I’d happily ban bad language, but the very reason that people use it is that it is bad or shocking, so maybe that would be counterproductive. It would make it more bad and shocking.
I used to be quite foul mouthed as a teenager. I tried to give it up, but I couldn’t. Then, when I committed my life to Christ, I was able to instantly stop. I often wondered why. Speaking from a purely human point of view, if no-one uses it in evangelical circles, you’re not motivated to use it and face their disapproval 😀, And if you’re trying to evangelize your friends, they’d be very quick to pick up on it if you used foul language. But I don’t remember employing any strategy. It just stopped.
I didn’t use it as a younger child. In fact, I remember a bully threatening to hit me if I didn’t use it. Sad to say, I just used it to get away, but not after than. Then, when I got to around 10 or 11, I decided that I wanted to be hip and cool. And when I got to 18, I stopped wanting to be hip and cool. Scripture doesn’t provide a list of forbidden bad words. It’s a cultural thing. It’s debateable whether it should even be seen as sinful. I don’t think that I ever liked it. I just used it to avoid being seen as gentle or effeminate. Speaking of effeminate, quite a lot of female pop artists tend to use it nowadays. It always spoils a song for me if it includes bad language.
Anyway, to avoid putting a bad word in the title, I’ve chosen Awesome. It’s not so much that I want to ban it. I would just like to restrict its usage to its true meaning. Nowadays, it’s used as a synonym for “impressive” or whatever.
When I think of awe or awesome, I think of how you would feel if you stood in the presence of God. My favourite hymn about that is At Your Feel We Fall. It doesn’t actually use the word “awe” or “awesome”. But I feel a sense of awe when I sing or hear it. It’s based on John’s vision of Christ in Revelation 1.
Awesome is just one of many words whose meaning has changed. Here’s a list of some others.
| Word | Original Meaning |
| Terrific | Causing terror |
| Fantastic | Existing only in fantasy |
| Fabulous | From a fable |
| Splendid | Shining |
| Stunning | Knocks unconscious |
| Gorgeous | Showy or gaudy |
| Brilliant | Shining brightly |
| Sublime | Elevated |
| Epic | A poetic story |
I even remember words temporarily changing meaning. Back in Cork in the early 1970s, if you wanted to say “That’s great”, you’d say “That’s crazy”. But it only lasted a few years. If you didn’t use the words that we currently in fashion, you were considered a little dorky. And perhaps if you reverted to only using words in the context of their true meaning, you’d be uncool too. Speaking of which, why doesn’t “cool” just mean cold 😂.
Anyway, here are some songs that use awesome in it’s true sense. I think that these songs are awesome 😂. I’m very funny aren’t I? 😂
Hibernia Gospel 
That’s a great list of words and origin.
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“It’s not so much that I want to ban it. I would just like to restrict its usage to its true meaning.” – Exactly!
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