Reply #4: I find a lot of the overly pious are lower classes. It seems to me that

[GreenPartyVoter]

there is some correlation between the more dire the straits people are in to how rigid their religion is. (but those are thoughts for another thread, maybe?)

Thank you for your thoughts about swearing vs. hurtful language. I agree with much of it, but having been in a (poor) conservative charismatic Xn family for so long I've gotten used to their feelings about swearing. But when you serve a grumpy God of requirements I can understand why they feel the way they do. A lot of Christians I know are very uptight about how they look to other people. Hence the "how will they know us from worldly people if we swear". (I will confess to swearing sometimes solely because it freaks my husband out. In that particular case would it be deemed abusive or offensive because I did it strictly to push his buttons?)

I don't generally swear because it just doesn't sit well with my husband's family and because it doesn't fit me right. I feel like I am play-acting or trying on words like a little kid does. :) Then again I say "crap", "darn", and "frikkin" which are also a no-no words around here since they are stand ins for vulgarities. Ah well, they are good people and they mean well but for me their church denomination is too strict and imposing a lot of the time. Not so much about grace, although they think they are.