For the Love of God

Jaafa · 21-09-2011 10:12pm #1

Similar to the who do you thank thread I thought I'd make this.

So we all know about the usual Irish refrains of: Ah Jesus that's terrible, holy mother of god etc etc.Basically I was wondering when you decided to become atheist (if a decision was ever made) did you have to consciously stop using such phrases did it come naturally or could ya not give a holy fuc%?

Dades · 21-09-2011 10:18pm

I think when you hit your thumb with a hammer it doesn't matter whether you're religious or not.

swampgas · 21-09-2011 10:19pm

Jaafa wrote: »

Similar to the who do you thank thread I thought I make this.

So we all know about the usual Irish refrains of: Ah Jesus that's terrible, holy mother of god etc etc.Basically I was wondering when you decided to become atheist (if a decision was ever made) did you have to consciously stop using such phrases did it come naturally or could ya not give a holy fuc%?

Well, I certainly use phrases like "Jesus H Christ!" and "Christ on a bike!" as expressions of surprise/amazement/disgust as much as I ever used to, but avoid all the little phrases like "thank God", "God willing", etc., that imply that there actually might be a [Gg]od(*).

(*) Can't help myself- I love regexp.

Ickle Magoo · 21-09-2011 10:23pm

I don't think I ever really used religious phrases in the first place...but then I'm not irish and they do seem to be a cultural staple over here.

liamw · 21-09-2011 10:30pm

jesus tap dancing christ, not another one of these threads

The Mad Hatter · 21-09-2011 10:41pm

Dades wrote: »

I think when you hit your thumb with a hammer it doesn't matter whether you're religious or not.

I didn't know that FUCK! had anything to do with religion.

Daftendirekt · 21-09-2011 10:53pm

swampgas wrote: »

Well, I certainly use phrases like "Jesus H Christ!" and "Christ on a bike!" as expressions of surprise/amazement/disgust as much as I ever used to, but avoid all the little phrases like "thank God", "God willing", etc., that imply that there actually might be a [Gg]od(*).

(*) Can't help myself- I love regexp.

"Christ on a bike" is one of my personal favourites. Always wondered what the 'H' was for though.

Edit: Ah, turns out there's a Wikipedia article on that very topic!

Daftendirekt · 21-09-2011 10:57pm

The Mad Hatter wrote: »

I didn't know that FUCK! had anything to do with religion.

I guess that depends on whether you're a Catholic priest or not.

gbee · 21-09-2011 11:01pm

Phrases are phrases and as such in of themselves mean nothing.

I DO get upset and challenge posts where they say Thank God he was not killed and the poor bloke came of a bike doing 200mph and every bone in his body was broken and he'll never walk again.

And the like. I've been somewhat successful in getting 'Thank God' posts removed ~ there are the obvious few who just mean it as colloquialism, and I put up with those and know they don't mean what they say ~~ but even vigilant nonetheless. ;-)

seamus · 21-09-2011 11:03pm

Daftendirekt wrote: »

"Christ on a bike" is one of my personal favourites. Always wondered what the 'H' was for though.

Edit: Ah, turns out there's a Wikipedia article on that very topic!

The H stands for Haploid, cos he has only one set of genes

Daftendirekt · 21-09-2011 11:14pm

seamus wrote: »

The H stands for Haploid, cos he has only one set of genes

These ones?

Yeah, that doesn't really work when the word 'genes' is blatantly spelled out. :pac:

Blackhorse Slim · 22-09-2011 12:54am

Daftendirekt wrote: »

"Christ on a bike" is one of my personal favourites. Always wondered what the 'H' was for though.

The H stands for Harold. Named after his dad. Lots of boys have their dad's first name as their middle name.

Harold, as in "Harold be thy name."

Robert ninja · 22-09-2011 1:08am

Do not use the lord's name in vein.

Since this doesn't apply to us heathens, I say go for it for christ's sake!

DeleveleD · 22-09-2011 8:06am

Robert ninja wrote: »

Do not use the lord's name in vein.

Since this doesn't apply to us heathens, I say go for it for christ's sake!

That's something I definitely wouldn't do. Sounds very unhealthy. :pac:

sbsquarepants · 22-09-2011 9:11am

I use all manner of religious phrases, thank god, for gods sake and so on. They're just phrases to express a certain point, it's like saying "touch wood" for example - it doesn't imply that you believe in some magical properties inherent in your coffee table:)

Blowfish · 22-09-2011 9:19am

I tend to take the homer simpson route:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVwCYJj4THQ

smokingman · 22-09-2011 9:21am

Ever since the catholic church in this country started to be seen as what they are, my use of religious exclamations has actually increased.

Jesus child-fiddling christ!
well holy Mary-raping god!

etc, etc...

mikhail · 22-09-2011 2:49pm

Blowfish wrote: »

I tend to take the homer simpson route:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVwCYJj4THQ

I, too, follow Homer's lead, but from a different episode.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MILArKLKUEk

DazMarz · 23-09-2011 6:04am

I swear a lot... and I'm also a firm atheist. But I don't care about saying stuff like "Oh my God!!!" or anything... I think they're just general expressions of annoyance/disbelief/frustration/etc. and I don't think that by saying things like "Oh my God!!!" means you neccessarily BELIEVE in (a) god.

Funny, one thing I've stopped doing is saying 'Bless you' after someone sneezes... I simply detest this for some reason!!! I've started using the German/American expression 'Gesundheit' instead. No religious meaning attached... Why I find saying 'bless you' so difficult... Don't ask me. I just do. I find 'Gesundheit' much better, and it gets the same message across!!!

Penn · 23-09-2011 9:24am

Can't beat shouting out the aul' "Jesus tittyf*cking Christ!" every now and again

Malari · 23-09-2011 9:52am

Blackhorse Slim wrote: »

The H stands for Harold. Named after his dad. Lots of boys have their dad's first name as their middle name.

Harold, as in "Harold be thy name."

My dad called him "Inri" - it's written over him on every cross.

[Embedded Image Removed]

I like to come up with Deb Morgan (from Dexter) style phrases in anger, for example:

Sh*t a brick and f*ck me with it
F*ck me in both ears

etc.

C14N · 13-10-2011 10:33pm

DazMarz wrote: »

Funny, one thing I've stopped doing is saying 'Bless you' after someone sneezes... I simply detest this for some reason!!! I've started using the German/American expression 'Gesundheit' instead. No religious meaning attached... Why I find saying 'bless you' so difficult... Don't ask me. I just do. I find 'Gesundheit' much better, and it gets the same message across!!!

I'm a Catholic and I still generally go for "Gesundheit" instead of "Bless you". I don't get the slightest bit offended if someone says it to me or anyone else, I'm just worried people will think I'm a zealot and will follow up with "have you found Jesus in your life?" :P

gbee · 13-10-2011 10:44pm

I've grown more intolerable, I don't accept it anymore at all.

irishh_bob · 13-10-2011 10:46pm

Jaafa wrote: »

Similar to the who do you thank thread I thought I'd make this.

So we all know about the usual Irish refrains of: Ah Jesus that's terrible, holy mother of god etc etc.Basically I was wondering when you decided to become atheist (if a decision was ever made) did you have to consciously stop using such phrases did it come naturally or could ya not give a holy fuc%?

interesting question

i never ever say thank god or please god , then again i find the idea of a god who is selective in who he helps deeply offensive so saying thank god for a nice day when the previous forty have been down pours is a tad silly

Sarky · 13-10-2011 10:49pm

I have been known to exclaim "Oh, thank random quantum fluctuations in the spacetime continuum!"

It doesn't exactly roll off the tongue, so I don't utter it often.

My level of blasphemy has increased, certainly. Mostly because there's something awfully satisfying about the image of someone's magical fictitious lord and saviour tapdancing on a bike while f*cking some tits.

gbee · 13-10-2011 10:53pm

irishh_bob wrote: »

is a tad silly

Yes, last year, a Discovery channel show, Storm Chasers, show a guy on the ground and seemingly dead.

"Thanks God" he's alive says a few ... I reply sarcastically "Thank God" He'll probably never walk again with spinal injuries.

This year, 2011 we catch up with this casualty and his prognosis is bad, he in fact in reality, may never walk again and will be confined to a wheel chair "Thank God" ~~~~~

I want to take people and punch their light out and put three taps to their brain if they "Thank God" that I had not killed them.

bnt · 13-10-2011 11:33pm

I'm trying to think of the last time I used religious language in extremis, and am drawing a blank, so perhaps I've successfully weaned myself off it. When someone sneezes I use the American "Gesundheit!", and if I stub my toe (or whatever) there are various non-religious swearwords that seem to do a better job of relieving the pain.

For some creatively non-religious foul language, I can heartily recommend the film The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Cue the Waxing: very NSFW.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbXbRTRlKag

:eek:

Stercus Accidit · 14-10-2011 4:44am

My room mates probably think I am a devout believer at this stage with the string of pleas to our lord I utter on a daily basis.

Beats saying f*ck all the time.

Beruthiel · 14-10-2011 8:19am

My French hubby has been known to utter christ on a bicycle. He must have picked it up from somewhere.... >_>

Kila · 14-10-2011 11:36am

To be honest, I think that it's really obvious when someone consciously edits/censors themselves, and it sounds really clunky and stupid in conversation. It's honestly a massive effort for me to not roll my eyes if I hear someone saying something like "Thank gods" (because they are wiccan...) or similar. I just don't think that anyone needs to be so self-consciously "not god" - it's not a big deal, you just don't believe in god. How much of a difference does saying "thank science" or "thank gods" really make?

As per previous posters, I think some things are just part of our language and colloquialisms, and saying something like "thank god" or "jesus christ!" doesn't really mean that you believe in god, but that you've grown up around people who used the phrases, and have brought them into your own lexicon too.

C14N · 14-10-2011 12:10pm

Kila wrote: »

To be honest, I think that it's really obvious when someone consciously edits/censors themselves, and it sounds really clunky and stupid in conversation. It's honestly a massive effort for me to not roll my eyes if I hear someone saying something like "Thank gods" (because they are wiccan...) or similar. I just don't think that anyone needs to be so self-consciously "not god" - it's not a big deal, you just don't believe in god. How much of a difference does saying "thank science" or "thank gods" really make?

As per previous posters, I think some things are just part of our language and colloquialisms, and saying something like "thank god" or "jesus christ!" doesn't really mean that you believe in god, but that you've grown up around people who used the phrases, and have brought them into your own lexicon too.

I think that's true. It was parodied in the South Park episode about atheism when all the atheists said things like "sciencedamn you!" or "priase science!" (although substituting "science" for "God" doesn't really make sense because they aren't mutually exclusive but the point still stands).

Mark Hamill · 14-10-2011 2:29pm

C14N wrote: »

(although substituting "science" for "God" doesn't really make sense because they aren't mutually exclusive but the point still stands).

Eh what?

Newaglish · 14-10-2011 4:58pm

Mark Hamill wrote: »

Eh what?

I think he's saying that science isn't the opposite of God nor do you have to be an atheist to be a scientist.

C14N · 14-10-2011 11:34pm

Newaglish wrote: »

I think he's saying that science isn't the opposite of God nor do you have to be an atheist to be a scientist.

Yes. Some Christians act like science is the work of the devil and some atheists act like they own science. I was just pointing out that they're totally different.

goose2005 · 15-10-2011 12:05am

By Jove, you're right!

kylith · 15-10-2011 1:47pm

I do say things like 'Jesus' on hearing news from people in front of whom I wouldn't swear. I tend to use 'gods' instead of 'god' these days (saying ''gods' only know'', for example) because I found it easier than retraining myself not to mention the g-word after saying it for so long. I feel better about it and I suspect that most people don't notice.

As Dades says, it's nice to be able to blaspheme when you hit your thumb with a hammer.

Malari · 15-10-2011 1:58pm

kylith wrote: »

As Dades says, it's nice to be able to blaspheme when you hit your thumb with a hammer.

As Bill Bryson said, the next time someone claims that 'Jesus is the answer' just say 'only if the question is: what do you say when you hit your thumb with a hammer?'

bnt · 23-10-2011 11:36pm

When I saw the question I thought of this movie scene, but couldn't find a clip before. Note that this scene is set in Texas, where they're not quite as liberal as we are about such language: