The name of Jesus used in vain .....

[jaabaar]

I am a catholic and try not to use the name of God and Jesus in vain.

My 4year old DD has started saying "Jesus" when she gets annoyed with something. When I asked her where did she he hear and learn this she told the name of a practitioner at nursery.

Am I being unreasonable to be upset about this?
Everything has to be so politically correct however in front of children in a school setting I didn't expect this kind of language.

Please put me into place if I'm over the top. I'm not going to complain to nursery or anything, just being annoyed about it.

[BackOnlyBriefly]

bringoutthepringles you are claiming that all or most of the catholics and protestants in Germany were only pretending to be Christian?

In that case can we equally assume that all the Christians in the UK or for that matter the Vatican are also fake?. If you assure us otherwise then on what basis? Do you have evidence for either claim.

You might want to look up the "No true Scotsman" fallacy btw.

As for 'atheist countries' I'll join with atthestrokeoftwelve in asking you to define that. Atheists are not a group in the way you clearly think. Atheism is simply the lack of belief in your religion. You are atheist in relation to Islam and Paganism and the gods of Asgard I expect.

[atthestrokeoftwelve]

Countries like North Korea are run by a harsh regime which has neither religion or non religion at it's heart.
To suggest that it is the athiesm which shapes and dominates the regime there is laughable.

I do not have a low opinion of people- again your logic is deeply flawed. I have a low opinion of religion.

PS I have read the whole bible, New and old Testament- which I why I see your God as an egotistical, genicidal, jealous, venegful, infant murdering bigot.

[1919]

"I guess you have a low opinion of Nelson Mandela , as he was a Christian?"

Your logical reasoning is absolutely ridiculous.

[bringoutthepringles]

Atthestrokeoftwelve, you are the one cherrypicking. Suggest that you read the whole of the New Testament

Atheist countries include North Korea and China. If you look at the pages for Release International and Christian Solidarity Worldwide, you will see just how intolerant these countries (and countries of some other religious persuasions) are. Whatever you might think, the UK is still a Christian country and I am glad to live here.

I guess you have a low opinion of Nelson Mandela, as he was a Christian?

[atthestrokeoftwelve]

pringles- this cherry picking of the bible is ridiculous.

I also question your idea of an "athiest country"- what does that mean exactly?
Give me some examples.

Athiesm is not a uniting force- athiests are not united ny disbelief as christians are.

Only 6% of people in the UK attend chuch regularly. UK sounds like a pretty good starting point if you are looking for one of those "athiest" countries you wouldn't like to live in.

[bringoutthepringles]

Just because people call themselves Christian does not mean that they are Christian. I can't think of any atheist countries where I would like to live.

On Ephesians "Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing of water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless"-Ephesians 5v 25-27
Men and women are equal, but equality does not rule out having complementary rules or one person taking the lead. In practice, submission and love mean the wife puts the husband's will before her own and the husband puts the wife's interests before his own. Men should not exercise their taking the lead in a self-serving way but one that is loving and sacrificial.
Submission does not mean agreeing with everything your Husband says or acting out of fear as the wife must put Jesus first.

And turning it round, do all atheist men treat their women with love and respect?? Are they all nice to homosexuals?? The Bible says that homosexuallity is wrong but it also says "let he who is without sin cast the first stone".

[BackOnlyBriefly]

bringoutthepringles my point was that you offered Hitler's germany as an example of a non-christian country you'd hate to be in. In fact it was a country almost entirely Christian. A greater proportion than the UK right now. So being a Christian country doesn't mean that it's a nice country at all. It doesn't mean the people will be decent and tolerant. In fact given the numbers of Christians there it would seem that the people committing the atrocities must have been Christian too.

[atthestrokeoftwelve]

Sexism underpins the christian faith- the bible is littered with the ideology that men are superior to women:

Timothy 2:12, : "I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, she must be silent."

Ephesians 5:22, "Wives, submit to you husbands as to the Lord";

Corinthians 14:34 - 35*
34. Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but [they are commanded] to be under obedience, as also saith the law.
35 And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

Genesis 3:16: "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."

1 Corinthians 11:9 - Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man.
Romans 1:27, "In the same way also the men, giving up natural intercourse with women, were consumed with passion for one another. Men committed shameless acts with men and received in their own persons the due penalty for their error."

Yes I have a very low opinion of christianity.

[bringoutthepringles]

I am sorry that you have such a low opinion of Christianity. Unfortunately, even genuine Christians make mistakes and get it wrong and there are others who call themselves Christians but are anything but. Please don't form your views on Christianity based on their mistakes (and the actings of those who pretend to be Christians). Jesus did and has brought light to the world. As for homophobia, intolerance and misogyny, have a look at the passages where the woman is about to be stoned for adultery and the one where Jesus meets the woman by the well.
True Alemci, it is easy for us to say that the German Christians should have done this and that but what would we have done had it been us, where not only we but our loved ones would have been at risk? We don't hear enough about the amazing brave people who spoke out and helped the Jews.

[alemci]

Yes, I do see your point Briefly. Human nature is the way it is. However you did have people like Bonhoeffer a christian who did speak out against the atrocities and was executed. You had Corrie Ten Boon and her father in Holland who hid jews in the war, there was also a priest who sacrificed his life so that a Jewish man could live but not sure of his name.

I know that is only 3 people but still food for thought.

[BackOnlyBriefly]

I only mention it because when people bring up North Korea, China, Hitler and Stalin they are generally saying "it wouldn't have happened if they were Christian". Generally atheists get the blame somehow. No one says "I bet the atheists there were kind, but couldn't do anything about it".

Germany was Christian. Whatever it is about Christianity that's supposed to make the world a better place made no difference whatsoever.

[alemci]

to be fair Back only Briefly, the church did speak out against Hitler and many people were imprisoned. If we lived in fear for our lives, would we have spoke out against Hitler. I think people turned a blind eye as it was dangerous, there was no middle ground and you could disappear in the night. You had no rights.

[atthestrokeoftwelve]

If you mean the christian values that promote homophobia, intolerance and misogyny?

[BackOnlyBriefly]

In 1939 54% of Germans considered themselves Protestant, (including non-denominational Christians) and 40% considered themselves Catholic, with only 3.5% claiming to be neo-pagan "believers in God," and 1.5% atheists. Even Hitler was raised a Catholic.

So that was intolerant christians that time.

[bringoutthepringles]

That is your choice atthestrokeoftwelve but I am very glad to be living in a country founded on Christian values, which on the whole is respectful towards those with different religious beliefs (unlike North Korea, China, Hitler's Germany, Stalin's Russia, Iran, to name but a few)
.

[atthestrokeoftwelve]

I don't have any respect for religion.

[bringoutthepringles]

What about showing some respect towards
people's religious beliefs? You might consider them mild swear words, but to a Christian they are anything but.

[atthestrokeoftwelve]

I don't mind although children are pretty quick to cotton on to words that they can use at home but not at school. Words like poo or bum or god that we use at home but not acceptable at school.
I don't have any reverence towards religion, so I use jesus or god as mild swear words.
No big deal to me.

[bringoutthepringles]

I would be upset too, to hear my young child using blasphemous language (or any bad language), especially if it was picked up from nursery.

[alemci]

I don't like it either or the dreaded Omg which has crept in.

[Housemum]

I personally don't use Jesus or God in swearing terms, I do think it shouldn't be used by teachers (particularly preschool age) but in the same way that they shouldn't say "damn" or any other mild expletive as it is encouraging swearing in its mildest form (mind you, perhaps that's because I remember being sent to spend break with the teacher at infants for saying "drat" because I copied Dick Dastardly from the cartoons!)

OMG in our house is "oh my goodness" so I don't take offence at it being used in magazines/on TV because I choose to use the alternative version.

[BackOnlyBriefly]

In case I didn't say, of course the staff shouldn't be swearing at all, but it would be amazing if a child didn't hear these things from other parents and kids. It's not as though you can prevent them ever knowing the words.

As for normal words that mean something bad to a minority it rather depends on the circumstances. If I knew one person who'd had a bad accident involving a sewing machine then I wouldn't mention sewing in front of them at all. In other words the actual word doesn't matter. I just don't want them to feel bad.

On the other hand if the local Creationist Society told me not to use the word evolution then I'd tell them to get stuffed.

Saying 'jesus' or 'damn' or whatever when you hit your thumb with a hammer is somewhere in between. Given how much the church insists on our Christian heritage and that the taxpayers have to help support Christianity I have to say they are our words as much as theirs and I'll use them when it suits me.

[specialsubject]

your job to teach your child what words can be used and when, and that she mustn't repeat everything she hears.

this is only the beginning.

[ErrolTheDragon]

I believe that every single poster on this thread can agree to that.
I'd have thought so. It doesn't really sound from what the OP described as though her DD had picked it up from a single accidental occurrence.

[PedroYoniLikesCrisps]

If someone found apple offensive I really wouldn't be worrying myself about not using it around them. But then again I wouldn't expect a teacher to use the word apple as a profanity.