Using Profanity as Authentic Language

I recently saw a post by a Christian author who was writing a secular but clean book set during WWII. He wanted to know if he should use some mild profanity in this military setting. It is a debate I hear often among Christian writers. I talked with one writer who insisted she was going to add profanity because it was "true-to-life."

To the first author, I suggested he mention the cursing but not actually use it. He could write something like, "Joe answered with a string of curse words." Since he has published in the Christian market, his fans are likely to be very disappointed if he chooses to use profanity in dialogue. I also doubt that Christian readers will like the second writer's (she hasn't published anything yet) insistence on using foul language. I hear over and over again that's one of the main reasons readers choose to read Christian books, and I agree.

I think relaxing guidelines on profanity is just one more way society is pressuring the Christian to compromise biblical values and moral attitudes. In a time when these qualities are no longer appreciated by the vast majority like they once were, I think we need to stand even firmer to prevent them from vanishing altogether. If our novels really reflected true life, they would be very boring. Since we fictionalize other parts of our stories, why would our writing need to include profanity?

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