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Is it OK to say god if atheist?

AprecheApreche
edited October 2006 in Flamewars
Unless you are new here, you must know that I do not believe in the existence of anything supernatural, including omnipotent deities. However, I often find myself referring to said deities often. I'll say god damn, god damnit, oh god, good god, god, swear to god, etc. When I say these things, I don't really mean them in the literal sense. If I say god damn, I'm not actually calling out for an imaginary guy to damn something. I say it simply as an exclamation. It really isn't any different to me than saying "what the crap" or any equivalent.

But being an atheist, should I try to stop saying god? I know there must be other people who are interpreting these words differently than I am. Is it harmful, as an atheist, to continue to use god-based exclamations? Sometimes I think maybe I should try to stop, but it just feels so natural. I mean, is there really any other way to curse the god damn snakes?

Discuss.

Comments

  • jacobFUTUREjacobFUTURE
    Hell no! Say 'god' freely and many times. If you use any other expletives like 'your god' or 'gosh' you're going to sound like a complete freak. If your goal is to sound like a normal speaker you have to conform with the religious-based swearing. Of course you could use a new set of words, if they caught on you could have the potential to be an internet LEGEND.

    My friends on xbox live and I believe that way of the future is employing as many shitty internet slang sayings into your vocabulary as possible is the best way to piss people off and sound annoying. I hope it's the way forward.
  • JasonJason
    If you feel that a person deserves to be respected in regard to that particular language, you might want to hold your tongue around them. That's Jason's General Theory of Swearing. It comes down to whether or not you care about offending whoever might be listening/reading. I won't swear in front of my mother-in-law, not because it pisses her off, but because I respect her enough to set aside that part of speech.
  • RymRym
    I believe Scott's point is more that, by saying "god" as part of cursing, he's giving tacit support to others' beliefs that said deity exists by recognizing it. It was for similar reasons that I long ago removed a Darwin fish from my car after several people mistook it for a Jesus fish and took me for a Christian.

    (Granted, it was ripped off of my car more than a few times before by a devout Christian girl who was deeply offended by the notion of evolution, but I digress).

    I know for a fact that Scott doesn't care if he offends people. ^_~ He's more afraid people will think he believes in a god.
  • AndrewAndrew
    I believe Scott's point is more that, by saying "god" as part of cursing, he's giving tacit support to others' beliefs that said deity exists by recognizing it. It was for similar reasons that I long ago removed a Darwin fish from my car after several people mistook it for a Jesus fish and took me for a Christian.

    (Granted, it was ripped off of my car more than a few times before by a devout Christian girl who was deeply offended by the notion of evolution, but I digress).

    I know for a fact that Scott doesn't care if he offends people. ^_~ He's more afraid people will think he believes in a god.
    Rym, may I suggest this?
  • PilitusPilitus
    If Scott is trying to carry across the point that he is a raving atheist and skeptic, then I would suggest he try and find some new expletives to throw. Even if the god ones are, for most people, more of a cultural construct then a religious one, they do imply some connection to a higher power.
  • MamathMamath
    I've occasionally pondered a similar thing...but in the end I really can't be bothered changing my speaking patterns. Throwing "god" in with random expletives just works so well. It's hard to get the same effect with other words.

    I don't really think anyone would take your use of the word as meaning you actually believe in deities in any way shape or form. I'd have thought the opposite, seeing as actually invoking the name of god (at least for Christians, not sure about other religions now that I think about it) in vain is a Bad Thing. Most swearing/exclamation would be considered "in vain"... Really only athiests would be "allowed" to do it within their own beliefs. *shrugs*

    You could try saying the exact same thing in a different language. :D Maybe no one would notice then. :B

    As an aside, my sister and I once tried replacing certain expletives with "cardboard" (shut up, it was the first word that came to mind at the time) just to see what would happen. It worked once people got used to it but more as a catchphrase than anything else. :<
  • TheWhaleSharkTheWhaleShark
    If you feel that a person deserves to be respected in regard to that particular language, you might want to hold your tongue around them. That's Jason's General Theory of Swearing. It comes down to whether or not you care about offending whoever might be listening/reading. I won't swear in front of my mother-in-law, not because it pisses her off, but because I respect her enough to set aside that part of speech.
    I both agree and disagree with you. Personally, I adjust my speech to be as practical as possible for the situation at hand, depending on what I'm trying to accomplish. For example, in fighting some recent political bullshit in my lab, I've spoken to TV and newspaper reporters as well as lawmakers. The blunt way to say it is "bullshit," but there are far more effective and professional-sounding ways to convey the same notion.

    At the same time, I do not discount the power that swearing can have, because it can properly and bluntly convey your feeling towards a particular topic. I respect the people around me, but I also respect them enough that I think they can handle my opinion. In other words, I think artificially avoiding certain kinds of speech around certain people can be just as disrespectful as actually using the speech, because you are in effect saying the person to whom you are speaking is not of sufficient maturity to handle that kind of speech.

    This is not to say that I condone swearing at politicians or lawmakers when you want to convince them of something; sometimes, as much bullshit as it is, you have to dress things up.

    In regards to the topic at hand, it goes back to the "going through the motions" bit from the thread about handling religious parents. The whole point of using verbal speech is not to convey thoughts to yourself (though sometimes it does help to sort through your thoughts), but rather to convey your meaning to someone else. Therefore, if that person believes in God, and you say, "I swear to God if you verb me I'll verb your noun," you are thoroughly and concisely conveying your exact meaning. Saying "I swear to whatever powers may or may not exist, depending on your personal beliefs..." is clumsy and awkward, and also allows ample cockpunch time.

    I personally don't really believe that using the word "God" validates the entire notion of one person's beliefs in God; the concept of a higher power has been around for a long, long time, so using the word doesn't necessarily mean that you subscribe to one interpretation of the notion.
  • AprecheApreche
    I personally don't really believe that using the word "God" validates the entire notion of one person's beliefs in God; the concept of a higher power has been around for a long, long time, so using the word doesn't necessarily mean that you subscribe to one interpretation of the notion.
    My problem is that I don't believe in god at all, let alone some interpretation of the notion. My brain has a thought in it such as "Seriously, I'm not lying". The thought is translated to speech and comes out my mouth as "I swear to god". That literally means something very different to some people. Should I therefore attempt to modify that brain-mouth translation so that the words I use more accurately reflect my thoughts and ideas, or should I leave it be?
  • KilarneyKilarney
    edited October 2006
    I believe Scott's point is more that, by saying "god" as part of cursing, he's giving tacit support to others' beliefs that said deity exists by recognizing it.
    Those sayings have become so ingrained in our everyday speech, that they have lost any real association with "God." Honestly, do you really think that a devout Christian will be smug knowing that you recognize God when you say goddammit? WTF?

    With all due respect, this seems insanely trivial to me. Make whatever decision you want. I just don't see this being worthy of discussion. I had to stop saying that stuff when I had kids. It's not that hard to make the change.

    By the way - why doesn't Mr. Period correct your using lowercase for "God?"
    Post edited by Kilarney on
  • RymRym
    I never use the word "god" as the proper name of a specific deity, and I try to avoid calling the Christian god by their absolutely uninspired name for him/her/it. I only use it in the generic sense, as in "a god," or occasionally in a deistic sense, where it isn't really a proper noun.

    It's like with the word "internet." Internet is capitalized when referring to THE Internet: the Internet as a whole. It is not capitalized when referring to AN internet, which is any multiple-network configuration. The Internet is an internet. God is the same way. "God" is a god.

    (As an aside, I'll note that I typically pluralize "god" whenever I use the word in day-to-day speech, and very pointedly use the improper noun form).
  • KilarneyKilarney
    edited October 2006
    The problem is that, when you look at the derivation of these expressions, they reference the Christian God. Therefore, God should be capitalized when used in this manner. Grammar rules are not subjective - they are objective.

    Mr. Period is letting his religious feelings compromise his integrity!
    Post edited by Kilarney on
  • trogdor9trogdor9
    Mr. Period is letting his religious feelings compromise his integrity!
    Mr. Period has opinions‽
  • KilarneyKilarney
    Mr. Period has opinions‽
    Sadly, his performance in this thread calls into question his academic integrity.
  • SailSail
    I know some athiests use 'zod' in place of 'god'.
  • JasonJason
    edited October 2006
    I originally thought this post said "Is it okay to say that God IS athiest." That would have some interesting implications.
    Post edited by Jason on
  • AprecheApreche
    I know some athiests use 'zod' in place of 'god'.
    No, those are the scary superhero comic nerds.
  • CremlianCremlian
    Kneel Before ZOD!

    /scary superhero comic nerds.... Wait a minute!

    Not really Scott, I have lots of friends that say it and have little or no interest in Comics. They just like Superman from the movies or TV.
  • AprecheApreche
    Not really Scott, I have lots of friends that say it and have little or no interest in Comics. They just like Superman from the movies or TV.
    It's one thing to make a joke about something once in awhile. There's nothing wrong with the occasional "Kneel before Zod". However, if anyone were to say zod instead of god all the time, it would be nothing short of terrifying.
  • SailSail
    I know some athiests use 'zod' in place of 'god'.
    No, those are the scary superhero comic nerds.
    [insert funny retort here]
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