The Jeff Cavins Show (Your Catholic Bible Study Podcast) - Should Christians Say "Holy Crap" ?

Episode Date: August 7, 2020

As disciples of Christ, our speech matters. While the expression “holy crap” has become commonplace in our culture today, Jeff challenges us to re-evaluate the use of this expression by explaining the meaning of the word “holy” and the reverence we should have for it. Snippet from the Show Part of being a disciple of Christ is being able to clearly distinguish between that which is holy and that which is unholy. Email us with comments or questions at [e-mail] Text “jeffcavins” to 33-777 to subscribe and get Jeff’s shownotes delivered straight to your email! Or visit ascensionpress.com/thejeffcavinsshow for full shownotes!

You're listening to the Jeff Kaven Show, episode 178. Should Christians say, holy crap? Hey, I'm Jeff Kavans. How do you simplify your life? How do you study the Bible? All the way from motorcycle trips to raising kids, we're going to talk about the faith and life in general. It's the Jeff Kaven Show. Hey, welcome to the show again. Good to be with you. And, uh, you. You're Yeah, quite a title, huh? Most people don't talk about this topic. We're going to talk about it today, and I'm going to talk to you about why I don't think this is something that we should be saying.

That is, holy crap. And I'm going to use that phrase throughout the show, just as to illustrate what I'm talking about, but it isn't a phrase that I use in my life. And I started to get really interested in doing a show on it as I just took notice over and over and over of people using this phrase in regular conversation or phrases that were even worse. And it just didn't rub me right. Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever been in a conversation among Christians and then suddenly someone just blurts out, holy crap, and you're like,

I don't know about that. I don't know if that fits. And I don't think it does fit. But I want to explain to you why from scripture and from some of the traditions in the past as to how some of these euphemisms have developed, and it's really interesting because so many of them have developed to actually not swear. And so it's like one step away from swearing, but we're okay with that. Should we be? I don't think so. I really don't. Hey, if you want the show notes today to this episode and all of the future episodes, all you've got to do is text me at 3377. It's real easy. Just type my name, Jeff Kaven's, one word, and text it to 33777. Such a biblical number at 33777. Okay. Well, you know, before we get into our topic, I do want you to know that I'm praying for you, and I know that it's still difficult for many people during COVID-19. This last week was the first week that I had a chance to go out and to, actually speak. I went to Omaha, Nebraska. And boy, I want to say a shout out to

Vicki, Jim, Craig, to Archbishop. Just a wonderful group of leaders in Omaha in that Archdiocese. And they're doing some really incredible jobs, you know, just really doing a great job. So it was a great time to be there. And I spoke to the educators down there. And we had, I think, I was close to 100 in the cathedral, and then they had about 550 on Zoom all over the place, and they were watching, and they couldn't, you know, put, they couldn't put everybody in there because of COVID-19, but what a great time we did, we didn't have together. Okay, so we turned to our topic for this week. Should Christians say, holy crap? Should they say it? Well, I don't think they should, and I want to ask this question, does the lack of restraint in using language like this,

not only is it wrong, but does it point to something deeper, a deeper problem with our speech and the fact that we don't really think about what we say, or there are certain things that we can take one step off the line and say it, and it's okay, even though many people know that it's not really, you know, okay. It's not really okay to say that. I remember growing up in my parents would not allow me to swear at all. And I, if I did, I either got sent to my room or I got a belt or something, you know, and I learned to really control my language. And I wasn't one of those who just walked around swearing and using, you know, using foul language.

But there was also a number of people who were protective of even those, these euphemisms, of going one step off the line and using, you know, things like holy cow, holy mackerel, holy buckets, and so forth. And we'll talk a little bit about that. But I am trying to walk the line of really watching my speech. And our speech reflects in many ways what we consider to be holy and what we consider not to be holy. It's interesting as you go back into the book of Leviticus, you'll see that in the book of Leviticus way back there. If you just tilt your Bible to the side, you'll see that bright, shiny gold or unworn area of the Old Testament. That's Leviticus, right there. And Leviticus says six times, and it be holy as I am holy. Be holy as I'm holy. And then Leviticus also says,

and this was foundational to Jesus' education in the first century when he grew up and learned as a young man. and that was to distinguish between what is clean and what is unclean, what is holy and what is unholy. That's what we are to do as the people of God. Now, not only do our actions say one thing, and that's a whole other podcast, but our language says something about what we consider to be holy and what we consider not to be holy. So let's first take a look at what holy means, okay um holy is the word kadoosh in hebrew kadoosh and so if for example in isaiah you know when isaiah was aware of the presence of the lord he said kadoosh kadoosh kadoosh holy holy is the lord well this word kadoosh means to be holy or to be separate or to be set apart to be special

it's it's dedicated to something special it's different and so there are a number of things that are different and we'll get to that, and things that are holy, and we'll get to that. But certainly, crap is not. And that is not one of the things that we would put into the category of holy. But there are things that are holy. So part of being a disciple of the Lord is being able to distinguish between that which is holy and that which is unholy. And not only should our actions reflect that, but I believe that our speech should reflect that. After all, we're told by the Lord that we are going to stand before heaven, and we are going to stand before God, and we're going to give an account for every word

that we spoke. Now, is God going to reject you because you once or twice said in your life, holy crap? No, I don't think he's going to reject you, but it does say something about our idea of what truly is holy. Now, what's interesting, I got to looking back in this, and, you know, one of the great phrases in our culture today is, is Holy Cow. And a lot of people will remember Harry Carey, you know, for the Chicago Cubs, Holy Cow, you know. And that really meant like, whoa, this is unbelievable. And so the phrase, holy cow, I looked up that phrase, and it was used, I thought it was

really related, to be honest with you. I thought it was related to Hindu religion. That might be my own ignorance, and maybe there is some kind of tie. but it was used by baseball players at least as early as 1913, and probably much earlier, it became associated with several American baseball broadcasters. The phrase may have originated with reporter and broadcaster Halsey Hall. Now, Halsey Hall, well, he was one of the voices of the Minnesota Twins. Did I mention they won the World Series in 87 and 91 against the Braves and the Cardinals? I can't remember if I mentioned that, but Halsey Hall was part of that team.

He worked in Minneapolis from 1919 until his death in 1977. And according to Paul Dixon, New Orleans radio announcer Jack Holliday also used to use the phrase on broadcasts of the minor league New Orleans Pelicans. Wait a minute, aren't they a basketball team now? I didn't know that they were a baseball team. And that was in the 1930s. Harry Carey was the broadcaster for the Louis Cardinals, the Oakland Athletics, Chicago White Sox, and the Cubs. And he began using it early in his career in order to prevent himself from lapsing into vulgarity. New York Yankees shortstop and announcer Phil Rizzuto was also well known for the phrase

when the Yankees honored him following his retirement. The ceremony included a real cow with a halo prop on its head. 1950s Milwaukee Braves broadcaster Earl Gillespie was also known for the expression. So we have used these expressions like Holy Cow as what would be called an evasive synonym. In other words, we're not going to say something vulgar, so we're going to make something up that replaces something vulgar. I still don't fall into that camp, and I hope you don't fall into that camp either. Well, Holy Macrill was one. It was an expression of surprise. an astonishment, an expression of just pure joy suddenly or glee. Holy mackerel, right? Well,

Holy mackerel is this spontaneous term, and it means kind of sudden. But the meaning of the name is an oxymoron. As the mackerel, the Atlantic mackerel, to be specific, is one of the smaller, the regular, or rather, it's one of the smellier fish and juxtapose against the holy. There's nothing holy about a mackerel. It is rather smelly. So in other words, it's a bit ironic and thus it's funny to hear. It's funny to hear. So recorded from 1803 with uncertain origin, but possibly a euphemism for holy Mary, mackerel is introduced, and it was a nickname for Catholics because they ate the fish on Fridays. Another suggested explanation is the practice of selling mackerel on Sundays in the 17th century because its quality deteriorates

rapidly. So it was known as holy fish. Now, holy crap is another thing entirely. And I don't say it. And as I said, I'll use it in the show here, but I don't use that. Now, what I'd like to do here is I'm going to take a break when I come back. I'm going to show you from scripture what Jesus says about evasive synonyms, are we to use them? Are we not to use them? Is it okay sometimes to use them? And we're going to look at what truly is holy. And I'll just give you a hint here. Crap is not. You're listening to the Jeff Kaven show. The saints of the Old Testament would have longed to see what we see in the new covenant, especially God's presence in the Holy Eucharist. Hi, I'm Dr. Andrew Swaffer, theologian and co-author of Ascension's newest great adventure Bible study,

Hebrews, the New and Eternal Covenant. In this eight-session study on the book of Hebrews, Jeff Kavins and I highlight the movement from the Old Covenant to the New and show how Jesus Christ fulfills the deepest meaning of the temple and Old Testament priesthood. Through this study, you'll gain a deeper appreciation for the power of the Mass, as well as a better understanding of core Catholic beliefs regarding salvation, the sacraments, the creed, and Mary's role in salvation history. To learn more and discover how you can start this study on your own or with a group, visit ascensionpress.com backslash Hebrews. That's ascensionpress.com

backslash Hebrews. this before, but I just felt like I needed to speak on this topic should Christians say holy crap or things that are worse. What does it say about our understanding of things that are holy? What does it say about our restraint on our tongue? You know, the tongue is like a rudder. It kind of guides the whole ship, you know, and it can even start a whole forest fire. It's very, very powerful, and it says something about us. So let us look at what is. truly holy. Now remember, holy is separate, special, set apart. God is holy, right? God is holy. Oh, man. God is holy. He's totally other. He's totally other, and he doesn't belong in any category

that even remotely relates to crap. Luke chapter one, and this is the great Magnificat, we see that his name is holy. And the Blessed Virgin Mary says in Luke 1, 46 through 49, I'll put this in the show notes for you. All you got to do is text my name, just my full name, Jeff Kaven's all one word to 3377. I'll get it to you. I'll get you the notes. Mary said, my soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed for he who is mighty has done great things for me and holy is his name holy is his name okay ding ding ding ding ding litmus test litmus test time could you ever in a million years imagine the blessed virgin mary saying

holy crap i rest my case holy is his name holy is his name first peter chapter one in verse 15 through 16, those two verses, tell us something interesting, and that is, it says, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, you shall be holy, for I am holy. You see, you're to be holy as God is holy, and you are not even remotely near the value of crap. Psalm 93. in verse five, your decrees are very trustworthy. I love this phrase coming up here. Listen to this. It's in my top 50 verses in the Bible. In my Bible, I have a list of top 50 verses. This is one of Psalm 93.5, your decrees are very trustworthy. Holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore.

Isn't that beautiful? Man, I could think on that all day long. Holiness befits. your house. You see, God's house, our dwelling place, our churches, have nothing in common with crap. Holiness befits thy house. You know, muscle memory is very important here. Why do I say we should not, as Christians be using language like this and evasive synonyms that are one step off the line from vulgar. Muscle memory is important. Don't get in the habit of just using evasive synonyms. You don't joke about some things. I know that when I first came back into the Catholic Church, people told me, they told me, Jeff, there's some things we don't joke about. We don't even tell jokes about them. One of them is we don't tell jokes about the Blessed Mother, and we don't

tell jokes about the Eucharist. They're not funny. You know, it's very serious, and we don't even get near it. We kind of, as the Jews do, we build fences around that, and we don't even clown around, you know, about some of these things. And muscle memory is very, very important. If you just say, holy moly, holy buckets, holy, you know, crap, then you don't have any discipline as far as what you use your tongue for. And some of these things, we don't even joke about. And I would challenge you to turn that around in your life and let your speech reflect what is truly holy. Let no unholy thing come out of your mouth. We are to be holy. And we don't substitute holy for, you know, holy cow, holy buckets, holy macaroni, holy guacamole, macarole. You know,

I can go on and on. Robin talks this way in Batman. Robin talks this way in Batman, but we don't have to. Why? Because our yes is yes and our no is no. And when there's something that is so spectacular, so amazing, we can say what that is that that is holy. We don't have to say holy guacamole about that. We can say, holy are my children. Holy is my marriage. Holy is the word of God. Holy is the name of God. We are to become holy. The Eucharie. is holy. The blessed mother is holy. The sacraments are holy. The vessels are holy. Evasive synonyms. Listen to what Jesus said. You see, in the first century, there was a real habit of, they didn't want to take the name of the Lord in vain, which means to treat it as common.

In other words, not holy, common, right? Common. And we see that Esau, was a profane man. Esau didn't value what he had. He considered the birthright and the blessing of the firstborn to be common, common. It didn't mean that much, you know, to him. And so he was profane and he ended up giving up that which was holy. So these evasive synonyms, they would end up instead of using the name of the Lord and saying, I swear by the name of God, they wouldn't do that. They knew they couldn't do that. And so what they would do is they would choose, something offline like they would look at the Jerusalem or the temple as the footstool of God or his name, you know, and Jesus comments on this and he says, no, we don't do this. Why? Because as a

Christian, your word means something and your yes is yes and your no is no. And so he says in Matthew 5 verses 33 through 37, I'll put this in the notes for you. Again, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not swear falsely, but shall perform to the Lord what you have sworn. But I say to you, this is what Jesus says in response to that. He says, I say to you, do not take an oath at all what is taking an oath. An oath is when you swear. You say, I swear, I swear to God that I'm telling the truth. I swear to God that I'll be there at three o'clock. I swear to God that I'll pay you back. Jesus says, we don't do that. we don't we don't we don't we don't we don't take an oath like that at all we don't take an oath like that

either by using the name of the lord i swear to god which i recommend that be ex-made out of your out of your vocabulary he says but we don't either by heaven you don't say i swear by heaven for it is the throne of god or by the earth we don't swear by the earth for it is the footstool or by jerusalem that people would say literally i swear by jerusalem jesus said no for it is the city of the great king. It's holy. And do not take an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. And then Jesus says in verse 37, a chapter 5 of Matthew, he says, let what you say be simply yes or no. Anything more than this comes from the evil one. So Jesus says, don't swear by or use these evasive synonyms, trust me, litmus test. Number two, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Jesus would never say

holy crap. The Blessed Mother would never say, holy crap. Even as I say that, doesn't that sound a bit profane? Doesn't that sound a little bit off, a little wrong? So let your yes be yes and let your let your no be no. In other words, and let me wrap this up. In other words, let your speech mean something. Take responsibility for your speech. And when you hear people talking and joking around and they come up with holy whatever, that's not something that we're going to enter into. And I don't honor it with, you know, any kind of acknowledgement of truth. And I certainly do not use that. Oh, there's been times in my life where I did, you know, and I, when I was younger and, and even then,

I just, something, something wasn't right. Tell me what you think. I'd like to hear from you. I really would. You know, you can write me, The Jeff Kaven Show at ascensionpress.com, and I'll get it, and I'd love to hear from you as to what does this mean to you? Has this bothered you? Have you tried to curb the, uh, the language in your own family with your children? We've started doing this when our kids were very young. And I don't know exactly how much that's taken. I'm not with them all the time, obviously. But we started to do that when we were younger. We wouldn't let anyone swear by anything growing up. I didn't want them to have to, you know, when you swear by something, you say, I swear to God, I told you the truth. What you're doing is you're saying, my word is not

enough. I have to prop up my language, prop up my integrity by saying, look, I'm swearing an oath by God, and we don't have to do that. Let your yes be yes and let your no be no. And when it comes to using holy crap, we can stop and we can say what we really feel, which is, that's amazing. I come up with some research showing you why we shouldn't say, wow, no kidding. I'm totally kidding there. Wow. You're taking me way too seriously. So I want to leave you with that. It's a challenge. It's a challenge. And don't go overboard and say, oh, my gosh, I'm so bad. And if you want to clean it up, literally, you could even go to confession and say, look, I have been so loose with my speech, and I'm saying, holy crap, all the time. And I don't really mean that, but I've just fallen into

the cultural patterns of speech, but I know it says something, and it means something, and it means something that I don't mean, and I don't want, I don't want that. I want to be responsible, and I want to take captive every thought and every word to the obedience of Christ. See, that show wasn't so bad, and I think that it can help us. So I really do want to hear from you. Hey, by the way, If you go to my website, jeffcavens.com, and you sign in there, I've got a little gift for you, and that is a PDF on how to read the Bible, how to understand the Bible, and in that PDF is a chart that tells you how many minutes it takes to read every single book of the Bible.

And I'm encouraging people. I put up a little YouTube video on my YouTube channel, premiere, a new video. I haven't used that, but I'm starting to. It's a little video about how to substitute time for the Word of God during COVID-19, and I'd like to give that to you as a gift. That is at jeffcavens.com, where you can stay in touch with me about all the pilgrimages, my speaking engagements, and if you would like me to come to your parish, just go there and sign up, and we'll get the information, we'll get back to you. Hey, I love you, and I ask you to pray for me, and I'll pray for you.

let's close in prayer today, shall we? And let's take custody of our words and mean what we say and say what we mean. In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, Lord, we lift up to you every person who is listening. And Lord, I pray that we will all take custody of our words and responsibility for everything that we say. Help us not to be common with our speech, but help us to be purposeful, meaningful. And may we truly, Lord, distinguish between what is holy, kadoche, and what is unholy. And Lord, not only we pray will our words reflect that, but our actions, our life will follow those words, and that we won't confuse the two. And so, Lord, I say for the last time on this show, deliver us from that kind of language

and give us purposeful, meaningful words. love you, Lord. We praise you, and you are holy. Holy is your name. Holiness befits thy house forever more. Amen. Name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, amen, my friend. Have a fantastic week.