"Did you know it has been established through empirical calibration that the velocity of the air in and around your sinus cavity reaches velocities of up to Mach .2 during your convulsive sternutation?"
atheists: do you still take the name in vain?
- Thread starter captcalhoun
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"Did you know it has been established through empirical calibration that the velocity of the air in and around your sinus cavity reaches velocities of up to Mach .2 during your convulsive sternutation?"
Let me guess: Big Bang Theory ?
(We watch very little current TV).
And I'm pretty sure gesundheit is German for "God save you", so we're back to the superstitious need to help protect someone from losing their soul when they sneeze.
Nope, not at all. From the last link in my post, which was why I included it, and in addition to be read:
It means "health". I wouldn't have mentioned it if I thought it meant "God bless you".
You could also say "salud" which means "health" in spanish and is the expression for the spanish speaking world.
I go for the plural option. The urge to say "by god" or such is there, but I've successfully trained myself to morph it into "by the gods", etc. To use the singular suggests the Christian/Islamic/Jewish deity, and that might:
a) suggest my affiliation with one of those religions, which being non-religious I naturally wish to avoid.
b) offend those who do believe in that god (note I'm not one of those "must walk on eggshells, mustn't be offensive!" types; I simply don't see the need to risk offense when it's no trouble to me to avoid it).
Saying "the gods" makes it a general invocation of humanity's gods and the concept of deitys and such, without affiliation or taking any particular deity in vain.
a) suggest my affiliation with one of those religions, which being non-religious I naturally wish to avoid.
b) offend those who do believe in that god (note I'm not one of those "must walk on eggshells, mustn't be offensive!" types; I simply don't see the need to risk offense when it's no trouble to me to avoid it).
Saying "the gods" makes it a general invocation of humanity's gods and the concept of deitys and such, without affiliation or taking any particular deity in vain.
Agreed. Believer or not, if you grow up in America (which is the only country I can say anything about), you're surrounded by these phrases and they become part of your vocabulary. Yes, intellectually I get the ridiculousness of saying "Oh my god" when I don't believe in any gods, much less one of my very own. But at this point trying to change it would feel unnatural. It'd be a little like suddenly having to use a different word for "chair." Every time it came up in conversation I'd have to stop and actively remind myself to say something different.
'Course I do.
For some time I tried not to, but then I realized that actively trying to avoid God's name was just the other side of the same silly superstition, so now I just don't care about it and I say what comes to mind.
I try to be considerate of others, tho, so I try not to use blasphemies when I'm around people who might get offended by it.
For some time I tried not to, but then I realized that actively trying to avoid God's name was just the other side of the same silly superstition, so now I just don't care about it and I say what comes to mind.
I try to be considerate of others, tho, so I try not to use blasphemies when I'm around people who might get offended by it.
One of my personal favorites.
You left out the H.
My parents were Jedi Masters when it came to cursing. I learned from the experts. I love me those colorful metaphors!
I find your post deeply offensive and I demand you remove it immediately.
I totally missed your link, sorry about that.
Wow, how many years have I labored under that mistranslation?
I guess gesundheit will be my go to choice for sneezing now, thanks
To me, saying "by the gods" makes you sound like a character in an Italian sword-and-sandal movie. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.I go for the plural option. The urge to say "by god" or such is there, but I've successfully trained myself to morph it into "by the gods", etc. . . .
. . . Saying "the gods" makes it a general invocation of humanity's gods and the concept of deities and such, without affiliation or taking any particular deity in vain.
I like movies about gladiators!
I always associate 'By the Gods!' with Burgess Meredith in Clash of the Titans.
I go for the plural option. The urge to say "by god" or such is there, but I've successfully trained myself to morph it into "by the gods", etc. To use the singular suggests the Christian/Islamic/Jewish deity, and that might:
a) suggest my affiliation with one of those religions, which being non-religious I naturally wish to avoid.
b) offend those who do believe in that god (note I'm not one of those "must walk on eggshells, mustn't be offensive!" types; I simply don't see the need to risk offense when it's no trouble to me to avoid it).
Saying "the gods" makes it a general invocation of humanity's gods and the concept of deitys and such, without affiliation or taking any particular deity in vain.
Jesus, that sounds like of a lot effort.
To me, saying "by the gods" makes you sound like a character in an Italian sword-and-sandal movie. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing.I go for the plural option. The urge to say "by god" or such is there, but I've successfully trained myself to morph it into "by the gods", etc. . . .
. . . Saying "the gods" makes it a general invocation of humanity's gods and the concept of deities and such, without affiliation or taking any particular deity in vain.
I like movies about gladiators!
Have you ever seen the inside of a Turkish prison?
The closest I get to religious swearing is "Holy Toledo" and "Bloody Hell."
"Jesus Christ! Cover your goddamn nose!"
That is excellent!
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