Article November 11, 1961 Issue

"Shun profane. . .babblings"

"If we comprehend...Jesus' teachings... we shall be rightly guided in our conversation"

HAROLD F. BENNETT

"Thy word is very pure: therefore thy servant loveth it," declared the Psalmist (Ps. 119: 140). Only wholesome thoughts reflect qualities of God. Clean speech communicates them.

One of the degrading temptations is profanity. Continually clamoring for attention, it pretends to be a sophisticated, virile habit. Actually, vulgarity displays a lazy indifference to the possibilities of language and a lack of understanding of God as supreme intelligence.

"Shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness, Paul advised (II Tim. 2:16). Primarily "profane" means "unholy." Blaspheming God and bearing false witness to men, vulgar talk violates several of the Ten Commandments. The word "babblings," used in the King James Version of the Bible, might well describe profanity's repetition of a few words in different contexts with little regard for their correct meanings.

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