swearing God's name in vain, should it be banned from public schools? Options

[iwalkbackwards]

That wouldn't be fair, because kids who don't believe in God, or believe in something else, they wouldn't be offended by "Oh my god" and it wouldn't be fair to punish them for saying it. :-/

[*iNyCxShoRT*]

I wonder why people don't just say "Oh my gosh" or "Oh my goodness" or even "Oh good gracious" it's less offensive xD

[*xcaitlinx*]

When I read the title of this topic, I cringed. It brings back memories when my math teacher would yell at me every single time the words "oh my god..." slipped from my mouth. He had the nerve to tell me that it's 'inappropriate'. I replied: " I don't believe in God. " And he didn't say anything. I could care less what his christian ass thinks of me, because i can say whatever i want whether it offends him or not.

No, it should not be banned from school. That's completely stupid. All because it offends ONE religion, doesn't mean that a freakin law should be made. That's like saying that you can't say " Go to Hell! ". There are tons of smart remarks that offend people of all different types of races, cultures, and religions....banning a phrase is simply going over the edge.

[hardbodyactiv]

Damn those Evangelical Christian nuts. Don't forget that these are the loons who basically run the USA and what is their most fervent desire?...the Tribulation, followed by the Rapture when 'they' are going to be saved. Fekk the rest of us.

Some of them will do anything to bring back Jaeeezzzus.

So OH MY GOD!!!...I hope that's offensive enough for you because I find YOU offensive. Oh, and your religion is not the dominant religion, only in America....until the moslems take over.



Peace Out

[XoJennaoX]

I really don't see the big offense here....if it wasn't for that pointless first commandment....

if anyone should be getting offended here it should be God!....nobody else has the authority to...LoL

But seriously...Who is it really hurting? Does that make me a "bad" person for saying it? Should we also ban ALL casual (but possibly offensive phrases) like "eff you" ..."you suck"...."you look ugly as hell"? Now I think those are the phrases that are capable of hurting someone's feelings...not "oh my god" < ----- may be offensive to some, but as least it is not MEANT to hurt someone. It is not used as a direct insult to someone's beliefs in another words.

[jue]

i wouldnt mind if the word god was banned ecause even if i am not religiousi know that when your saying oh my god itslike your saying it to god; so i guess you can jsus replace teh word god with GOSH

[azn_r4pf4n]

So OH MY GOD!!!...I hope that's offensive enough for you because I find YOU offensive. Oh, and your religion is not the dominant religion, only in America....until the moslems take over.

hmmm... i thought i stopped debating in this topic. Me, offensive? I'll leave that part with no comment, but i have posted a page ago that i finally agree with everybody who disagreed with me.

all right, i haven't came to this debate in a while, but yall convinced me manz..

it's really impossible trying to ban it. try making a new years resolution to try your best to avoid swearing God's name in vain. yep; it's hard. Took me lots of months too.

--------

as i said b4, im convinced that it's impossible for it to be banned.

Vain means meaningless. Everybody who disagrees with me is correct in a sense. I started this debate because I didn't want people to use that term in a meaningless way. Society uses that term so much it sounds so meaningless. I now realize that I'm not gonna go around and start suggesting something like banning it because nobody is perfect. I'll admit, I had accidently said it before.

I don't know what you want to do about the debate, but I'm certainaly not debating in this topic no more.

[rOckThISshYt]

There's probably no point in saying this because I'm sure it's been said before, but I will anyway.

Whether banned or not, it really doesn't matter. Curses are banned from public schools but since when was the last time someone told you they don't curse because their school didn't permit it? I mean, most people will say it either way. I have said curses directly in front of teachers because I've been angry enough. If I feel disrespected then I will curse whomever I want out and that's why I cursed in front of a teacher without caring about the punishment because I never regreted what I said.

The point it:
People are going to say what they want to whether there's a rule against it or not. So it's pretty pointless to ban it. Although, one of my teachers last year told this kid not to say it because it "personally offended him."

[yupimchuck]

I don't think it should be.
One, because there's a freedom of speech.
And Two, Because It's not necessarily cursing.

&So what a kid said god.
Whos it hurting?

&A kid may not believe in god. So they should be allowed to say it.

[*CrackedRearView*]

I don't think it should be.
One, because there's a freedom of speech.
And Two, Because It's not necessarily cursing.

&So what a kid said god.
Whos it hurting?

&A kid may not believe in god. So they should be allowed to say it.

Okay. So then the next time I feel the need to go and degrade a Jewish kid because I don't believe in Judaism, that's acceptable? The next time I want to stomp on the pride of someone who believes in Buddha, that's okay because I don't agree with Buddhism?

You have to draw the line somewhere with this freedom of speech banter. Who says it's not necessarily cursing?

Under the rules of Christianity, you are to refrain from using God's name in a negative context. Committing that foul would be equivalent to me saying "Buddha was a two-cent hooker" or the "Dalai Lama was stupid."

Under this logic, if I thought the cause for the women's suffrage movement was stupid, and the Civil Rights movement was pointless, I could run around town throwing verbal jabs at women and blacks because I didn't agree with their cause?

It's like this teenage necessity to stomp all over someone's pride. Two more years and I'll be proud to say I don't reside in the teenage group anymore.

It's called common courtesy. Just because you may feel you're too above Christianity to abide by one of its simple rules (that asks very little of you), doesn't mean you couldn't oblige for the sake of being a good person and not hurting someone's feelings.

If you can't even do that, then it's really sickening to know just how hurtful some people can be.

[Spirited Away]

It's called common courtesy.  Just because you may feel you're too above Christianity to abide by one of its simple rules (that asks very little of you), doesn't mean you couldn't oblige for the sake of being a good person and not hurting someone's feelings.

It needn't be the Christian God being called in vain. The phrase "oh, MY god" owns a certain possessive pronoun that makes it ridiculous for someone else to feel hurt. Calling to my god/Creator, shouldn't hurt any Christian's feelings...

Common courtesy, indeed. If it's my god that I'm calling, too, and I can't even do that because some Christians feel it's hurtful to them, then Christians would the ones violating courtesy.

[*kryogenix*]

The point it:
People are going to say what they want to whether there's a rule against it or not. So it's pretty pointless to ban it.

Great. There's laws against murder, but people break those laws all the time. So it's pretty pointless to ban murder, huh? [/sarcasm]

[Spirited Away]

Great. There's laws against murder, but people break those laws all the time. So it's pretty pointless to ban murder, huh? [/sarcasm]

She could mean something like Prohibition. A lot of good that did.

[sadolakced acid]

Okay.  So then the next time I feel the need to go and degrade a Jewish kid because I don't believe in Judaism, that's acceptable?  The next time I want to stomp on the pride of someone who believes in Buddha, that's okay because I don't agree with Buddhism?

You have to draw the line somewhere with this freedom of speech banter.  Who says it's not necessarily cursing?

Under the rules of Christianity, you are to refrain from using God's name in a negative context.  Committing that foul would be equivalent to me saying "Buddha was a two-cent hooker" or the "Dalai Lama was stupid."

Under this logic, if I thought the cause for the women's suffrage movement was stupid, and the Civil Rights movement was pointless, I could run around town throwing verbal jabs at women and blacks because I didn't agree with their cause?

It's like this teenage necessity to stomp all over someone's pride.  Two more years and I'll be proud to say I don't reside in the teenage group anymore.

It's called common courtesy.  Just because you may feel you're too above Christianity to abide by one of its simple rules (that asks very little of you), doesn't mean you couldn't oblige for the sake of being a good person and not hurting someone's feelings.

If you can't even do that, then it's really sickening to know just how hurtful some people can be.

christians don't own the word god.

when i say,oh my god , i'm not refering to the christian god.

therefore, i'm not breaking any commandments.
therefore, i'm not offending any christians.

[strice]

let's ban everything that anyone finds offensive! brilliant!

[banthisaccountno...]

"oh my god" is already banned from my school district
....

[*CrackedRearView*]

Honestly, Fae and sadolacked -- name one instance when someone you knew, perhaps in high school, or even yourselves said 'Oh, my God' and didn't reference it to the Christian God?

Get real -- that is one weak argument. I can guarantee that 99.98% of the time, especially in the States where the term has been spawned, stamped, and coined for usage, the phrase 'Oh, my God' does not deal with a figure in any other major religion or polytheistic belief.

That sounds a lot to me like a feeble cop-out for your inability to refrain from a habitual pattern of offensive speech.

And yes, to some people, it is offensive.

[sadolakced acid]

oh my god.

if it were oh god, i could see that being a christian god...


but it's oh my god.

so, if a buddhist says this, they aren't refering to buddha? because buddha would be his/her god.

also, the commandment does say, do not take the lord's name in vain, right?

god is not the lord's name.
no one knows the lords name, except that guy in the bible that the giant told had to tell him the lord's name or else he'd throw him to the lions. the giant threw him too high, into the clouds, god told him his name, and he didn't get thrown the the lions.

i'm sorry if that's wrong, it's been a while since i went to a christian school.

sure, they aren't really referring to any god when they say that. they're just saying something they've heard someone else say.
oh my god is not a true refrence to god, but it does(cuturally) point toward the christian god.

however, i fail to see how 'oh my god' can be banned, and students cannot be suspended for saying 'rub the buddha's tummy for good luck! hahaha rub rub rub the buddha's tummy for good luck!'
yea, invoke free speech there.

but the 'oh my god' can't be said? because it might refer to the christian god, and thus might break a commantment, and thus MIGHT offend a christian?

the commandment says 'thou shalt not take the lord's name in vain', correct?
not 'you will not let someone else take the lord's name in vain', not 'you shalt not hear the lord's name in vain'

it is offensive to some people, sure. but it shouldn't be, right? it's not them taking the lord's name in vain.

and if seeing other people break a commandment is so offensive to some people, then why not that first commandment?

thou shalt have no other gods before me?

so, christians should be offended when a nonchristian walks into the room?

it's reasons like these that helped cause the halocaust and the crusades. (i said helped, not sole reasons)

if 'oh my god' can be banned from public schools simply because it offends christians, then why can anyone even speak in a public school? everything is bound to offend someone.

interestingly, i do not use 'oh my god'. no one has told me they're offended by it. but i choose to use 'holy crap' which is a more direct assult on christianity. and still, no one's told me they're offended by it. interesting, eh? that 'holy crap' isn't banned? and that f**k jesus, which is much more offensive, isn't banned?

if you don't want to hear 'oh my god' said, go to a private christian school.
(even though i'll bet you there will be students there who say it too)

[*CrackedRearView*]

Again, honestly -- you cannot sit there and yap on about how you're referring to Buddhism when you say 'Oh, my God'.

Granted the phrase doesn't hurt my feelings, it really does offend many people.

Like I said -- 99.98% of the time the term 'Oh my God' comes from someone who has only been exposed culturally to Christianity.

And I can guarantee you -- more people in high school make jabs at Christians than any other religious belief.

[Spirited Away]

Honestly, Fae and sadolacked -- name one instance when someone you knew, perhaps in high school, or even yourselves said 'Oh, my God' and didn't reference it to the Christian God?

*Raises Hand". I'm an agnostic deist who believes in the Creator, a god, so to speak. In this sense, I do not believe in the Christian version of who God is and isn't. With that being said, I can't fathom how saying "Oh, my God" should offend Christians, when CLEARLY, I am not referring to the Christian God. Christians may assume that such is the case, but their assumptions needn't be right.

Get real -- that is one weak argument. I can guarantee that 99.98% of the time, especially in the States where the term has been spawned, stamped, and coined for usage, the phrase 'Oh, my God' does not deal with a figure in any other major religion or polytheistic belief.

Weak, perhaps, but it is supported by the meaning of a certain possessive pronoun. We're not only dealing with major religions, we must keep in mind that minor religions/beliefs must also be accounted for. The phrase may have originated from an atheistic source, or even a dissatisfied follower of the Christian faith, but that doesn't mean it has the same meaning to everyone else.

That sounds a lot to me like a feeble cop-out for your inability to refrain from a habitual pattern of offensive speech.

I rarely use foul language, but "Oh, my god" has become favored saying when trouble finds me. If you say it is feeble, then I will say it is as feeble as prayers. If prayers work for you, calling to my Creator works for me.

[*CrackedRearView*]

*Raises Hand". I'm an agnostic deist who believes in the Creator, a god, so to speak. In this sense, I do not believe in the Christian version of who God is and isn't. With that being said, I can't fathom how saying "Oh, my God" should offend Christians, when CLEARLY, I am not referring to the Christian God. Christians may assume that such is the case, but their assumptions needn't be right.
Weak, perhaps, but it is supported by the meaning of a certain possessive pronoun. We're not only dealing with major religions, we must keep in mind that minor religions/beliefs must also be accounted for. The phrase may have originated from an atheistic source, or even a dissatisfied follower of the Christian faith, but that doesn't mean it has the same meaning to everyone else.
I rarely use foul language, but "Oh, my god" has become favored saying when trouble finds me. If you say it is feeble, then I will say it is as feeble as prayers. If prayers work for you, calling to my Creator works for me.

Christians may assume that such is the case, but their assumptions needn't be right.

This is where that 99.98%, which is pretty much unrefutable when you take a quick glance at American culture, comes in handy.

I rarely use foul language, but "Oh, my god" has become favored saying when trouble finds me. If you say it is feeble, then I will say it is as feeble as prayers. If prayers work for you, calling to my Creator works for me.

I'm not a Christian, either. However, I do feel the need to defend them in this instance because it would be ridiculous to say that any other minority religion faces as much degradation.

[Spirited Away]

This is where that 99.98%, which is pretty much unrefutable when you take a quick glance at American culture, comes in handy.

But then why must 0.02% suffer from unsupported assumptions?

I'm not a Christian, either.  However, I do feel the need to defend them in this instance because it would be ridiculous to say that any other minority religion faces as much degradation.

I thought that you were. Anyway...

Actually, other religions have had/has it worse. Lest you forget, "heathens", "barbarians", "infidels", "wicked", "unholy", "unprinciple" are all words that was once, if not currently, define a non-Christian. If that is not degradation, then I don't know what is. Also, lets not forget persecutions for believing something not Christian.

[*CrackedRearView*]

But then why must 0.02% suffer from unsupported assumptions?
I thought that you were. Anyway...

Actually, other religions have had/has it worse. Lest you forget, "heathens", "barbarians", "infidels", "wicked", "unholy", "unprinciple" are all words that was once, if not currently, define a non-Christian. If that is not degradation, then I don't know what is. Also, lets not forget persecutions for believing something not Christian.

Good last point, but that tends to direct more toward historical persecution. Nowadays only truly radical Christians sling around terms like 'infidel' and 'heathen'.

It seems pretty clear to me that when someone turns atheist or starts to hate religion (for whatever reason) it directs, 99.98% of the time to Christianity.

[Spirited Away]

Good last point, but that tends to direct more toward historical persecution.  Nowadays only truly radical Christians sling around terms like 'infidel' and 'heathen'.

It seems pretty clear to me that when someone turns atheist or starts to hate religion (for whatever reason) it directs, 99.98% of the time to Christianity.

Darn you and your 99.98%.

[likeachild]

I don't think it's possible
unless you wanna monitor everyone's words with hidden mikes or something