# Og instead of god, why? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 8, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654 "2011-09-08T20:02:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/1 "2011-09-08T20:02:02Z")
I’ve noticed a trend of substituting the letters “Og” for the word “God” when posters want to use that word. Now on the surface, I would think perhaps it was a sign of religious respect. However, I have seen numerous posts in which the poster used the “Og” phrase at one point, only to say “God” at a later point. What’s the deal with this? ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/2 "2011-09-08T20:03:47Z")
Og only knows ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/3 "2011-09-08T20:06:24Z")
Og Smash! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/4 "2011-09-08T20:07:10Z")
IIRC… ‘Of’ is often mistyped ‘og’. Either a certain poster misspelled it frequently, or else there was a rash of misspellings, and people picked up on it as a name for a god. ‘Og smash!’ ‘Manny’ was popular for a while, for ‘many’. ---
**Author:** ![goldmund](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a4c791/32.png) [@goldmund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/goldmund)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/5 "2011-09-08T20:17:27Z")
God is **the** Original Gangsta. ---
**Author:** ![jharvey963](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/54ee81/32.png) [@jharvey963](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jharvey963)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/6 "2011-09-08T20:19:40Z")
My take on it: “Og” is used by Atheists who don’t want to say “god”. “Thank God I paused before crossing the street or I would have been run down by that runaway rhino…” is inconsistent to a thinking Atheist, because he doesn’t believe in God. Saying “Thank Og…” substitutes an obviously mythical entity, and adds some slightly self-conscious irony to the statement. J. ---
**Author:** ![shorin-ryu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/3d9bf3/32.png) [@shorin-ryu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shorin-ryu)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/7 "2011-09-08T20:23:40Z")
I think I may have found the original thread that started it all… > **[You say you are a christian - I say you nead to grow up](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=103615)** > > How is it possible for a grown person to believe that Jesus is the son of god… and that sort og rubbish ? It seams to me that these kind of people nead to grow up and stop clutching at straws. I often see endless discussion where adults tries to... ---
**Author:** ![Jenaroph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Jenaroph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jenaroph)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/8 "2011-09-08T20:23:49Z")
The original [Og Smash](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=103615) thread. shoot…ninja’d 'cause I took time to read the whole thing… ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/9 "2011-09-08T20:27:00Z")
It’s become a board meme over time, because of the Og Smash thread, which is obviously a typo. Like cow-orker. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/10 "2011-09-08T20:41:18Z")
I think it’s evolved though, into a sort of generic reference to a vaguely defined diety. It’s a way to refer to a supernatural protector/overseer without invoking any of the defined religions or provoking a nitpick related to specific religious beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2011, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/11 "2011-09-08T21:00:44Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > It’s become a board meme over time, because of the Og Smash thread, which is obviously a typo. Like cow-orker. See also: this person’s very appropriate name. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/12 "2011-09-09T01:24:29Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > I think it’s evolved though, into a sort of generic reference to a vaguely defined diety. It’s a way to refer to a supernatural protector/overseer without invoking any of the defined religions or provoking a nitpick related to specific religious beliefs. This answer seems to make the most sense to me. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/13 "2011-09-09T01:57:01Z")
[From the FAQs](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=320298): > [@](#): > > **Og** Variants include **Og smash!** and similar – One of the SDMB board deities. Og first surfaced as the result of a typo, from a former board contributor who misspelled the word “of” and typed “Jesus is the Son og God.” Hilarity ensued. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/14 "2011-09-09T02:12:20Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > My take on it: “Og” is used by Atheists who don’t want to say “god”. “Thank God I paused before crossing the street or I would have been run down by that runaway rhino…” is inconsistent to a thinking Atheist, because he doesn’t believe in God. Saying “Thank Og…” substitutes an obviously mythical entity, and adds some slightly self-conscious irony to the statement. Atheists don’t typically have any problem with saying “God,” or using expressions containing that word. Atheism is not some kind of doctrine which prohibits any reference to the word. I say “God,” all the time, along with expressions like “thank God,” Sweet Jesus," "thank Christ, etc. I don’t think I’ve ever met an atheist who made any attempt to avoid using the word figuratively or in epithets. It means nothing. ---
**Author:** ![Electric\_Warrior](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ee7513/32.png) [@Electric\_Warrior](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electric_Warrior)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/15 "2011-09-09T02:19:40Z")
> [@shorin-ryu](#): > > I think I may have found the original thread that started it all… > > [You say you are a christian - I say you nead to grow up - The BBQ Pit - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=103615) This thread just made me realize that **zev\_steinhardt** is awesome. I only knew him as the guy whose kids make hamantaschen every year (which is also awesome, because hamantaschen are delicious) but I think his posts in this thread display the kind of calm, rational debate that everyone here should strive for. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/16 "2011-09-09T02:23:51Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > Atheists don’t typically have any problem with saying “God,” or using expressions containing that word. Atheism is not some kind of doctrine which prohibits any reference to the word. I say “God,” all the time, along with expressions like “thank God,” Sweet Jesus," "thank Christ, etc. > > I don’t think I’ve ever met an atheist who made any attempt to avoid using the word figuratively or in epithets. It means nothing. Exactly. I just think it’s a funny, in joke. A bit of local silliness. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/17 "2011-09-09T02:26:29Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > It’s become a board meme over time, because of the Og Smash thread, which is obviously a typo.. Og Smash is a joke that pre-dates the SDMB by a number of years. It was a joke on the Usenet for a while before this message board existed. ---
**Author:** ![shijinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cc9497/32.png) [@shijinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/shijinn)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/18 "2011-09-09T03:09:24Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > … I say “God,” all the time, along with expressions like “thank God,” Sweet Jesus," "thank Christ, etc. > > I don’t think I’ve ever met an atheist who made any attempt to avoid using the word figuratively or in epithets. It means nothing. depending on who you’re around, sometimes you just want to invoke a generic god and not the Christian God with all its religious baggage. * * * [Baby Og cry!](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=620869) ---
**Author:** ![gone2thedogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@gone2thedogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gone2thedogs)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/19 "2011-09-09T03:24:06Z")
I always say “doG” ---
**Author:** ![Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Skald\_the\_Rhymer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skald_the_Rhymer)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2011, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654/20 "2011-09-09T03:41:29Z")
> [@jharvey963](#): > > My take on it: “Og” is used by Atheists who don’t want to say “god”. “Thank God I paused before crossing the street or I would have been run down by that runaway rhino…” is inconsistent to a thinking Atheist, because he doesn’t believe in God. Saying “Thank Og…” substitutes an obviously mythical entity, and adds some slightly self-conscious irony to the statement. > > J. Atheists don’t mind saying god, God, Zeus, Yahweh, Odin, Mithra, Superman, or the name of any other such fictional entity. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/og-instead-of-god-why/595654.md?page=2)