# Question for Atheists. **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 28, 2013, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444 "2013-10-28T12:27:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sentrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@sentrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sentrix)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/41 "2013-10-28T17:05:34Z")
> [@jsgoddess](#): > > I might say, “Oh god!” but I’m not talking to anyone. first sign of insanity. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/42 "2013-10-28T17:06:04Z")
> [@sentrix](#): > > first sign of insanity. I’ve gone a lot further than that! ---
**Author:** ![sentrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@sentrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sentrix)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/43 "2013-10-28T17:16:49Z")
crazy and insane. two different things. like apples and mangos. ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/44 "2013-10-28T17:17:23Z")
> [@Tamerlane](#): > > I was raised by atheists and we used them all the time :p. Even to this day my parents, who are pretty explicitly _anti-religious_, still use theistic expressions in their everyday speech. We also celebrated Christmas ( presents and decorated trees ) and Easter ( family meal, baskets of candy and decorating Easter eggs ). My folks were and are pretty sane about treating cultural artifacts as cultural artifacts and embracing the secular side of holidays. We celebrated the religious holidays as cultural holidays, but no lies about Santa or the Easter Bunny or whatnot. These were treated as myths. Religion was seen as something for gullible fools that didn’t know any better, or at least that’s the impression I got as a child. It’s still hard for me to understand how an otherwise sensible-seeming person can believe in a literal interpretation of a religious text. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/45 "2013-10-28T17:18:46Z")
My favorite is when Sammy Davis Junior won an award and shouted out “Thank you Jesus!” This occurred several years after Davis had converted to Judaism. ---
**Author:** ![sentrix](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ac8455/32.png) [@sentrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sentrix)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/46 "2013-10-28T17:21:41Z")
but anamen. evidence of absence is not absence of evidence. when the lighting is right i see santa. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/47 "2013-10-28T17:42:30Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > “Bloody” being a contraction of “By Our Lady”, by the way, and Hell of course is also religion-derived. There’s no escape. The “by our lady” origin is unlikely, as is the “blood of christ” angle as well as the menstration one. My wife knows I’m particularly frustrated when I use “bloody hell,” but I learned it from actual real deities: Monty Python. I try a little to reduce casual religious phrases, but saying, “God dammit” after hitting my finger with a hammer doesn’t make God suddenly real. Nor am I really asking for any damnation (what would hell be like for a hammer, anyway?). These little sayings have no real meaning beyond immediate emotion. I’ll always avoid actual appeals to a god. I don’t pray for people, but I will offer my thoughts and best wishes or whatever. Recently people, from remote inlaws to total strangers, have offered prayers for me. I don’t decline it, and am always appreciative. I wish I could say, “Even though there’s nobody on the other end of that phone call, I appreciate that you cared enough to dial the phone.” ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/48 "2013-10-28T17:50:20Z")
[Science damn you!](http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/397254/science-damn-you) ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/49 "2013-10-28T17:58:00Z")
I say “Oh my god” or “Oh god” all the time, but I never bless anyone nor do I pray to god for anything ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/50 "2013-10-28T18:13:46Z")
It is virtually impossible to wipe your language of all religious references. English is so steeped in Christianity that many expressions are based on. If you use: A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush A drop in the bucket A labor of love A law unto themselves A man after his own heart A sign of the times A two-edged sword A wolf in sheep’s clothing All things to all men As old as the hills Bite the dust Can a leopard change its spots? Don’t cast your pearls before swine Eat drink and be merry Feet of clay Flesh and blood Gird your loins Give up the ghost Go the extra mile Good Samaritan He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword How are the mighty fallen In the twinkling of an eye Man does not live by bread alone My cup runneth over No rest for the wicked Nothing new under the sun Pearls before swine Pride goes before a fall Put words in one’s mouth See eye to eye Set your teeth on edge Sour grapes Strait and narrow Swords into ploughshares The apple of his eye The blind leading the blind The ends of the earth The fly in the ointment The fruits of your loins The land of Nod The letter of the law The powers that be The root of the matter The salt of the earth The skin of your teeth The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak The strait and narrow The sweat of your brow The writing is on the wall There’s nothing new under the sun Wash your hands of the matter You reap what you sow Then you are quoting the Bible ---
**Author:** ![Pabitel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bbce88/32.png) [@Pabitel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pabitel)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/51 "2013-10-28T18:34:22Z")
Likewise if you have used any of these “innocent” expressions in place of swearing then you are also showing your Christian indoctrination. blazes (Hell) jeepers creepers (Jesus Christ) jeez (Jesus) gee whiz (Jesus) sheesh (Jesus) by jingo (by Jesus) cripes (Christ) criminey (Christ) for Pete’s sake (for Christ’s sake) egad (Oh God) zounds (God’s wounds) Gadzooks (God’s hooks) drat (God rot) blooming/ruddy (by Our Lady) bloody (Gods blood) Doggone (God damn) Goldang (God damn) Godfrey Daniels (God damn) Good grief (Good God) Darn (damn) Dang (damn) goodness gracious (God) goodness me (God) good night (God) by George (God) by Jove (God) blimey (God blind me) ---
**Author:** ![AnaMen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dfb087/32.png) [@AnaMen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnaMen)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/52 "2013-10-28T18:44:52Z")
Those are all trite cliches best avoided anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/53 "2013-10-28T18:53:37Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > Those are all trite cliches best avoided anyway. Avoid them like the plague! It’s true the Bible has had a huge influence on the English language. But using a phrase that goes back to a translation of the Bible isn’t the same as praying to/mentioning a god you don’t believe in. > [@Pabitel](#): > > good night (God) What? The word “[good](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=good&allowed_in_frame=0)” has nothing to do with the word “[God](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=god&searchmode=none).” Anyway you also left off a really easy one: “[goodbye/God be with ye.](http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=good-bye&allowed_in_frame=0)” > [@Pabitel](#): > > by Jove (God) Uh, Jove was different god. Not the Judeo-Christian-Islamic one. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/54 "2013-10-28T19:08:37Z")
> [@AnaMen](#): > > Now though, I will break out with a “Jesus Motherf\*\*\*ing Christ” or similar if the occasion demands it. It’s just a rhetorical expression. I do this also, and I got it from my father. Being Jewish, this is an excellent curse with no one to offend (and possibly even please.) BTW, [some theories on the origin of Bless You](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_you) while sneezing involve spirits. I wouldn’t accuse anyone saying this of believing in spirits. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/55 "2013-10-28T22:12:36Z")
> [@elbows](#): > > What about the scenario where you find yourself in an hospital waiting room silently pleading, “please God, please God…”? > > Same? Or different? That would never happen; it wouldn’t even _occur_ to me to plead to God for help any more than a Christian would plead to Ra for help. There’s nobody there to plead _to._ ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/56 "2013-10-28T22:59:23Z")
> [@Der\_Trihs](#): > > That would never happen; it wouldn’t even _occur_ to me to plead to God for help any more than a Christian would plead to Ra for help. There’s nobody there to plead _to._ I’m gonna have to agree with you there. Pleading to God is on another level than just saying “Bless you” when someone sneezes. I will often find myself using common phrases like “Oh God” but there is no meaning or feeling behind them. You will never hear me praying or pleading to a deity. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/57 "2013-10-28T23:37:39Z")
I say “Bless you” just because it’s considered the thing to do when someone sneezes. It’s stupid but I don’t think it conflicts with my values. I will say I am thankful and grateful, but I absolutely refuse to say “blessed”. I inwardly cringe whenever that word is used around me. “Blessed and highly favored!” makes me want to pull out a butcher knife and kill someone. When I called myself a Believer, I prayed. Especially when I was afraid of something…which was all the time. Once I admitted to myself that I no longer believed, I stopped praying completely and I have never looked back. Interestingly, around this time I also stopped being so afraid of stuff. ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/58 "2013-10-28T23:37:46Z")
> [@Pabitel](#): > > It is virtually impossible to wipe your language of all religious references. English is so steeped in Christianity that many expressions are based on. > If you use: > A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush > A drop in the bucket > A labor of love > A law unto themselves > A man after his own heart > A sign of the times > A two-edged sword > A wolf in sheep’s clothing > All things to all men > As old as the hills > Bite the dust > Can a leopard change its spots? > Don’t cast your pearls before swine > Eat drink and be merry > Feet of clay > Flesh and blood > Gird your loins > Give up the ghost > Go the extra mile > Good Samaritan > He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword > How are the mighty fallen > In the twinkling of an eye > Man does not live by bread alone > My cup runneth over > No rest for the wicked > Nothing new under the sun > Pearls before swine > Pride goes before a fall > Put words in one’s mouth > See eye to eye > Set your teeth on edge > Sour grapes > Strait and narrow > Swords into ploughshares > The apple of his eye > The blind leading the blind > The ends of the earth > The fly in the ointment > The fruits of your loins > The land of Nod > The letter of the law > The powers that be > The root of the matter > The salt of the earth > The skin of your teeth > The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak > The strait and narrow > The sweat of your brow > The writing is on the wall > There’s nothing new under the sun > Wash your hands of the matter > You reap what you sow > > Then you are quoting the Bible > [@Pabitel](#): > > Likewise if you have used any of these “innocent” expressions in place of swearing then you are also showing your Christian indoctrination. > blazes (Hell) > jeepers creepers (Jesus Christ) > jeez (Jesus) > gee whiz (Jesus) > sheesh (Jesus) > by jingo (by Jesus) > cripes (Christ) > criminey (Christ) > for Pete’s sake (for Christ’s sake) > egad (Oh God) > zounds (God’s wounds) > Gadzooks (God’s hooks) > drat (God rot) > blooming/ruddy (by Our Lady) > bloody (Gods blood) > Doggone (God damn) > Goldang (God damn) > Godfrey Daniels (God damn) > Good grief (Good God) > Darn (damn) > Dang (damn) > goodness gracious (God) > goodness me (God) > good night (God) > by George (God) > by Jove (God) > blimey (God blind me) I refer to things as “groin grabbingly”. That’s not in the bible is it? Because there’s no way I’m going to stop using it. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/59 "2013-10-28T23:38:50Z")
I try my god damnedest not to use any. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2013, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444/60 "2013-10-28T23:41:47Z")
You’re probably OK with groin grabbing. The “bird in the hand” line is non-Biblical, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/question-for-atheists/672444.md?page=4)