# Does the Bible really say it's a sin to use the bathroom? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 19, 2001, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-really-say-its-a-sin-to-use-the-bathroom/65913 "2001-05-19T16:46:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-really-say-its-a-sin-to-use-the-bathroom/65913/41 "2002-06-03T02:04:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by David Cronan \* > \*\*When I first saw this thread I thought it was about not being able to take a bath. Why don’t you Americans use the correct term ? . It is a toilet ,a lavatory, a loo ,a bog but it is not a bathroom. I once saw a very confused conversation between an American tourist and a local guide at the Parthenon in Athens with the guide wondering why this guy suddenly wanted to take a bath. \*\* In the US if you called it a loo or a bog no one would know what the hell you were talking about. Calling it a toilet would sound a bit rude, and a lavatory would sound stuck up. In the US, it is called a bathroom or a restroom. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-really-say-its-a-sin-to-use-the-bathroom/65913/42 "2002-06-03T02:06:40Z")
I should point out that in the US the word ‘toilet’ refers ONLY to the actual porcelain thing that you sit on and shit in. That is, when you are in the bathroom, you sit on the toilet. Other uses for the word will get you strange looks. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 11:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-really-say-its-a-sin-to-use-the-bathroom/65913/43 "2002-06-03T11:34:30Z")
I don’t think calling it a toilet in the US is necessarily rude, but I would certainly concede that “bathroom” and “restroom” are the default terms. I don’t believe “washroom” is exclusively Canadian, as I use the term occassionally, and I’m originally from Chicago. Part of the problem is that in Europe, often the toilets ARE separate from the bathrooms. At the very least, the universal term seems to be “W.C.” for the toilet. That said, come on, you UKers certainly know what a “bathroom” is, when spoken by an American. It’s not like I lose all comprehension when y’all start talking about lifts, flats, lorries, prams, fags, jumpers, bangers, boots, bonnets, knickers, etc… ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-really-say-its-a-sin-to-use-the-bathroom/65913/44 "2002-06-03T15:42:39Z")
Bear in mind also that in most American homes, most toilets are located in the bathroom. Peculiarly, a room holding only a toilet and sink is known as a “half-bath,” and I’ve even heard of using “quarter-bath” to describe a room with only a toilet. Interstingly, I know of no American term to describe a bathroom that _doesn’t_ have a toilet in it - which gives a pretty good idea of why we think that a toilet is automatically included in “bathroom.” Take a look at real estate ads: a fairly standard suburban arrangement is 2 - 1/2 or 3 - 1/2 baths; one for the master bedroom, one or more serving various combinations of children’s bedrooms, and a single half-bath, often on the ground floor and designed for guest use. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-really-say-its-a-sin-to-use-the-bathroom/65913/45 "2002-06-03T21:02:17Z")
I remember reading the stuff about the Ayatollah Khomeini in a book that came out while he was still in power. I don’t remember the name, but it gave rules supposedly according to the Ayatollah, one of which was “Don’t pee in the direction of Mecca” (or should it be “Makkah?”). Unfortunately, I don’t remember the exact name, and–needless to say–I couldn’t vouch for its veracity on enumerating the Ayatollah’s views–but the book did indeed exist. ---
**Author:** ![jiHymas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/439d5e/32.png) [@jiHymas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jiHymas)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2002, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-really-say-its-a-sin-to-use-the-bathroom/65913/46 "2002-06-03T23:14:12Z")
Another possible source for the urination = sin concept is in 1 Kings 16:11. > [@](#): > > _[http://www.godrules.net/library/kjv/kjv1kin16.htm](http://www.godrules.net/library/kjv/kjv1kin16.htm)_ > \*\*16:11 And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, [that] he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him not one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends. \*\* The _New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures_ (Jehovah’s Witnesses) notes that what they translate as “urinates against a wall” is related to Hebrew idiom for males. I admit that the relationship between urination and sin in this passage is a real stretch, but it came to mind because I once read an anti-Christian diatribe that inferred these people had been killed precisely due to pissing against a wall. Perhaps the relationship was deduced because “he sat on his throne”, hohoho. ---
**Author:** ![WitchDoctor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f475e1/32.png) [@WitchDoctor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WitchDoctor)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-really-say-its-a-sin-to-use-the-bathroom/65913/47 "2013-12-28T00:51:16Z")
> [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](#): > > Have you been reading the same Star Trek novel I have? > > The one in which Amanda recounts Sarek’s discourse with the Fundamentalists, which resulted in him being chased out of town by a mob? That is EXACTLY how I learned of this Bible passage! “Spock’s World” ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-really-say-its-a-sin-to-use-the-bathroom/65913/48 "2013-12-28T01:36:44Z")
It’s been rebooted! This thread is over a decade old. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-really-say-its-a-sin-to-use-the-bathroom/65913/49 "2013-12-28T01:56:58Z")
I never really found anything to that but in Regards to this: > [@Weirddave](#): > > Only thing I know on this subject is Deuteronomy 23:12-14 > > 12 Designate a place outside the camp where you can go to relieve yourself. > 13 As part of your equipment have something to dig with, and when you relieve yourself, dig a hole and cover up your excrement. > 14 For the LORD your God moves about in your camp to protect you and to deliver your enemies to you. Your camp must be holy, so that he will not see among you anything indecent and turn away from you. > > YMMV Sounds a lot like the ‘leave no trace’ movement in hiking/backpacking. ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2013, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-really-say-its-a-sin-to-use-the-bathroom/65913/50 "2013-12-28T01:57:03Z")
**Moderator Action** Welcome to the SDMB, **WitchDoctor**. Please note that the thread you are replying to is over 11 years old. While we do allow the revival of old threads like this, we ask that you only do so in this forum if you have new information to contribute or something significant to add. Also please note that when you do revive old threads like these, many of the original responders may not be around any more to see or comment on your reply. Because of this thread’s extreme age and the revival not bringing any significant contribution to the topic, this thread is closed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-the-bible-really-say-its-a-sin-to-use-the-bathroom/65913.md?page=2)