Jesus! Thank god!

JuliusCaesar

As an atheist do you ever try to rid your speech (assuming you are Irish) of pious ejaculations? (Well, that's what my granny called them.) I found myself just about to say 'it's not raining thank god' and veered off into 'thank heavens' instead.

It made me realise just how often I say these things. Does it matter if a born-and-bred atheist says 'Christ!' when they get a fright? (I don't think so, but I draw the line at Thank god.) Is it offensive to Christians? Is it technically blasphemy? Or only to the listener? Will I be prosecuted?

Anyone else ponder these matters?

rccaulfield

Yea -i cant stop-given up trying-sure no harm!

the_syco

An old manager in a cinema near Clondalkin was a born-again christain of the hypocritical type once threatened me with a sacking of he ever heard me take "the lords name in vain" again. T'was only a "Jeaaasus", but meh.

If I ever see him again, I'll be obliged to go "Jeaasus f**king Christ, a tree" :P

Apart from that, it depends who I'm around. I don't swear around my granddad (another one who "found" Christ again in the last few decades), but that's about it.

"Jeaasus f**king Christ" and also "holy mutha-f**king cow/christ/bast**d/sh|t".

It started off as a "new phrase word", but now gets used in my general speech.

Zillah

I use it like any other curse words. There's few other ways to express yourself effectively when someone does something incredibly stupid than by saying "Jesus Fucking Christ!"

yoursaviour1989

its part of the culture that we live in to say it, i dont really read too much into it. quick point though, aren't 'thank god' and 'thank heavens' pretty much the same thing?

Rev Hellfire

Its just another way of saying an exclamation mark at this stage to most people (assuming it was ever anything else).
The only people who get hung up on the 'lords' name are the very religious and the very non-religious

Genghiz Cohen

I say, ".....Christ...." whenever I witness some form of stupidity or some such.
But I have replaced "Thank God." with "Thank Science/Thor/Odin/etc."
"Oh my Science..." is another good one.
"Oh your God." In the presence of Theists is quite funny to watch.

Galvasean

JuliusCaesar wrote: »

pious ejaculations

That shall be my new 'curse' phrase.

equivariant

I ejaculate piously all the time - depsite being a confirmed atheist. I have come to the conclusion that the alternatives are too wimpy sounding. 'thank goodness' or for 'goodness sake' just don't have the same impact as my pious ejaculate (or should that be pious ejaculations?)

Overblood

Ah lads can ye have a bit more cop on, talking about pious ejaculation while the Ryan report is still in the news...

fisgon

Was at a humanist meeting once where one guy was talking about his lack of religious belief, and about his, now deceased, mother's absolute faith. When he mentioned her he instinctively said "My mother, lord have mercy on her,...". He realised what he had just done, and was able to smile at it.

This language is in us, especially in this country, and cannot be eradicated. We could try replacing some expressions with acronyms, as some people have done with .........OMG!, though I suppose JC! doesn't have the same impact.

Overblood

By the way this was discussed here last month:

http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055583036

I generally don't curse. I never really said thank god or god willing (In šāʾ Allāh) or the like either.

It is a bit more difficult when speaking in Irish.

Dia duit.
Dia is Muire duit.

Poppy78

Deleted User wrote: »

It is a bit more difficult when speaking in Irish.

Dia duit.
Dia is Muire duit.

Or in English - Goodbye = god be with you
Or Spainish - Adios = A dios = to god, I think it is short for I commend you to god

WesternNight

I have found myself feeling uneasy when "Thank God" slips out. I generally say "thank goodness" now.

I have no problem with exclamations of "Jesus!" "Oh my god!" "Christ almighty!" etc etc. When I use them it's generally in fright or frustration. Those words mean nothing to me other than another way to say "f*ck sake!"

Malari

I don't mind using it when it's an expression of frustration, offense or anger (jesus titty-fcuking christ is a fav).

But not for proclamations on how good the weather is. When people say "it's a nice day, thank god" I say "thank Evelyn Cusack", she often gives good weather. Or "praise allah".

Or when someone sneezes. I say "gezundheit" instead! Someone actually came back to me a day later and told me it meant bless you in German so I was still using religious phrases :rolleyes: No, it's the equivalent of bless you in German...

JuliusCaesar

Malari wrote: »

Or when someone sneezes. I say "gezundheit" instead! Someone actually came back to me a day later and told me it meant bless you in German so I was still using religious phrases :rolleyes: No, it's the equivalent of bless you in German...

Gesundheit! = Health! It's wishing people who sneeze, good health.

Thank heavens, to me, means thank fate/fortune/luck.

Thanks everyone for your input. It does however, make us look a bit odd when abroad, in a society where people doen't use these expressions regularly. I was once asked if I was very religious!

Morgase

Malari wrote: »

Or when someone sneezes. I say "gezundheit" instead! Someone actually came back to me a day later and told me it meant bless you in German so I was still using religious phrases :rolleyes: No, it's the equivalent of bless you in German...

I work with a Romanian guy and he shouts "Good luck!" at a sneeze. There is a Romanian word but I've forgotten it and stick to the English translation. I love it and shout "Good luck!" at sneezers now.

Like WesternNight I will say "jesus christ" etc, and it's meant in an "ah feck" manner.

20goto10

I don't mind piously cursing but I will make an effort never to thank god or jesus or the heavens. I just thank for thanks sake. Thank God is replaced with thankfully or luckily. Sometimes I take the piss and thank the little baby jesus.

ShooterSF

I see it as an expression of emotion which originated from christian beliefs. Like a lot of our language it evolves from something else but that doesn't mean it still holds the same meaning etc.

spiggotpaddy

i suppose our brainwashing starts from an early age, growing up in ireland.so even after we've unseen the light there are bound to be residual blurts of spew. i still loudly announce "thanks be to jeassus!" as a relief valve.

Morgase

Morgase wrote: »

I work with a Romanian guy and he shouts "Good luck!" at a sneeze. There is a Romanian word but I've forgotten it and stick to the English translation. I love it and shout "Good luck!" at sneezers now.

Noroc?

Morgase

Deleted User wrote: »

Noroc?

Yes I think you are right there!

highlydebased

Most certainly, I've only realised I've been doing it recently- Saying "oh jesus" or "christ" etc, just substitute another word for the holy...

Brian

Substitute God/Jesus/Heaven with Sci/Tech/MIT.

vibe666

how about exchanging religious swears for ones referencing pop culture, such as

"harry f**king potter" instead of "jesus f**king christ" or something like that?

anyone else have any decent ones?

Brian

Optimus H. Prime.