Did Jesus say sh*t?

There was a period in my late thirties when I was nudged by the Holy Spirit to use vulgarity.  Prior to that moment, I did not swear unless a hammer hit my thumb. Now, I pepper my speech with expletives as an act of perceived obedience to God. Am I crazy?

By “vulgarity” I mean only a subset of the huge community of naughty, ugly words that are floating around in the world.  Some are terms hateful to religious communities. I do not mean those words.  Words that offend my faith or another’s do not fall within the Spirit’s permission to speak. Using such words as “Jesus Christ“ as an emphatic response to someone cutting me off on the highway, or saying “G-dd*mn it,” for me, are too close to the sweet relationship I have with God. In the same way, speaking sarcastically about someone's  “Higher Power” offends another's faith. I avoid using language that way.

Slurs are another subset of the naughty word category. They are completely antithetical to the life of faith and love because they dehumanize others. I don’t use them and wish no one did. These categories of words do belong inside the practice of love. Ever.

What I think we can defend is vulgar language. And it was likely found in the mouth of our Lord Jesus. I know that’s shocking; hang in there before you head down to the comment section to berate me.

Here is why I think Jesus probably used vulgar language.

“Vulgar” is a Latin word for “common.” The Vulgate, the Latin translation by Jerome from the late 300s (4th C), was the common Bible in Christendom for several hundred years.  You hear the same root there. It means “common.”

Common life before the 19th century (in other words from just after Eden until perhaps the last 100 years) was rough and tumble, steeped in blood and offal. People lived amongst smells and sights that we might consider horrific. Slaughtered animals, dead bodies, nakedness.  Things we hope to never see, they saw every day. It was...vulgar.

Those lucky enough to avoid the muck because of wealth and advantage, tended to consider themselves above it all. And upper classes didn’t use the language of the common.  See where this is going?

The majority of vulgar words are bad words associated with the stinky, foul, daily experiences of the body.  These words were considered inappropriate for the upper levels of society who didn’t have to publicly engage with urine, poop, vomit or sex. For the common people, these things were a part of every day. Ever get scolded for using the word “fart”?  Even sex often happened in a room or space with other people averting their eyes or pretending to sleep. These words became taboo because of class.   

Now, let me suggest something really controversial: Jesus was vulgar.  God became not only human, but a peasant who lived among people who had sex, peed and poo-ed without much privacy.  Common folk. Common savior. The upper class sneered at him. As a commoner, Jesus probably used the Aramaic word for piss or sh*t on a regular basis. Maybe even f*ck.  These words weren’t evil, they were uncouth. They highlighted humor, emphasized personal conviction and stuck to the bottom of one’s foot.  Why would Jesus not use them?

Scientists have shown that vulgarity is correlated with pain management, honesty, and other psychological benefits.  Using swear words appropriately helps us emphasize outrage, pain, and personal conviction. But we use them sparingly.  If Jesus used them (and I’ve already explained why I think he did) he used them appropriately: in the shock of pain, in the agony of disappointment, in gut-busting laughter.  Probably, if vulgarity had found its way into the oral record of Jesus’ sayings, the words were cut from the writing.  But there is sh*t in the New Testament.  

In fact, the only vulgar word in the New Testament comes from the Apostle Paul in the letter to the church in Philippi, where he recounts all his accomplishments in life, and says that he counts them “as [shit], in order that I may gain Christ” (Philippians 3:8).  Of course translators recoil from such common language - hence why the words rubbish, trash, dung, garbage, refuse, etc. get used instead.  But sh*it’s there and there’s no way around it besides pretending and euphemizing.

Which is the last thing I want to say about vulgarity.  Jesus wasn’t a pretender. He was born smack-dab in the shit and he never claimed otherwise. His particularity is part of his power. My being a Jesus follower includes vulgarity because it keeps me publicly honest about my imperfection and social location.  If someone else uses it more than me, I don’t judge them. We are all vulgar in the sight of God. We are all standing in the p*ss and sh*t of this world–even if it’s metaphorical.  

Decide for yourself what is okay, but remember that Jesus chose to live among the uncouth. He loves and welcomes us common-folk, and never describes us with slurs or stereotypes. Instead Jesus models the way of love using us as examples. Even our physicality, our boogers, farts, and failings fall within the grace and kindness of Jesus’ love.  As followers, our words and deeds should imitate him.  Whether that imitation includes vulgarity from time to time is up to you.  From my sense of the story, it’s likely Jesus doesn’t give two sh*ts about it.  

​                                           -- Pastor Rebecca Ragland

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