Watch out what you are saying

[Guest JWEL]

Dear Friends,

Just sharing a disturbing aspect, often on this forum too:

Strange how swear words are disguised with %$#@&*- letters, but oh my god and OMG are used liberally. Surely we all know the consequence of the unnecessary miss-use of this expression?

Wilna

[HansaPlease]

Hello JWEL,

Just a warning - OMG is one of the most common expressions you will hear in everyday life in Australia. On the radio, on TV, in public, in the office, everywhere.

It's just accepted over here - and it's not an expression that's taken in religious context at all, unlike it is in South Africa.

Just thought you should know, because it's either going to disturb you in Aus, or you'll have to get used to it.

[Polyanna]

My sons came home from school and told me that OMG is said by lots of kids and its not considered swearing.

I told them that as we are Christians, that we consider it blasphemous and we will not copy the others.

[Guest JWEL]

Thanx for the warning Hansa Please. I don't think I will ever get used to it and will already resort to Pollyanna's way of tutoring her kids.

Will then have to learn to block my ears and as my father used to say, think of it as if they are swearing on a god you do not know, not the Almighty whom we worship. I consider it a Hollywood-movie type of thing blowing over to everyone.

AND having tolerance with the person, not what they do, maybe. (I do acknowledge my own sins)

[Springbok]

but oh my god and OMG are used liberally

that comes mainly from the USA and Hollywood and spreaded to the rest of the world... two of my colleagues (one Aussie and the other Kiwi) at work also regularly use the words "Jesus Christ" whenever they express surprise or disgust and it irritates the living daylights out of me! I know they do not intend to offend anyone, it's just part of their everyday language, but I cannot stand it.

For quite some time now I've been trying to figure out how to tell them not to use that expression, but finally got my gap 2 weeks ago when I exchanged Bible trivia with another colleague and one of the other guys seemed to be offended by our "religious claptrap" as he called it. Funny how touchy many non-religious people are whenever you talk about religious stuff... anyway, so I used that opportunity to make a polite request via email to all my direct colleagues (and not anyone specific) not to use the JC expression, as it offends me as a Christian. And that I would also respect their wishes if they do not like to hear me discussing religion at work. Surprisingly, the guys actually apologised and said I must tell them whenever they do it again and they will from their side try to respect my beliefs.

It has toned down a bit and whenever I hear them blaspheming, I remind them in a nice way without getting upset and angry. So do not be afraid to stand up for your religious beliefs - most people will respect you for that. As the saying goes, "if you do not stand for something, you'll fall for everything."

[Sam]

We say "oh my goodness". Nobody has a problem with that. Some people believe that God's sacred name is Yahweh, some believe it is Allah. Each to his own then. Aussies generally respect people with different beliefs. Acceptance and tolerance is practiced to a great extend, thank goodness! We are each responsible for how we conduct ourselves in the world.

Sometimes I think that if people did start using God's real name in vain there will be a lot more people struck dead. The OMG thing is just a guilt trip.

[Gizmo]

I use OMG from time to time. But like somebody mentioned, I mean it as "oh my goodness".

[Sam]

I totally agree that you have to open your mouth and say that blaspheme offends you. In a calm, inoffensive manner state how you feel and you may be amazed to see how people jump at it to respect your feelings.

[Guest JWEL]

Thank you everyone for taking part in the discussion. I feared that this thread could have be born dead and I am grateful it's not.

Springbok, your experience is wonderful and like you said:

Surprisingly, the guys actually apologised and said I must tell them whenever they do it again and they will from their side try to respect my beliefs.

I think more people (to whom it apply within their believe) will stop doing it if they are just made aware of it, in a tolerant, calm way.

Edited February 4, 2008 by JWEL

[celeste]

Well done Springbok for taking the God given opportunity to gently rebuke your colleauges. The biblical proverb "he who rebukes a man will receive more favour afterward than he who flatters with the tongue" is so true. I have seen this happen so many times

[Nilo]

Good on you Sprinbok!!!

Hubby has the same at work. He works as a Tradesman. Hierdie ouens kan vloek! He tollerates and even participates but he will never keep quiet if people use God's name in vain. He told one of the appy's the other day, "how can you speak about God if you profess not to believe in Him" that stopped him in his tracks. A good thing about showing that you believe is that people now ask him about religion.

[Are we there Yet?]

The Bible clearly states "Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God.The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name" Exodus 20 verse 7.

Some Australians swear alot and are not shy to use the F word in daily conversation.Women included.I have maintained my Religious beliefs and will not allow my children to speak like that. You need to stand up for your beliefs no matter what country you live in.

JWEL,Springbok and the other people who responded, I for one appreciate you raising this issue it is so important.

[Noddy]

I too noticed the free use of blasphemy here in Oz. I'm one of those people that calls a spade a spade. When i started working here, the first thing i noticed was the misuse of "Jesus Christ". New or not, trainee or not, i let them know there and then that i take offence to blasphemy and i wasn't concerned about any consequences. What totally surprised me was their genuine regret at having offended and not retaliating or anything (that one would normally expect when someone has been pulled up about something.)

And now, if any of them let it slip, my response: "speak, He's listening!"

People here in Oz have a different way of doing things, expressing themselves etc. What we have to accept as Christians, is that we have been sent out as disciples to spread the Word. If we don't use those opportunities and make a stand for Christ, our faith is lukewarm... And we all know how God feels about lukewarm Christians?

[HansaPlease]

Thanx for the warning Hansa Please. I don't think I will ever get used to it and will already resort to Pollyanna's way of tutoring her kids.

No problemo.

I'm not particularly religious, but I do have those South African morals that we were brought up with and it took me a while to get used to it. In fact I still don't like it, but that's what cultural differences are all about.

[Blossom]

Ek myself het niks teen donner en bliksem nie, partykeer kan jy net nie anders nie. Is 'n lekker manier om mense laat luister en in Afrikaans werk dit soms so goed! MAAR, moet asb. nie Die Heer se Naam ydelik gebruik nie. Elke keer as jy Hom roep dan luister Hy en dan het jy niks te se nie.

[Melrie]

Sjoe ....

Sterkte met die aanpassing in 'n ander land waar mense geloofsvryheid aanvaar en nie verwag dat mense hulle geloof op mekaar afdwing nie. Ek vermoed dat dit dalk vir die Aussies en ook baie in Westerse lande baie irriterend kan wees as iemand 'n moral high ground inneem omdat sy of haar god die "enigste en almagtigste" is.

Mense mag se wat hulle wil in 'n vry land - onthou dit. Dit laat my dink aan die Muslims wat so kwaad was oor die Mohammed cartoons .... Die Westerse/ontwikkelde wereld het basies gese: deal with it - ons het hard gewerk vir vryheid van spraak ... En die Muslims aanbid ook volgens hulle die engiste, ware god ....

As jou god dan die regte en enigste een is sal hy/sy jou sekerlik nie straf vir wat 'n ander se nie - dis nou as dit 'n liefdevolle god is wat regverdig is?

Baie sterkte met die aanpassing en frustrasie.

Translation in a nut shell:

Freedom of religion and freedom of speech are two proud aspects of the free world .... get used to it. Everybody who believes in a god, believes that god is the one and only true god. Thus anybody can say 'Oh my god' and this does not mean he/she is referring to your god that you believe in. This equates to taking a moral high ground.

Good luck with adapting and all the frustration.

Edited February 6, 2008 by Melrie

[Nilo]

Melrie, with freedom of speech you have to be able to take it if you want to dish it out!! I refer to the "poofter in Woolies" post, if you are offended by that then you have to accept that others will/might be offended by OMG.

[Guest JWEL]

Thanx Nilo, you put it far better than I could.

It probably depends which country you set foot in. Muslims are very strict on the use of Allah, remember the English teacher last year?

As Christian I am driven to come out for my religious beliefs and on Australian ground I thought that to be the right place to do it. Freedom of speech also comes with responsibilities.

I remember Aus prime minister John Howard's speech last year regarding Australia as christian country and felt save to follow suit to tactfully remind people not to blaspheme, like Hansa Please and a lot supporting it after his reply, has done.

I'll have a "guilt trip" if I don't.

[HansaPlease]

to tactfully remind people not to blaspheme, like Hansa Please and a lot supporting it after his reply, has done.

Nope, not me - you might have misunderstood me.

I'm not a fan of blasphemy, but I don't tell people not to do it, I think that people need to make their own choices.

Probably for the same reason I don't want a muslim person telling me not to eat pork.

In fact, I'd say that that's very much a widespread view here in Aus - people are very tolerant of all religions, as long as they're not forced upon them.

[au3]

Very interesting thread. I think it does not matter where in the world you work, if you are a Christian it is a good thing to stand for what you believe in a non-aggresive manner. I think that way people will start to have more respect for you and what you believe. As christians we are in this world and not of this world. So how can salt have any effect if it doesn't come out of the shaker?

You go guys, let that little light shine!!

Audrey

[Guest JWEL]

Nope, not me - you might have misunderstood me.

Sorry, HanzaPlease, my mind was on something else you wrote. I meant Springbok.

[Gizmo]

Melrie, with freedom of speech you have to be able to take it if you want to dish it out!! I refer to the "poofter in Woolies" post, if you are offended by that then you have to accept that others will/might be offended by OMG.

Nilo - you cannot compare the two cases at all. They really don't have anything in common. The "poofter" post dances the fine line of discrimination, whereas "OMG" is an merely a question of respect others beliefs. Discrimination in this day and age is a dangerous ground to walk, even if the intention was completely innocent and in jest. Discrimination is furthermore unconstitutional and illegal, whereas disparaging somebodies belief is merely rude.

[Guest Mauritz]

The "poofter" post dances the fine line of discrimination, whereas "OMG" is an merely a question of respect others beliefs. Discrimination in this day and age is a dangerous ground to walk, even if the intention was completely innocent and in jest. Discrimination is furthermore unconstitutional and illegal, whereas disparaging somebodies belief is merely rude.

I've been 'on' the forum since September - my first 'peek' at the 'Spiritual Life' section. I'm not a religious person, although I have a thorough religious background, thanks to the NG Kerk. I find this thread interesting.

If I may ask, what is the current Christian stance on:

using the name of God in everyday speech?

on homosexuality?

This is not a trick question - I have my own views - just wondering, as I've not been involved with the Church for a long time. It seems that the views on Apartheid have changed. As a child a teacher suggested that we make 'fishers of people' - that we must go out and spread the Word of God. This was in the Kavango and the target was specifically black people. I thought about this for a while and suggested that we open the school hall and invite all the blacks - the dominee can then do what he does best. I was wacked for that suggestion and later called to the headmasters office - where I was wacked again.

In the defence force, all my troops were non white - on Sundays we didn't go to the same church service. There was one for blacks and one for whites - although the common language in the Caprivi were English.

Later the views of the church changed and black people are suddenly welcome in white churches. Just wondering whether there were similar changes regarding the above questions - from a South African perspective. I know what they were when I was still involved.

[Gizmo]

Sorry Mauritz - I can't answer your questions... (I am not a Christian - I'm an Atheist - probably the only one on the forum)

What I can say is that I am not sure if there is an "official" Christian stance to Homosexuality. Some Churches are accepting and others are not.

You are probably going to get more opinion and individuals beliefs, rather than a holistic answer.

What do the others say?

[Navigator]

If you're a Christian, I do not think it's about what others or the different churches have to say regarding homosexuality, but what The Bible says about it. If you want to make up your mind on this one, read The Great Book. How can the church expect us to follow some parts of The Word, but ignore or change their interpretation of other parts to suit the present frame of mind of it's so-called "believers"?