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What sayings would one have to stop using if they wanted to fully De God their life?
Sayings like God forbid or thank heavens.

#god
Thaddeus 4 Apr 24
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34 comments

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0

Well, I say "fuck me" and I don't mean it, so whats wrong with calling on some imaginary fairy. I'm with whimsical 🙂 I give it what it deserves, no thought.

7

I give this no thought, it isn'tnecessary.

6

None. It is not necessary. If i bang my toe and yell holy shit, i am not ordering anyone to defecate or exclaiming about the hollness of shit. I can say omg in the samw (lack of) spirit.

g

5

Why would you need to? Exclamations are for effect not testimony. It is part of out collective culture and can be very effective to get our meaning across.

5

Screaming out Oh God during sex.

Funny but a bit too close to home.

4

"Bless you" to someone who sneezes.

In my house when some sneezes we say chickens. The urge to say something is still strong, "chickens" makes as much sense as the other things people say. Just like when in public and I sneeze and someone says bless you. It is considered rude not to respond somehow.

In this time of COVID-19 you do not want to be around anyone who sneezes and most likely you will not say anything if they do. You just gain more distance.

Once I was doing a title search in the Register's Office in my county. The ladies working there knew I was atheist. One of them sneezed, and I said, "Bless you." She asked, "Who do you think is blessing me?" I replied, "I bless you." She just rolled her eyes. 😂

I usually say Gesundheit, instead. That is just health to you, no religious overtones.

@Tinocca Thanks. I think I'll go with that from now on. 🙂

In Costa Rica they Say salud whiçh means health.

@BestWithoutGods or Salud! That works, too.

4

There are probably a lot but for the record, I didn't start saying "Oh, my god" until I stopped believing in god.

4

I don't see the correlation. I'm pretty de-godded and I use religious terms all the time and have no intention of stopping.

gearl Level 8 Apr 25, 2020
4

Goddammit my favorite, or jesus fuking christ....i don't give it much thought. Usually in reference of something distasteful, like a damn weed i missed 3 times with my hoe strikes...lol

3

I am fully Atheist, but I still often say "Jesus Christ!" or "God Damn It!". To me, they are nothing more than expletives.

Ditto. Certainly no more a sign of reverence than is uttering "Shit!" ...which is also one of my reflexive explitives.

3

I found it impossible to de-god when raising my daughter because so many movie/book/social concepts are referenced to it. I often had to pause a non-religious movie or show to explain what a Judas was, what 30 pieces of silver referred to, etc. I find it somewhat ironic that, as a life-long atheist, she often uses the expression "Jesus" to reflect disdain.

@MissKathleen Probably movies? Or perhaps it's a wee bit of religion resentment creeping out. I'll have to ask her.

3

Can't do it and don't wanna do it. Whenever I'm surprised or pissed the first thing to come out of my mouth is usually "Good Lord".

@MissKathleen , yeah but my back up is "Jesus F*cking Christ".

3

"Jesus H. Friggin' Christ on a Pixie Stick."

3

Going to hell in a hand basket.

Or road to hell is paved with good intentions.

Stairway to heaven

Highway to hell

3

None. That would be as ridiculous as feeling guilty if you say "oh god" when you're cumming.

3

I see no need to do away with such fun phrases.

I never used them when I was Xian (something about taking the lord's name in vain,) and I rather enjoy them, now that I'm free to do so.

3

Jesus Tap Dancing Christ!

Thats a new one by me.

@Thaddeus

3

Heaven help us

3

God bless you when someone sneezes

I typically respond with "You are SO good looking" -- Jerry Seinfeld 😮 😛

2

No point in doing so. Expressions with religious origins are part of the culture. I can say "god damn it" while remaining an atheist.
[en.wikipedia.org]

2

I see no point in restricting my language just because it has ‘god’ in it. Sometimes these idioms communicate my thoughts better than anything else. I’ll keep them thanks.

2

Can I still say "HOLY SHIT"?

Only on days that end in "y".

@AmyTheBruce I CAN'T SPELL!

@PondartIncbendog poor doggie! I forgot! Okay, you can say it on every day that you are awake for.

@AmyTheBruce Ya know I don't have thumbs right? RIGHT?

@PondartIncbendog well, sure you do! They just aren't very useful. (Unless yours got cut off? I've heard they do that to dogs, sometimes.)

2

Would "Oh my Thor"! be acceptable? Just saying "god" could mean any of the thousands of gods.

Exactly. But "Oh, Quetzalcoatl !" doesn't have quite the same ring to it.

@anglophone Damn. I think I'm going to have to start saying this. My parents will no longer be offended . . .

1

I use less-conventional forms when I speak.
Gods forbid.
Thank Goddess.

It fills the need for the expression but anyone who is paying attention gets the signal that I'm not in the christian mainsteam.

ErikK Level 6 Apr 27, 2020

As a (lapsed) Discordian, I often invoke Goddess. I also sometimes say "Hail Eris", just because it freaks people out a little.

Technically I'm still a Pope of the Discordian movement, but that's no big deal because everybody is a Pope in the Discordian movement. It was their way of one-upping Kirby Hensley's Universal Life Church ordaining people as ministers for $75. Becoming a Pope is free (and you don't even have to ask, it just happens!).

1

These phrases are part of our shared culture that goes back hundreds of years. To "fully de-god" one's life, one would also have to give up literary references like "a drop in the bucket", "a house divided", "a labor of love", "all things must pass", "to all things a season", "by the skin of my teeth", "a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush", "a fly in the ointment", "a two-edged sword", "a wolf in sheep's clothing".... all from the KJV.

I argue that the language would be a great deal poorer without these phrases, regardless of the source. Using the phrases or words doesn't mean we believe in the mythology the book sells.

@SanDiegoAirport Very gracious of you to say. I could have continued for another paragraph or two, but only at the risk of droning on.

1

Gosh darn
Gull dang
Dad gum
Darn durnst
Durnst darn
Dad blame
Darn it
Dang it
Dang me

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