first glance they are completely happy.
The Apostle Hermes wrote that foul language is nothing more than an evil and restless spirit that prevents a person from making wise decisions, feeling calm, and not deprived of the mercy and grace of God. Hegumen Nektary (Morozov) considered the word to be one universal means of communication with God and people, and its desecration with obscenities can inevitably harm the soul, pushing a person away from prayer and from God.
Archpriest Maxim Kozlov considers obscene words to be a distortion of the image of God in every person and incompatible with his divine nature, love and kindness.
Hegumen Gerius called the insult of 4 mothers a bad word: the Mother of God, her mother, the mother of the earth and the mother of the Church.
The impact of profanity on the human body
We think many of us have read the Bible and remember that “in the beginning was the Word.” But most people didn’t even think about what exactly was contained in this important line. But Pyotr Goryaev managed to reveal this secret.
After many years of research that he conducted in Russian and foreign scientific institutes, it was proven that our DNA chain can be represented as a meaningful text consisting of words grouped with a special meaning. The scientist himself called this phenomenon “the speech of the Creator.” Thus, Goryaev confirmed that with our speech we can both heal ourselves and destroy ourselves. He claims that thought forms, and especially spoken words, are perceived by the genetic apparatus through special electromagnetic channels. Therefore, they can heal and support us, and in other cases literally explode DNA, causing certain disorders and mutations. And checkmate is the most destructive force that exists. Petr Goryaev believes that a frivolous attitude towards profanity leads not only to cultural, but also to physical degeneration of the nation.
Surprisingly, Goryaev’s hypothesis is partially confirmed by doctors. They have long noticed that stroke patients or patients after severe traumatic brain injuries who lose the ability to speak can quite freely pronounce long sentences entirely consisting of swear words. This means that at this moment in the body, signals pass through completely different nerve chains and endings.
Interesting fact about profanity
Many people wonder why you can’t swear in prison. There are several explanations for this rule. The first includes the fact that many swear words contain understandable insults. And in prison jargon they are interpreted literally. Therefore, a couple of such words can be perceived as a mortal insult, and one could well pay for it with one’s life.
In addition, places of detention have their own language - fenya. It carries quite a lot of negative energy and psychologists consider its effect on the body to be much more powerful than swearing.
