The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #25179   Message #296656
Posted By: McGrath of Harlow
13-Sep-00 - 05:17 PM
Thread Name: theology question
Subject: RE: theology question
My query about Muslims and Jews was an attempt to tease out whether using a holy name when you are swearing is specifically Christian, or more widespread.

Given the God who gets the most public worship these days, maybe we should start swearing by coins and currencies. Well, I suppose we do in a small way - "I don't give a brass farthing". Some currencies give themselves to it - the Russian, with Rouble and Kopek; and there's the Irish unit of exchange of course. But crying out "Almighty Dollar" when you bang your finger - no it wouldn't feel the same. Though there are contexts where saying "it's only money after all" will count as some kind of blasphemy.

I've just done an experiment, because there's a leak in my low attic roof that needed fixing. And I found I tend to say Sh-t Now". (And that dash is because there are hypersensitive guardian programs that don't like words like that, and I wouldn't want to screw up anyone's computer. Oops, I probably just did just that...)

(And Alan of Oz - I swear I heard someone saying "Alan damn nation" the other day, which is clearly a variant on your cookie.)