Profanity?

God forbid? It may be profanity, depending its usage. I have used it on occaision, but rarely.

Just because it's in a translation, doesn't necessarily make it appropriate for all audiences. I don't go around using the word "piss", even though "pisseth" is in scripture (KJV) as well. I also don't go around discussing "spilling one's seed", or comparing women's breasts to pomegranites.

Still, what I am sensitive about is not necessarily what I expect others to be sensisive about. When interacting with others, we shouldn't necessarily conform to others' quirks, nor should we require others to conform to ours.

 

The term "God forbid" appears quite frequently in the old chivalry-knighthood stories i've read most of my life...and many of these knights were considered paragons of virtue, even going so far as to leave the room to avoid sneezing in front of a lady. From what I can see, it's a rather strong negative expression, more or less calling upon God to forbid something from happening, which has fallen into almost complete disuse today, the equivalent of "No way, Jose" or similar.

I don't think it's vulgarity. Many people say, "by the grace of God" or "May God do such-and-such" many times every day. However, I respect the opinions of those who DO consider it a misuse of God's name in today's English, according to 1 Corinthians 10.

 

I think russell makes a good point in regards to profanity vs vulgarity. Thanks for touching on that.

 

Context is everything. God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

I keep children in our home. One child told me last week that HIS mother said he couldn't say butt, stupid or idiot but he COULD say 'Oh My God'. NOT IN MY HOUSE... I replied.

Why would 'God forbid', if used in a proper context such as praying a catastrophe not occur be different than saying 'if it's God's will'? Just thinking out loud before I head out to AWANA clubs.

Diane

 

Another fact: "God forbid" is a command and not found in the original language Scripture.

What is found is "May it never Be" without the word for deity.

IMO and to make it proper and align with Scripture (apart from using the English word for deity) one should say "May God forbid" to turn it into a request rather than a command.

HankD

 

I've never said, "Oh, my God!" I've never even had the stomach to say that. (We didn't even use words like, "Gosh," "Darn it", and so on as the heart seemed to be saying the same thing in the context, just with different sounds.) However, I once got in a pretty bad wreck, and I remember crying out, "Oh, God!" in a way not unlike David's crying to God for help. I don't think that was profane or using God's name in vain. I was asking God for his immediate protection over the other three guys in my car. Thankfully, all four of us were able to walk away from a nasty blindside.

 

My mother, who was a good Christian, bless her soul, had a problem and would not let us kids say: "darn", "gosh" and other words. Why? Because she considered them as nothing more than replacement words for "damn" and "gosh" was considered as using "God's name".

I was somewhat shocked when I heard my pastor talking about a situation that occurred and he said it caused "all hell to break loose". To me that would have been considered problematic; however, the more I thought about the situation that he was describing, the more I realized that he was NOT using it as a word of profanity, but as a real and true description of a situation that had caused great problems.

 

I used the phrase "God forbid" here on BB, but I used it in context to exactly something that He forbids in the Bible - to add or take away from His word. I used it as a warning, but it is His warning not mine! Therefore, since God is never wrong and I used it as His very own warning, there is nothing profane about it! I would hardly consider using "God forbid" in context to something that He forbids as offensive.

Praise God!
Deborah

 

But God doesn't say, "God forbid" That's an English translation - forbid nor God is nowhere to be found in the original language.

 

How about that good Mormon phrase, "Oh my heck"? Equally not to be found in the Bible or BOM.

 

heheh!!! Ziggy, I've used that phrase for years. I didn't realize it was a Mormon phrase. I'll likely continue to use it. It typically gets a chuckle out of the crowd!!!

 

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I don't speak Aramaic, Hebrew, or Greek

 

You don't speak 1611 Elizabethan Jacobean English either.

HankD