What is the value of saying bullshit when...?

Here's a question for preachers, worshippers and those who are concerned about church in general:  is there a value in calling bullshit by its true name in worship?  I have been persuaded by the Stanley Hauwerwas and Clarence Jordan school of public speaking that sometimes there is no better word to describe certain reality except bullslhit.  Jordan, the curmudgeon Baptist preacher and founder of the inter-racial Koinonia Community, called those who are rattled by the earthy words of scripture and reality "Kleenex Christians" - people who just can't handle the dirty truths of incarnational living. 

Evangelist Tony Campolo once cut to the chase for me saying:“[According to a profile in Christianity Today entitled] The Positive Prophet, ... I have three things I'd like to say today. First, while you were sleeping last night, 30,000 kids died of starvation or diseases related to malnutrition. Second, most of you don't give a shit. What's worse is that you're more upset with the fact that I said shit than the fact that 30,000 kids died last night.”

So why does this continue to be true in so many of churches at a time when social sin is eating us alive?  Why are we so afraid of naming bullshit by its true name in the church instead of being offended by hunger, violence and fear? In 2005, the moral philosopher, Harry G. Frankfurt wrote the definitive book on the subject with a small volume called , On Bullshit.  I like this summary of what Frankfurt was trying to accomplish: 

One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his share. But we tend to take the situation for granted. Most people are rather confident of their ability to recognize bullshit and to avoid being taken in by it. So the phenomenon has not aroused much deliberate concern. Yet we have no clear understanding of what bullshit is, why there is so much of it or what functions it serves. And we lack a conscientiously developed appreciation of what it means to us. In other words, as Harry Frankfurt writes, "we have no theory."

Frankfurt, one of the world's most influential moral philosophers, attempts to build such a theory here. With his characteristic combination of philosophical acuity, psychological insight, and wry humor, Frankfurt proceeds by exploring how bullshit and the related concept of humbug are distinct from lying. He argues that bullshitters misrepresent themselves to their audience not as liars do, that is, by deliberately making false claims about what is true. In fact, bullshit need not be untrue at all.

Rather, bullshitters seek to convey a certain impression of themselves without being concerned about whether anything at all is true. They quietly change the rules governing their end of the conversation so that claims about truth and falsity are irrelevant. Frankfurt concludes that although bullshit can take many innocent forms, excessive indulgence in it can eventually undermine the practitioner's capacity to tell the truth in a way that lying does not. Liars at least acknowledge that it matters what is true. By virtue of this, Frankfurt writes, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.

Today, as I was talking about the belief that we are called by God to suffer so many of our fears and the agonizing wounds of our souls in silent alienation, I said: "BULLSHIT!  The God made flesh in Jesus Christ is NOT about silent suffering into perpetuity out of pride or shame... God seeks our healing,hope and renewal." I carefully chose to call bad theology bullshit - it wasn't a slip of the tongue - but rather a theological affirmation. And all the while I knew that somebody would be more upset with my street parlance than the fact that this bad theology has keot God's people wounded and afraid for centuries.


So I guess I would like to hear from people of faith who take worship seriously:  what's the deal with all the bullshit?  Why are we so afraid to speak the truth of our God in the everyday language most people use without batting an eye?  Are we really people who affirm the docetic heresy and fear/hate incarnational language?  Thoughts?  Insights? Concerns?  Please... talk among yourselves.