Write4U - 28 December 2011 03:41 PM

garythehuman - 28 December 2011 03:20 PM

Okay group;  What’s your reaction to God Damn It; particularly if you just pounded your thumb with a hammer or some such.

I might feel insulted that you put the blame on god. It was your stupidity that caused the mishap…....

Yes,but then one of the reasons we created god is so that we would have something, besides ourselves, to put the blame on.

ExMachina - 17 December 2011 11:06 PM

Some people obviously need to take a chill pill.

Agreed

Write4U - 17 December 2011 11:00 PM

ExMachina - 17 December 2011 10:00 PM

Some Atheists find it offensive when a creationists says God Bless to them. I understand that it may not be within the realm of the Atheists beliefs, but the Creationists saying it isn’t doing it out of malice, so I really can’t see why they’d let it bother them so much. So my question is, does it bother you when someone says “God Bless You” to you? If so, why?

It does not bother me at all. Any expression of “good will” or “gratitude” in recognition of a person’s good character or good deeds must be accepted graciously. It is the intent of the wish, not how it is expressed, which IMO is the primary consideration.

This is pretty much my point of view on the issue. From the perspective of the creationists, he’s/she’s wishing good fortune. I think the problem is that Atheists that make big issues out of these small things only justify the stereotype in peoples minds that all Atheists are pissed off. It’s fair to say, to end this negative connotation, Atheists (in general) really should be more selective on the battles they choose to fight.

There are some situations where it irks me, but in gratitude, I don’t mind it.  If I do something nice for an old lady and she gives me a “well god bless you, son,” I’m not going to take offense.  On the other hand, if I’ve just finished disagreeing with someone and they end it with a curt “well god bless you,” I’ll take offense to that.  I feel like religious folk sometimes use it as a “last stab” to gain some kind of authoritative or moral high ground or to impress their religion onto me.  Substitute the latter with “you can enjoy Hell” and there’s really no difference in the message.

Most of the time it’s just a mental *facepalm* for me, and I let it slide….. I’m from Canada though.

egran078 - 17 January 2012 03:08 PM

ExMachina - 17 December 2011 11:06 PM

Some people obviously need to take a chill pill.

Agreed

Write4U - 17 December 2011 11:00 PM

ExMachina - 17 December 2011 10:00 PM

Some Atheists find it offensive when a creationists says God Bless to them. I understand that it may not be within the realm of the Atheists beliefs, but the Creationists saying it isn’t doing it out of malice, so I really can’t see why they’d let it bother them so much. So my question is, does it bother you when someone says “God Bless You” to you? If so, why?

It does not bother me at all. Any expression of “good will” or “gratitude” in recognition of a person’s good character or good deeds must be accepted graciously. It is the intent of the wish, not how it is expressed, which IMO is the primary consideration.

This is pretty much my point of view on the issue. From the perspective of the creationists, he’s/she’s wishing good fortune. I think the problem is that Atheists that make big issues out of these small things only justify the stereotype in peoples minds that all Atheists are pissed off. It’s fair to say, to end this negative connotation, Atheists (in general) really should be more selective on the battles they choose to fight.

There are some situations where it irks me, but in gratitude, I don’t mind it.  If I do something nice for an old lady and she gives me a “well god bless you, son,” I’m not going to take offense.  On the other hand, if I’ve just finished disagreeing with someone and they end it with a curt “well god bless you,” I’ll take offense to that.  I feel like religious folk sometimes use it as a “last stab” to gain some kind of authoritative or moral high ground or to impress their religion onto me.  Substitute the latter with “you can enjoy Hell” and there’s really no difference in the message.

Most of the time it’s just a mental *facepalm* for me, and I let it slide….. I’m from Canada though.

I agree, if the wish is “God bless you” (unspoken: “you need it”), I also take offense.

dougsmith - 18 December 2011 07:43 AM

ExMachina - 17 December 2011 10:00 PM

Some Atheists find it offensive when a creationists says God Bless to them. I understand that it may not be within the realm of the Atheists beliefs, but the Creationists saying it isn’t doing it out of malice, so I really can’t see why they’d let it bother them so much. So my question is, does it bother you when someone says “God Bless You” to you? If so, why?

It sounds a little strange to me, but it’s not something I care about. As you say, it’s not done out of malice, anymore than is “Merry Christmas” or what have you. For my own part, when someone sneezes I say “gesundheit”, or “salud” in Spanish, which means the same thing.

One quibble: not all Christians or theists are “creationists” in the standard sense of believing in creationism instead of evolution.

I’m glad I’m not the only one who says, “Salud”.