Blasphemy?

Endurance Man

So after reading the title of a recent thread in AH i started to ponder about blasphemy and how acceptable it seems to be in Ireland. The Irish seem very religious and yet using the words Jesus/Christ/God seem to be the norm.
I am not an overly religious person, i have not given religion enough thought ect ect, but i was brought up to respect others and not use "the lords name in vain".
To those who are religious, what are your thoughts? I cringe a bit when i hear people talking in such a way that is obviously offensive to Christians and any religion for that matter.

Not sure i got my view across correctly , discuss.

MrJoeSoap

I say "Jesus" or "Jesus Christ" all the time, have no problem with it whatsoever. And if anyone does get offended by me saying it, I really don't care.

Probably sounds a bit James Dean, but its the truth.

Stephen

I'm not a believer so it doesn't offend me in the least.

_blank_

Jaysis.

Endurance Man

MrJoeSoap wrote:

I say "Jesus" or "Jesus Christ" all the time, have no problem with it whatsoever. And if anyone does get offended by me saying it, I really don't care.

Probably sounds a bit James Dean, but its the truth.

If i entered a pub while a very important game of football/hurling was on and started spouting off on how sh!te these sports where it would not be long before i had a few less teeth. Of course people dont do this because they respect that others enjoy watching and enjoying these sports (for the most part).
I dont really see how offending the religious people around you by using these phrases is any different? Perhaps its how we are raised, but i feel respect for religions even if you are not a religious person is just decent?

Hail 2 Da Chimp

My personal favourite: "Jesus Christ Monkey Balls!"

MrJoeSoap

Endurance Man wrote:

I dont really see how offending the religious people around you by using these phrases is any different? Perhaps its how we are raised, but i feel respect for religions even if you are not a religious person is just decent?

Its just part of who I am though, I don't think about the fact that I am "cursing Our Lord" or insulting a religion, it just comes out. Thats why its different to walking into a pub and slagging a sport, because that is a conscious decision.

Why would someone religious get offended by me spurting out "Jesus" in a moment of surprise or frustration?

Endurance Man

All im reading is post count +1, well done.

Sangre

You can only blasphemy against the Catholic God. Even though its mentioned in the Constitution there hasn't been a case on it in 100 years. Doubt it would stand though, against religious equality. One man's blasphemy is another man's prayer.

monkeyfudge

Endurance Man wrote:

If i entered a pub while a very important game of football/hurling was on and started spouting off on how sh!te these sports where it would not be long before i had a few less teeth. Of course people dont do this because they respect that others enjoy watching and enjoying these sports (for the most part).

But I'm guessing the sports aren't figments of their imagination... if they were I wouldn't see any reason to respect their enjoyment.

Blasphemy is actually forbidden under the constitution though... but I don't know how easy it would to convict someone on a blasphemy charge.... one for the legal discussion forum perhaps...

Archeron

I am somewhat religious, but I used to use these phrases all the time. However, in recent years, I worked with a guy who was extremely religious, so I avoided it for his sake. He never acted offended or commented on it, but out of respect for him, I just stopped. Now, its habit that if I start an exclamation with "Je" it turns into Jeepers or as someone else said, Jayziz.

I dont cringe when I others use it either, to each their own.

Hagar

Endurance Man wrote:

If i entered a pub while a very important game of football/hurling was on and started spouting off...

The pub is the place of worship for many sports fans so I would be as careful spouting off there as I would be taking the name of god in vain in a church.

User45701

I don't believe in religion or anything like that so it means nothing to me i tend to say Yes or wow instead of jesus christ

Blasphemy is a good thing in my view because its my hope it will have influence on children and hopefully they wont believe in God and all that lark.

InFront

I wouldn't say I get "offended" by it but frustrated, yes. I don't understand why people say these things, if it only said out of habit? And some of the constructions are so offensive and/ or demeaning that they seem to be only said for their shock-quality, and you usually find the person saying it has nothing intelligent to say.

Sangre wrote:

You can only blasphemy against the Catholic God

I think this is about the non-legislative type of blasphemy. Blasphemy is a factor in most religions as far as I know.

Endurance Man

User45701 wrote:

I don't believe in religion or anything like that so it means nothing to me i tend to say Yes or wow instead of jesus christ

Blasphemy is a good thing in my view because its my hope it will have influence on children and hopefully they wont believe in God and all that lark.

You're kids are going to be open minded individuals :rolleyes: .

I wonder why some would refrain from using the lords name in vain in a church, but would have no problem outside of one? Is that saying you do place a certain amount of respect on the church, but dont have any respect on the people who worship there? Confuses me.

cornbb

Endurance Man wrote:

after reading the title of a recent thread in AH i started to ponder about blasphemy

I wouldn't think "jesus tapdancing christ" would be terribly offensive to most, if thats what you were talking about.

Now "jesus lapdancing christ" would be another matter.

Crucifix

I blaspheme frequently. I wouldn't really have thought any one would be offended by it these days, and if they are I'm not that pushed. A vegetarian might be offended to see me eat meat, but that won't stop me.

MementoMori

I'm pro-blasphemy. Anything that is anti-relligion is a good thing in my book.

In that vein - how f**kin much of a dumb moron was Joseph to believe that Mary was a virgin - yeah the Holy Spirit impregnated me - Sap!!!

How can otherwise intelligent people believe this ****e?

Honestly.

Black Swan

Always wondered what the middle initial "H" stood for?

User45701

Endurance Man wrote:

You're kids are going to be open minded individuals :rolleyes: .

I just hate the way religious people try to brainwash there kids into religion if i have kids i will wait till they are 16 maybe 18 depending on there maturity and then tell what i believe and then give them a copy of the bible and let them make a fair and informed decision free from pressure

Kingp35

I use it quite alot. You pick these things up when you here so many other people using it.

That said, im a non-believer so I couldnt care less.

Ruu_Old

Blue_Lagoon wrote:

Always wondered what the middle initial "H" stood for?

sez Wiki;

Other variations

The phrase "Jesus H. Christ" has been extended in many cases, both as a colloquialism, and in its use in television and film. For example, in the comedy The Blues Brothers, a 1980 film starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, Jake Blues (Belushi) exclaims, "Yes! Yes! Jesus H. Tapdancing Christ, I have seen The Light!" in a moment of fervor. The 'H' has also been used to stand for "Harvey", "Hermen", "Harold", and other male names starting with 'H'. A parody of the phrase ,"Science H. Logic", appeared in the South Park episode 'Go God Go XII'

[edit] Etymology

Using the name of "Jesus Christ" as an oath has been common for many centuries, but the precise origins of the letter H in the expression Jesus H. Christ are obscure. While many explanations have been proposed, some serious and many humorous, the most widely accepted derivation is from the divine monogram of Christian symbolism. The symbol, derived from the first three letters of the Greek name of Jesus, is transliterated "IHS," "IHC," "JHS," or "JHC." Since the transliteration "IHS" gave rise to the backronym Iesus Hominum Salvator (Latin for "Jesus savior of men"), it is plausible that "JHC" similarly led to "Jesus H. Christ".

One factor in the transmutation of the monogram into the expression Jesus H. Christ may be that when the first syllable of the phrase "Jesus Christ" is strongly emphasised (as some speakers of some English accents may do when cursing), the rhythm suggests a missing middle syllable between "Jesus" and "Christ". The H may have been adopted from the monogram to fill this gap.

Harold does sound cool. It never bothered me really and don't really care if it offends anyone, just out of habit and everyone around me using it.

Sleepy

Couldn't give a **** if my blasphemy offends the religious. Their beliefs offend me.

Terry

Bah. You can't do or say anything these days without offending someone.
To hell with everyone else. I'll say what I want to say and if it offends you, then grow a set of balls.

Endurance Man

So deceny to your fellow man is out the window heh, fair enough .

Terry

well i do try not to offend people in an overt manner, but if someone is offended by my every day actions, then i really don't care.
some people are just too touchy.

Kernel32

User45701 wrote:

I just hate the way religious people try to brainwash there kids into religion if i have kids i will wait till they are 16 maybe 18 depending on there maturity and then tell what i believe and then give them a copy of the bible and let them make a fair and informed decision free from pressure

You will be in for a shock when you have kids then. If you think you can wait until 16 or 18 to tackle those issues with your kids then you are sadly mistaken. In the same way that kids are introduced to things like sex and drugs before parents are prepared to handle it, they will be introduced to religion even earlier. You better be prepared to have answers to a 4 or 5 year old questions about god and religion. You won't have the luxury of being able to wait for a 16 year old mind to work with.

Peyton Manning

I always thought the H stood for Holy....?

Terry

InFront wrote:

I wouldn't say I get "offended" by it but frustrated, yes. I don't understand why people say these things, if it only said out of habit? And some of the constructions are so offensive and/ or demeaning that they seem to be only said for their shock-quality, and you usually find the person saying it has nothing intelligent to say.


I think this is about the non-legislative type of blasphemy. Blasphemy is a factor in most religions as far as I know.

perhaps you can answer a question for me.

I have noticed that you (and other Muslim users here) always put (praise be upon him) whenever you mention jesus, moses or mohammed. why is this? I'm guessing it's out of respect for these three religious figures.
also, if you mention any of these in spoken conversation, do you say "praise be upon him" after mention said name?

InFront

Yes that's sending the salah on them, a message of blessing. In real life you might be more inclined to refer to a Prophet with Rasulu Allahi salla Allahu `alayhi wa-sallam. (Roughly 'peace and blessings upon him the messenger of Allah').

The thing about swearing doesn't really affect me personally, apart from being a bit annoying. I just don't understand why people use these words in particular, I mean, if you don't believe in God, why do you call him?

Dave!

InFront wrote:

The thing about swearing doesn't really affect me personally, apart from being a bit annoying. I just don't understand why people use these words in particular, I mean, if you don't believe in God, why do you call him?

Because it's a habit, and it's language that's been in use in Ireland for decades. If you're brought up in an environment where a particular expression is used regularly, you are going to pick it up. It's the same reason almost everyone in Ireland celebrates Christmas, despite not everyone being religious. It's just the way Irish society has evolved.

How about you don't analyze every word used in daily conversation?

Personally I'll give religious beliefs and customs the same amount of respect I give to political beliefs, for example. I'm not going to obey them just because you do, and they're both up for debate.

InFront

DaveMcG wrote:

How about you don't analyze every word used in daily conversation?

I don't. But just wondering why people who are non-religious would even start off 'a habit' like that? Like I said, it's not a big deal, but I would question the idea that everyone brought up in an environment where these cursings are mentioned uses them.

Sofaspud

The H does stand for Harold, as can be heard in the prayer, "Lord, who art in heaven, Harold be thy name."

Terry

í find it baffling that people take offence at certain words.
fúck being one of them.
when said in a certain way it can be crass, but when used in everyday language, "fúck it" for example, i don't really see it as an offensive word.

as for the religious words, like dave said, it's just habit.
were i to move to Cork tomorrow, i would probably add the word "langer" to my vocabulary within a few weeks, without actually realising it.

Dave!

InFront wrote:

I don't. But just wondering why people who are non-religious would even start off 'a habit' like that? Like I said, it's not a big deal, but I would question the idea that everyone brought up in an environment where these cursings are mentioned uses them.

I'm sure they "start off" with the habit before they're old enough to realise the significance (or lack thereof) of what they're saying. Whether they make a conscious decision to drop it or not is up to them. Secular people like myself probably realise how irrelevent using religious terminology on a daily basis actually is, and so don't bother going to the effort of stopping themselves using it. It doesn't make a difference.

In my experience ~99% of Irish people (religious or otherwise) blaspheme on a regular basis.

monkeyfudge

DaveMcG wrote:

Personally I'll give religious beliefs and customs the same amount of respect I give to political beliefs, for example. I'm not going to obey them just because you do, and they're both up for debate.

Just don't take the Tánaiste's name in vain what ever you do!

Terry

well i'm quite disappointed that nobody has mentioned jehovah.

Sofaspud

julep wrote:

well i'm quite disappointed that nobody has mentioned jehovah.

BLASPHEMY!

*chucks a rock*

Kipperhell

Have a look at this

http://www.thetruthforyouth.com/standard/main.htm

Pretty offensive and stupid. No problem affending religious people who believe this.

The other thing is people think of that the Catholic Church as the same everywhere when it is has a few changes to marry in to local customes. For example John the Baptist is celebrated in parts of spain and most likely connected to his original church. THere are lots of precessions of holy relics that are just like ones before the church arrived etc...
THe church also takes firmer stands depending on the country. In Ireland I think the church send a strong anti abortion stance but in many african states the preach anti-contraception. Why are the not preaching that here too? I would guess the realise people wouldn't take them seriously if they tried to.
I'll never understand how anybody could take the word of the bible literally it promotes blood sacrifices and suggests you should listen to voices telling you to kill your own child;) That is only one story and you also have moses sleeping with his son and a man offering his wife and daughter to a gang of men going to rape a male guest. It doesn't sound very christian to me. :rolleyes:

Dave!

Ehh Kipperhell, I think you're a bit mislead there..... Those stories are bad. They show god in a bad light. They make him look evil.

So they must be metaphores, duhh!!!

MrJoeSoap

Kipperhell wrote:

http://www.thetruthforyouth.com/standard/main.htm

Best religious link since "The Brick Testament"!

Kipperhell

DaveMcG wrote:

Ehh Kipperhell, I think you're a bit mislead there..... Those stories are bad. They show god in a bad light. They make him look evil.

So they must be metaphores, duhh!!!

Yeah I guess your right I mean it is not like he attempts genocide by killing all the males of a group of people who don't kill lambs and smear the blood on their doors.
I am always got the impression God was really unreasonable. His son forces him to open the gates of heaven, was he mad with human kind prior to them killing his son? Why not just open the gates what could have been stopping God?

Kipperhell

MrJoeSoap wrote:

Best religious link since "The Brick Testament"!

THe best one is the father in the porno story.

Sangre

The evolution one is funnier. Evolution is RACIST!

Nomis21

If the referendum is passed on 26th, will I be able to start Blaspheming straight away or should I wait till 27th?

TheValeyard

Nomis21 wrote: »

If the referendum is passed on 26th, will I be able to start Blaspheming straight away or should I wait till 27th?

I plan to dress as the Prophet Mohammad to work on Monday.
Abraham Tuesday
Jesus Wednesday
Buddha Thursday
Vishnu Friday
Xenu Saturday

Sunday will be a day of rest.

nozzferrahhtoo

Endurance Man wrote: »

If i entered a pub while a very important game of football/hurling was on and started spouting off on how sh!te these sports where it would not be long before i had a few less teeth. Of course people dont do this because they respect that others enjoy watching and enjoying these sports (for the most part).
I dont really see how offending the religious people around you by using these phrases is any different? Perhaps its how we are raised, but i feel respect for religions even if you are not a religious person is just decent?

I see exactly what you mean. But at the same time I wonder if there are reasons the analogy falls down. For example the sport, sporting clubs, players and so forth likely exist in the first place. If they were staring at a BLANK television screen and cheering and seeing something that is not there.... you might be more inclined to back out of the room slowly and/or engage in a small level of ridicule.

I do not TOO often (but it has happened) find people of one sport suggesting people of another sport are beneath human for example. But recently a bishop said atheists are not fully human. Not nice for me to hear. Not nice for my children to hear. I do not scream "blasphemy" though. I just think the guy is a bit of a toss pot and am glad less and less people listen to him and his ilk.

Further people have rarely gone around in a heavily consistent and long term fashion using their sport or sporting club of choice as a reason to change laws in your country in an unjustifiable fashion.

Or to manufacture arguments as to why you should be heterosexual. Or to oppress women in any way. Or to curtail rights on abortion because your club imagines a zygote has been ensouled.

Or to espouse morality, such as sexual morality, they they themselves are flouting in the most egregious and heinous and despicable of ways before then perverting the course of justice, reparation and healing in every way possible while also facilitating the perpetrators of such crimes to move elsewhere and start again.

Or to claim that their sporting club of choice created the universe therefore you should not be allowed work on the sabbath or buy beer on certain days of the year.

Or that we should worship the manager of the football club despite the fact he is a war monger, scared of dogs, plays with underage girls, claimed to have written a book while illiterate, or rather than dying actually flew into the heavens on a winged horse.

The religious fanaticism and tribalism we sometimes see between sports and sporting clubs is problematic, but it is not quite on a comparable par with religion and blasphemy. Actually this speaker here puts it a little better than me, though you will have to replace "stamp collecting" with "sports" to see the connection.

But you are right, if people want to go their clubhouse of choice to indulge in their football hobby, I leave them alone. No reason to accost or ridicule them or disrespect them. Similarly if people want to go to their clubhouse of choice to indulge in their religion hobby.... ditto for that too! We all have hobbies, and they no more need to justify theirs to anyone than I do mine! People's private life is just that, private! Leave them at it and do not go after them for the sake of it.

Gravelly

I was at a wedding recently, where my wife's nephew married a girl who comes from a baptist family. The reception was held in a marquee in their garden. The bride's father spent most of the reception going around to guests imploring them to stop taking the name of the lord in vain, much to the amusement of most, especially the "be jaysuuuuus" Dublin cohort.

AllForIt

Gravelly wrote: »

I was at a wedding recently, where my wife's nephew married a girl who comes from a baptist family. The reception was held in a marquee in their garden. The bride's father spent most of the reception going around to guests imploring them to stop taking the name of the lord in vain, much to the amusement of most, especially the "be jaysuuuuus" Dublin cohort.

Jesus H Christ.

Shenshen

Nomis21 wrote: »

If the referendum is passed on 26th, will I be able to start Blaspheming straight away or should I wait till 27th?

Swearing while resurrecting 11 year old zombie threads?

Hotblack Desiato

nozzferrahhtoo wrote: »

I see exactly what you mean.

fyi Nozz, that post is 11.5 years old, and that poster hasn't posted on boards in 10.5 years, so your reply may be falling on deaf ears