Using God/Christ in negative threads

[Tigertalk]

Hi all, I’m a long time mumsnetter but finding it hard to read constant threads (as a Christian) that use phrases starting with ‘ for G*d’s sake ( insert some nasty phrase about something) . We don’t accept racist or phobic language so why is it okay to use God, Jesus, Christ etc in these contexts? It’s really uncomfortable to read constantly 🙁

@Tigertalk

But God isn’t imaginary to a lot of people *@SofiaMichelle*

Doesn't make him real though, does it ?

I think it's the double standards.

I hate that at work one of my colleagues uses the phrase Jesus F** Christ - if I said the same thing using Allah I'm pretty sure I would get a disciplinary but for some reason it's perfectly acceptable to be crass about Christianity.

@Tigertalk

But God isn’t imaginary to a lot of people *@SofiaMichelle*

All gods are imaginary to everyone.

I personally find Christianity quite a creepy religion. Every good deed done "in the name of God" is purely for one selfish reason. That being to get into heaven when you die.

Don't forget witches were burned "too save their souls" ....

I understand where you are coming from, OP, and I've been as guilty as anybody else in doing this. However, for the last few years, I have worked for a business owned by Plymouth Brethren and I've now got out of the habit, both in writing and in speech.

That’s the flip side of Christianity being the established religion.

I think christ would have cycled if bikes had been invented though

@Nightbear

As someone with an Irish Catholic background may I suggest that you never go to Ireland without taking some heavy duty ear protection.

spot on

It doesn’t take much to change a word / phrase to take into account others.

Pity you didn't think of that with your little passive aggressive shot at Flowers

I have zero interest in changing my use of a word describing a non-existent being in whose name so much pain and suffering has been inflicted on this world.

I think Jesus in the cabbage van is the MN version.

There are so many different gods that people believe exist.

Can't see how it's offensive for example to say "Jesus Christ!" as an exclamation when he was apparently a person who existed in the past.

But then all religion is baffling to me.

^^ this. God doesn't exist. So yes, dropping Jesus and god or thr church into ANY conversation is offensive as it has been used to support persecution for centuries.

@Orangelizard

I think it's the double standards.

I hate that at work one of my colleagues uses the phrase Jesus F** Christ - if I said the same thing using Allah I'm pretty sure I would get a disciplinary but for some reason it's perfectly acceptable to be crass about Christianity.

What common curses are there in British English that involve Allah ? I think you'd have to invent one, which pretty much undermines the "everyone says it" fact of Christian cursing.

It's hard not to view Islam as an (ultimately doomed) attempt to put Christianity back on track when it was clear it was already well fucked up in 600s.

I’m actually Irish ( born there but now live here haha) . I’m hardly judgemental either. I had dc before marriage ! Hardly a model Christian. I just find the words jarring when followed by expletives etc this is a site where I can raise that for discussion. I just wondered if people realised it was offensive to some . Pp have said they didn’t and will try to be mindful, others say they don’t care, some have been pretty angry. It’s been interesting to read all the viewpoints and I’ll keep them in mind when I come across these jarring phrases in future!

I don't go in for performative swearing (unlike on MN, where I live, in public at least, it's not the 'naice' people turning the air blue every time they open their mouths).

But being language policed really gets my back up. I try to be mindful in person if I know someone is religious, but i won't extend this to an anonymous site with a huge amount of much stronger swearing. I'm afraid the days when Christians got to set the tone are gone.

Xpost, op!

If god is real and omnipotent, as you believe, OP, then s/he would be able to punish with death and disease anyone who offended him/her. As this isn’t happening all the time to blasphemers in the UK, but much more often to tiny children in the developing world, my hunch is that he/she isn’t really offended by it. To be offended on god’s behalf is really very arrogant and indicates you think you know better than him/her. So I’d just keep your own house in order, and find something else to get worked up about.

The worst one is Jesus Christ with the word ‘fucking’ inserted in the middle.
Really offensive imo.

Do you really think a guy who was tortured to death after being flogged and sworn at is really going to be offended?

Oh and when I write OMG I mean, Oh my Godess.

For those talking about the atrocities of Christianity , I believe in God and the Bible but I think a huge amount of mistakes have been made by those who were acting as Christians. They were wrong. I mean you just have to look at child abuse in recent times.
Appalling stuff.

But that's allowed in the Bible. As long as the child is from 'the people around you'.

@SpindleWhorl

Does it bother 'recent Christians' more than those of us brought up from babyhood as Christians, I wonder?

I had a religious upbringing, focused very much around church, faith and good deeds, and I haven't got a problem with people expostulating 'god' & 'jesus'.

I've got more of a problem with any attempts to curtail freedom of expression, and with the chilling effect of deeming things that offend one to be 'phobic' or 'non-crime hate incidents'.

There's too much censorship and thought-policing, especially of women. Personally I think we don't need more, on a website mainly for women.

Yup.

The UK is a culturally Christian country, so the religion involved in blasphemous expressions is Christianity. They are part of the vernacular. They would be unacceptable if specifically targeted at Christians, but not when used as a figure of speech. The vast majority of people using these blasphemous expressions in the UK are themselves culturally Christian, even if they are not practising.

FWIW, there was a lot more blasphemous swearing in previous centuries, when the population was more uniformly Christian. And Catholic countries are even worse!

I wonder if paedophile priests realise they are being offensive to some

murbblurb
This is a UK based site and we have no blasphemy laws. Would you like us all to say 'fuck' more often instead? 'god' is a mild oath for the majority who have no belief. If your faith is so weak that it gets offended at someone else's use of a word, that is your problem.

People deserve respect. Beliefs do not.
Bang on.

Don't push your religion and beliefs on me. To me God is a fable, and for you to take offence over what I see as a social construct and an OPINION is laughable. Grow up. Alternatively, stay off MN.

^all of this. Can't stand "Christians" who think they have any right to thought police what is now mostly an atheist country. Oh people may nominally say they are christian or tick that box if there's none other available but most have some free thinking and know God is a construct for those too dim/narcissistic to realise we are mortal mammals and desperately want to feed their ego that they are important enough to "go somewhere else" after death.

Mother of God!

YANBU, I’m not Christian but these are horrible:

Oh my fing God
OMFG
Jesus Fking Christ

So nasty and unnecessary.

@HoldingTheDoor

Nobody uses Mohammed, Allah or Buddha as swear words. It would be considered quite offensive to do so.

I'd happily use them and wouldn't give a toss, but as we're in a supposedly Christian majority country it's hardly surprising that people reference the religious figures that they're most familiar with.

Not sure you would use Mohammed, at least not for long, in a Muslim country.

@Orangelizard

I think it's the double standards.

I hate that at work one of my colleagues uses the phrase Jesus F** Christ - if I said the same thing using Allah I'm pretty sure I would get a disciplinary but for some reason it's perfectly acceptable to be crass about Christianity.

Jesus and allah are different because allah = god, english speaking christians use the word god, arabic speaking christians use the word allah. Not sure why you think jesus is only part of christianity.