As Christian educationalists lift up the name of Jesus by teaching children a better way to live, the wokerati are encouraging them to take his name in vain.
Cursing Christ acceptable to kids
In an almost unbelievable development that defies all decency, the British Board of Film Classification – responsible for monitoring what is acceptable viewing – has deemed it permissible for under-12s to hear ‘Jesus Christ’ used as a swear word along with a raft of other foul language.1
While Bible believers continue to sing the praises of our Lord’s marvellous majesty, the sick secularists are dragging his name through the mud in what is yet another form of child abuse.
Our precious, beautiful Jesus, who walked on Galilee, calmed the storm, healed the leper, raised the dead, turned water into wine and preached good news to the poor, is once more being “constantly blasphemed” (Isa 52:5). But for a nation like Britain, blessed with having been given the inestimable privilege of preaching the gospel to the nations and of making a way for the return of God’s ancient people to their land, this is surely a step too far.
With all the many thousands of words we have in our English vocabulary, many of us fill our conversations with expletives and profanity. And this, they say, has got to be reflected on stage and screen.
Loose tongue – loose morals
There has apparently been a 30% rise in the use of foul language by the population at large over the past five years2, which the board is using to justify its accommodation of such unnecessary scripting. Wouldn’t it have been better to lance the poison than to have encouraged the cancerous tumour of moral decay to grow?
Personally, I am sick and tired of the non-stop warnings about upcoming strong language on TV programmes. We are paying a licence fee to have our ears assaulted and our consciences grossly offended. But when it comes to inclusivity and diversity, Christians are the exception. Their concerns are either completely ignored, or even attacked.
Blasphemy against our Lord, on whose principles this nation has been built, is the most serious offence of all, and we will pay dearly for it.
The beautiful English language, which has produced legendary poets and playwrights – not to mention one of the most magnificent ever translations of the Bible, the King James Version – has degenerated into a mindless muttering of ugly sounds more appropriate in a zoo.
Be sure of this – a loose tongue will lead to loose morals, and that is why we are suffering so badly with the breakdown of family and relationships, leading in turn to a housing crisis. But blasphemy against our Lord, on whose principles this nation has been built, is the most serious offence of all, and we will pay dearly for it.
Taming the tongue
Yet there is a virtual silence from church leaders over this breaking of the Third Commandment: “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name” (Ex 20:7).
The purpose of the commandments is not to burden people, but to instil in them a fear of God to keep them from sinning (Ex 20:20). Tragically, there is very little evidence of that fear of God in today’s society. But if we knew what judgment lay ahead for every word spoken out of turn, we wouldn’t be so carefree with our tongue.
Where is the voice of protest from Christians? Should we so easily allow our secular humanist culture to squash our scruples? If a name sacred to Muslims was used in this offensive way with such abandon, what then? Yet Christians who touch on some of the woke idols like gay marriage are soon in trouble. Where is the diversity and inclusivity that would recognise Christian belief by banning blasphemy and swearing from the increasingly seedy scripts of TV dramas?
The BBC, for one, has betrayed the legacy of its founders, inscribed in marble at the entrance to Broadcasting House, quoting from Paul’s letter to the Philippians: “God Almighty; it is our prayer that all things hostile to peace or decency may be banished from this house, and that the people, inclining their ear to whatsoever things are beautiful and honest and of good report, may tread the path of wisdom and uprightness” (See Phil 4:8).
Where is the voice of protest from Christians? Should we so easily allow our secular humanist culture to squash our scruples? If a name sacred to Muslims was used in this offensive way with such abandon, what then?
James, the brother of Jesus, describes the tongue as “a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell” (James 3:6). And he concludes that, whereas all kinds of animals have been tamed, no man can tame the tongue. But God can!
Our words are important
On the same day we learnt about the film classification board’s further liberalisation of swearing, we also read about the ‘normalisation’ of sexual harassment in schools, where a shocking nine-out-of-ten girls are said to experience sexist name-calling and are sent unwanted explicit pictures, according to an Ofsted review.3 As I said, loose language leads to loose morals.
Our words are so important. Every word we utter should be weighed with great care, thought and wisdom, because we are created for relationships – with God and each other – to be lived out in community. If we truly love our neighbour as ourselves, we will aim to foster encouragement, inspiration and motivation among those with whom we have been placed. That will help to produce peace instead of strife; harmony instead of hassle; beauty instead of ashes.
Watch what you say at all times. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof” (Prov 18:21). For it is what comes out of our mouths that determines whether we are clean or unclean, according to Jesus, who added: “For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks…And I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken” (Matt 12:34-36).
Endnotes
1 The Daily Mail, 10th June 2021
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid. See also this report