Is it wrong to say, "Oh my God!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

11:25 here-- But why would that "offend" them? Would it make sense for them to be "offended" when unmarried people make out? What's the difference?

They think taking the lord's name in vain is wrong because it's a sin. Which makes it a sin against god, not them. So why are they offended?

It is not that they feel that others are personally offending or insulting them, it is that they feel it is disrespectful to God. They love God, so they don't use His name used in a trivial or disrespectful manner and may find it a bit sad or upsetting when others do.If you heard someone speaking of someone you loved in a disrespectful way, wouldn't you feel sad or upset, or even offended, even though the remark was not directed at you personally?

Maybe, but I also accept that people I interact with don't necessarily feel the same way I do about things and I don't think it's their responsibility to protect me from being offended.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

11:25 here-- But why would that "offend" them? Would it make sense for them to be "offended" when unmarried people make out? What's the difference?

They think taking the lord's name in vain is wrong because it's a sin. Which makes it a sin against god, not them. So why are they offended?

It is not that they feel that others are personally offending or insulting them, it is that they feel it is disrespectful to God. They love God, so they don't use His name used in a trivial or disrespectful manner and may find it a bit sad or upsetting when others do.If you heard someone speaking of someone you loved in a disrespectful way, wouldn't you feel sad or upset, or even offended, even though the remark was not directed at you personally?

Maybe, but I also accept that people I interact with don't necessarily feel the same way I do about things and I don't think it's their responsibility to protect me from being offended.

Some people are not as socially savvy as others.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

11:25 here-- But why would that "offend" them? Would it make sense for them to be "offended" when unmarried people make out? What's the difference?

They think taking the lord's name in vain is wrong because it's a sin. Which makes it a sin against god, not them. So why are they offended?

It is not that they feel that others are personally offending or insulting them, it is that they feel it is disrespectful to God. They love God, so they don't use His name used in a trivial or disrespectful manner and may find it a bit sad or upsetting when others do.If you heard someone speaking of someone you loved in a disrespectful way, wouldn't you feel sad or upset, or even offended, even though the remark was not directed at you personally?

But again, how is this different than any other "sin?" Should people not work on the sabbath, so as not to disrespect god, and thereby offend someone?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

11:25 here-- But why would that "offend" them? Would it make sense for them to be "offended" when unmarried people make out? What's the difference?

They think taking the lord's name in vain is wrong because it's a sin. Which makes it a sin against god, not them. So why are they offended?

It is not that they feel that others are personally offending or insulting them, it is that they feel it is disrespectful to God. They love God, so they don't use His name used in a trivial or disrespectful manner and may find it a bit sad or upsetting when others do.If you heard someone speaking of someone you loved in a disrespectful way, wouldn't you feel sad or upset, or even offended, even though the remark was not directed at you personally?

Maybe, but I also accept that people I interact with don't necessarily feel the same way I do about things and I don't think it's their responsibility to protect me from being offended.

Some people are not as socially savvy as others.

True -- most socially savvy people recognize that their religious restrictions are theirs alone, and aren't offended by the fact that others are not bound by those rules.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

11:25 here-- But why would that "offend" them? Would it make sense for them to be "offended" when unmarried people make out? What's the difference?

They think taking the lord's name in vain is wrong because it's a sin. Which makes it a sin against god, not them. So why are they offended?

It is not that they feel that others are personally offending or insulting them, it is that they feel it is disrespectful to God. They love God, so they don't use His name used in a trivial or disrespectful manner and may find it a bit sad or upsetting when others do.If you heard someone speaking of someone you loved in a disrespectful way, wouldn't you feel sad or upset, or even offended, even though the remark was not directed at you personally?

Maybe, but I also accept that people I interact with don't necessarily feel the same way I do about things and I don't think it's their responsibility to protect me from being offended.

Some people are not as socially savvy as others.

True -- most socially savvy people recognize that their religious restrictions are theirs alone, and aren't offended by the fact that others are not bound by those rules.

You are stubborn as hell. Why are you continuing to argue? You clearly feel that it is stupid for others to be offended. So fine, keep offending them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

11:25 here-- But why would that "offend" them? Would it make sense for them to be "offended" when unmarried people make out? What's the difference?

They think taking the lord's name in vain is wrong because it's a sin. Which makes it a sin against god, not them. So why are they offended?

It is not that they feel that others are personally offending or insulting them, it is that they feel it is disrespectful to God. They love God, so they don't use His name used in a trivial or disrespectful manner and may find it a bit sad or upsetting when others do.If you heard someone speaking of someone you loved in a disrespectful way, wouldn't you feel sad or upset, or even offended, even though the remark was not directed at you personally?

Maybe, but I also accept that people I interact with don't necessarily feel the same way I do about things and I don't think it's their responsibility to protect me from being offended.

Some people are not as socially savvy as others.

True -- most socially savvy people recognize that their religious restrictions are theirs alone, and aren't offended by the fact that others are not bound by those rules.

You are stubborn as hell. Why are you continuing to argue? You clearly feel that it is stupid for others to be offended. So fine, keep offending them.

You posted "hell," and that offends me. RUDE!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

11:25 here-- But why would that "offend" them? Would it make sense for them to be "offended" when unmarried people make out? What's the difference?

They think taking the lord's name in vain is wrong because it's a sin. Which makes it a sin against god, not them. So why are they offended?

It is not that they feel that others are personally offending or insulting them, it is that they feel it is disrespectful to God. They love God, so they don't use His name used in a trivial or disrespectful manner and may find it a bit sad or upsetting when others do.If you heard someone speaking of someone you loved in a disrespectful way, wouldn't you feel sad or upset, or even offended, even though the remark was not directed at you personally?

Maybe, but I also accept that people I interact with don't necessarily feel the same way I do about things and I don't think it's their responsibility to protect me from being offended.

While I might not have the responsibility to protect you from being offended, I certainly would try to not offend you if I can. I try to be respectful of others and their beliefs as far as I can.

I personally choose not to use the expression being discussed here for reasons that relate to my religious beliefs and I teach my children to do the same. When I hear others use the expression, I am not offended. I realize that others have different beliefs than I do: when I hear someone using that expression I understand that that person and I differ on a belief that is important to me but is clearly not important to the other person.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

11:25 here-- But why would that "offend" them? Would it make sense for them to be "offended" when unmarried people make out? What's the difference?

They think taking the lord's name in vain is wrong because it's a sin. Which makes it a sin against god, not them. So why are they offended?

It is not that they feel that others are personally offending or insulting them, it is that they feel it is disrespectful to God. They love God, so they don't use His name used in a trivial or disrespectful manner and may find it a bit sad or upsetting when others do.If you heard someone speaking of someone you loved in a disrespectful way, wouldn't you feel sad or upset, or even offended, even though the remark was not directed at you personally?

Maybe, but I also accept that people I interact with don't necessarily feel the same way I do about things and I don't think it's their responsibility to protect me from being offended.

Some people are not as socially savvy as others.

True -- most socially savvy people recognize that their religious restrictions are theirs alone, and aren't offended by the fact that others are not bound by those rules.

You are stubborn as hell. Why are you continuing to argue? You clearly feel that it is stupid for others to be offended. So fine, keep offending them.

You posted "hell," and that offends me. RUDE!

Exactly. See how that works, Captain Obvious?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see it as taking the Lord's name in vain.

What if someone said "Oh, my God is an awesome God!"

or

"My God will lead a crusade against your fatwa." (Well, maybe not.)

Surely you see the difference between "Oh my God!" as an exclamation or figure of speech and "Oh, my God..." as the beginning of a sentence about your God.

As with everything, different people have different religious traditions. Just as many Jewish people might write G-d instead of spell it out correctly, some Christians think "Oh my God" or "Jesus Christ!" is sacrilegious. I do. There are a lot of things my children aren't allowed to say that their friends say, this is just one of them. Not a big deal to some, and not a big deal to us either, really. We just don't do it.

Just don't do it. People do get wrapped up in this, especially if you are at a religious school. It's just not good form. Evangelicals, Anglicans, Epis., Jews, and CAtholics can get very offended by this. I was even called out in a law firm setting for saying something like that. Just train yourself to say something else like "Sweet Fancy Moses".

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! This is hilarious. Please tell me you don't really say this in 2014.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are a lot of things I don't let my children say that their friends are allowed to say. "Oh my God" is one of them. We're Christian, but it has more to do with being strict about language and manners than strict about theology. My children aren't even allowed to say "yeah."

It's not my business what your child says, of course.

PP, this intrigues me. I don't know of any family where children are not allowed to say "yeah." I heard of such families in the south, but not around here. Where were you raised?

I grew up here in Northern VA in the 1970s and 1980s to parents from NY and NJ, and we were corrected immediately ("Yes!!!!") if we said, "Yeah." "Yeah" sounds sloppy.

I do the same thing now with my 6yo.

I notice it when other kids speak nicely ("Yes" instead of "Yeah"), etc. Same as when I notice if they have nice eating manners, nice telephone manners, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see it as taking the Lord's name in vain.

What if someone said "Oh, my God is an awesome God!"

or

"My God will lead a crusade against your fatwa." (Well, maybe not.)

Surely you see the difference between "Oh my God!" as an exclamation or figure of speech and "Oh, my God..." as the beginning of a sentence about your God.

As with everything, different people have different religious traditions. Just as many Jewish people might write G-d instead of spell it out correctly, some Christians think "Oh my God" or "Jesus Christ!" is sacrilegious. I do. There are a lot of things my children aren't allowed to say that their friends say, this is just one of them. Not a big deal to some, and not a big deal to us either, really. We just don't do it.

Just don't do it. People do get wrapped up in this, especially if you are at a religious school. It's just not good form. Evangelicals, Anglicans, Epis., Jews, and CAtholics can get very offended by this. I was even called out in a law firm setting for saying something like that. Just train yourself to say something else like "Sweet Fancy Moses".

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! This is hilarious. Please tell me you don't really say this in 2014.

This would fall in the same category, imho, as "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." People say things like this when they want to funny. Didn't you see "Anchorman"? Do you remember all the hilarious exclamations that the Ron Burgundy makes? I don't know why this common concept seems to be hard for DCUM'ers here to understand. Some of his funnier ones were:

1) Great Odin's Raven!
2) By the beard of Zeus!
3) Knights of Columbus, that hurts!

You could add to this list, now:

4) Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!
and
5) Sweet fancy Moses!

They're just darned funny things to say!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Reposting because I messed up the formatting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Catholics say "Jesus Mary Joseph" all the time.

I don't know many Catholics who say that. Occasionally, I'll say it. Hadn't really thought about it as an equivalent to "Oh, my God," which I avoid saying. You're right, though, it's the same thing, so I'll work on crossing that off my list!

+1 from this Cradle Catholic. People say it, but sort of as a joke, b/c it's sort of "old-timey," like say, 1950s-ish. So you'd say it as sort of a funny exaggeration when you are startled by something, or like when you are trying to imitate super-serious and/or old Catholics or maybe someone from Ireland (I descend from old-time Irish Catholics, so I feel it is ok to mimic this). For example:

Person 1: "I missed Mass last week."
Person 2: "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! You better get thee to Confession!"

Like that. [/quote


+1. My mom, who is a very religious Episcopalian, says "Jesus, Mary and Joseph" as a sort of old-timey thing. She doesn't mean it disrespectfully in the least.

Also, the few times my kids have said "Jesus" in front of her, she's asked, "where?!"

PP That's funny! I love that your mom says, "Where?!?" after "Jesus!" That is hilarious. Signed, the Cradle Catholic PP who posted above you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't see it as taking the Lord's name in vain.

What if someone said "Oh, my God is an awesome God!"

or

"My God will lead a crusade against your fatwa." (Well, maybe not.)

Surely you see the difference between "Oh my God!" as an exclamation or figure of speech and "Oh, my God..." as the beginning of a sentence about your God.

As with everything, different people have different religious traditions. Just as many Jewish people might write G-d instead of spell it out correctly, some Christians think "Oh my God" or "Jesus Christ!" is sacrilegious. I do. There are a lot of things my children aren't allowed to say that their friends say, this is just one of them. Not a big deal to some, and not a big deal to us either, really. We just don't do it.

Just don't do it. People do get wrapped up in this, especially if you are at a religious school. It's just not good form. Evangelicals, Anglicans, Epis., Jews, and CAtholics can get very offended by this. I was even called out in a law firm setting for saying something like that. Just train yourself to say something else like "Sweet Fancy Moses".

HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! This is hilarious. Please tell me you don't really say this in 2014.

This would fall in the same category, imho, as "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph." People say things like this when they want to funny. Didn't you see "Anchorman"? Do you remember all the hilarious exclamations that the Ron Burgundy makes? I don't know why this common concept seems to be hard for DCUM'ers here to understand. Some of his funnier ones were:

1) Great Odin's Raven!
2) By the beard of Zeus!
3) Knights of Columbus, that hurts!

You could add to this list, now:

4) Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!
and
5) Sweet fancy Moses!

They're just darned funny things to say!

PP here. No, I didn't see Anchorman. Actually, I started to but found it awful. It's no Old School! But thank you for clarifying.

[Anonymous]

I used to say it but then my brother started dating a religious Christian (we're Jewish). When it was time to meet her parents, she warned us that her parents would not appreciate "Oh my G-d."

I still let it slip occasionally but now that I have kids, it's easier to control.

[Anonymous]

Both sides of the issue can make their own contributions. Those of us who use it without thinking can try to avoid it in company that might be offended, and those who do not use it can try to accept that it is a standard English phrase used with no intent of disrespect.

But of course when you're anonymous it's much more fun to tell the other side what a-holes they are.