After a brief google session, I found very little on how to express yourself in a secular way...
I thought that it might be worth a new thread...
Language is ripe with religious references, so it actually becomes hard to avoid saying words like "God" or "Jesus".
Especially when participating at baptisms, weddings and funerals. But also in everyday expressions.
But there must be an endless supply of secular ways to express more or less the same meaning but without the religious references and the hypocritical implications they bring with them.
A couple of examples I can think of at the moment of writing:
"I'll pray for you" - "My thoughts are with you"
"She is in a better place now" - "I'm sorry for your loss"
But there must be so much more to express sympathy, compassion, sorrow, happiness, etc.
Anyone have anything to contribute with?
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When someone sneezes - "Cover your nose and mouth , please "
" I'm praying for you " - " I'm thinking of you"
"She's in a better place now " - "How are you holding up ? "
"Everything happens for a reason" - "Why did this happen?"
When a child asks :"Where did we come from ?" - "We are star dust. The universe made us"
A very good point. I've been talking about the need to take language back for years. Children are taught to replace words implying superstition with words that have been "normalized" in youth. For instance, children are taught to dismiss all other superstition as mumbo jumbo, but regard religious superstitions seriously. Witches and soothsayers are myths but the "Holy Ghost" or a 15th century warlord sent by god are to be considered plausible, likely, or even "truths". We are taught to laugh at people chanting incantations, but "praying" is normalized and to be regarded as entirely rational. Here are other examples...
Religions = cults
Theology = mythology
Sacred, oaths = belonging to god or beyond question.
We should put all this religious verbal garbage into normal speech...
Matthew 7:12, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets" is simply The Golden Rule - treat others as one would wish to be treated.
Imagery too is important. Compare how these images look to us compared with a believers view of them...
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=christians+praying&rlz=1C1EODB_enGB540...
https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=the+hajj+images&espv=2&rlz=1C1EODB_enG...
It is not just religion. "Legal highs" are usually products that aren't legal. I call them e-highs or 'experimental highs' as people die from these poisons and criminals thrive on them. There are young girls called Isis and Isil, so I call 'Islamic State' Da'esh.
And we should be careful of our speech in everyday life too. How we speak and write tells people something about us, or at least affects how they view us.
Who should i talk to during sex?
Your partner.
LOL!
Well ...of course......
........if there is a phone handy !
10 points...that's funny.
God and your partner might not be necessarily mutually exclusive for you. :)
End of comment 2: "And we should be careful of our speech in everyday life too. How we speak and write tells people something about us, or at least affects how they view us."
Comment 3: "Who should i talk to during sex?"
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"Have a blessed day" - "Live long and prosper"
"Take this, all of you, and eat of it ; for this is my body which will be given up for you . Take this, all of you, and drink from it ; for this is the chalice of my blood..." - " A jug of wine , a loaf of bread , and thee"
“The Lord Never Gives You More Than You Can Handle” - " I'm fucking overwhelmed ! A little help over here !"
"It's all part of God's plan."- " Your going to be waiting here for awhile." Or (perhaps not exactly like this) "I'm not gonna lie, this shit looks bleak."
I’ve been thinking about this thread …… and something has occurred to me ….. now please bear with me … it will make sense … I think….
The English language is literally littered with terms and phrases that we all use without thinking about them …..
“At a loose end…”
“Money for old rope…”
“Freeze the balls off a brass monkey…”
“Going off half cocked…”
“Flash in the pan…”
“Cash on the nail…”
“Lock stock and barrel…”
“Pull the wool over your eyes…”
“to ride roughshod…”
“Hoisted by ones own petard…”
“Down a peg or two…”
Etc, etc….
Now the examples I’ve shown above are all “secular” in origin (deliberately so..)
The have their origins in the military ,the Navy ,trade/commerce and many other areas of life ….. however they all have one thing in common…..(with each other as well as with the “built in” sayings taken from various religions) …..
they are all obsolete/obsolescent ….. they refer to past/passing practices…they are “quaint” ,archaic ,passé .
In short…they belong to the past ,they are history.
It might make some of the “religious” that we come across in our daily dealings, think a little if we begin to point this out to them.
If we meet “she’s in a better place now” with say ,” how quaint…people actually still say that “..
Or perhaps…”its all part of Gods plan” with “My word…! That’s an old chestnut….. are you Amish?”
Just a thought.
The wondering Wiseman returns, with words of wonderful (and, to a degree, whimsical) wisdom.
That is actually a really good idea on how to respond to such comments.
"they are all obsolete"
Just because something is old, does not mean it is wrong or that it should be changed.
I actually love my heritage and sayings that come from there that impact some aspects of life.
Of course some of the religious sayings can offer an opportunity for a pun.
This is my take on those:
”its all part of Gods plan” reply= Yeah you are right, he does what he wants anyway.
“she’s in a better place now” reply= Yeah you are right, wonder why no one wishes to join her?
“she’s in a better place now” reply= Yeah you are right, would you like to switch with her?
A secular blessing of the meal : " For the food we are about to receive we thank the farmers , merchants , and cooks. Oh Man !"
I use to have an obnoxious neighbor whom has since moved (thank nature!).He actually posted on Facebook "Thank God, money and OU football." He use to say that all the time. It was irritating to say the least, and it perfectly described him as a person.
1) "Thank god" He was an uneducated brainwashed superstitious moron.
2) "Thank money" He was obsessed with money, flaunting it, spending it, wishing for it...etc!
3) "Thank OU football" If you have ever met an OU fan you have met a complete asshole. They can't just want their team to do well, they have to hate everyone and everything else that isn't OU football....JERK!
Back to this asshole. He would yell at me if I uttered "Goddamnit!" as if he had the right to tell me what I could or could not say. Therefore I made sure I said it everytime I was around him, as well as cut down OU. When ever he came to the defense of OU, I would reply "You never went there, you didn't even attend college."
So what I am getting to is what I catch myself saying all the time.
1) "goddamnit"
2) "jesuschrist!"
To me these ARE secular statements because I say them as often as "son-of-a-bitch" and for the same reasons.