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Should You Include Cussing In Your Story Analysis

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With the eruption of many teenaged and young adult Christian writers in recent years, there have naturally come questions concerning the ethics of writing. What can Christian writers include, and what should they not include in their writing? One such question concerns the usage of characters cussing in writing, and Reagan Ramm, a writer for Kingdom Pen, a community for young Christian writers, attempts to answer this question in an article titled “Should You Include Cussing in Your Story?” First he identifies cursing as a sin, and explains that he found himself conflicted over whether to make a character cuss in his novel. He then gives five points arguing against the usage of cuss words in writing, which, although seemingly strong, fail to convince due to inadequate evidence supporting them. In the author's first three points, he expresses his concern over how the usage of cuss words in writing can affect the quality of the story. “Attempting to communicate the vileness of a character with a curse word is just lazy,” he …show more content…

However this does not imply that all Christian writers absolutely need to use cussing in excess in their fiction. Some writers may find it against their personal convictions, and some writers may deem cuss words inappropriate for their intended audience. Other authors may feel as if cuss words would not add much depth to their stories, but rather serve as a distraction. Nevertheless those Christian authors who feel called to show the world in its true depravity should not feel discourage and dissuaded from using cuss words in their writing. Because life does not resemble a breezy picnic, but pain and darkness, and truly excellent writing should reflect this and illustrate the sharp edges of its brokenness, only to show how much brighter the purity and truth of the light shines through

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