Saying "Oh gods" instead of "Oh god" ...Why?

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

Not quite the same, but I occasionally use the phrase "Ye gods" (should probably be said The rather than Ye) as an exclamation. I imagine it's a contraction of "By the gods" or possibly it's "You gods" as in expressing surprise at the mischief that the capricious gods of mount Olympus have visited upon humanity. I tend to pick up archaic phrases that I find amusing and that's one of them.

OT: never said Oh gods in my life. Despite being an atheist I usually come out with "Oh my days" rather than oh god, probably because I spent a fair bit of time in my teenage years around 2nd gen Jamaican immigrants who had similar modes of speech to parents and grandparents.

 

[Realitycrash]

Because I like the literary-connotations that it carries? It simply SOUNDS better to me. If I want to be melodramatic or exasperated I sigh, throw my hands in the air and cry out 'Oh gods'. In the same way I would cry out 'LORD what fools these mortals be!'.

 

[Vrach]

I don't, but... I guess it sounds better to some people or in some situations? It's as much of a phrase as "oh god" is, it's just that the latter is more frequently used. It's not something that changed, it's something that was, for all intents and purposes, "always" there.

Also, I doubt it has anything to do with religion. The difference there will be from "oh God" to "oh god" - religious people will or should capitalise the g I think. Also, "gods" is polytheistic, whereas you seem to be referring to atheists and they have no reason to associate themselves with a polytheistic religion rather than a monotheistic one.

 

[Godhead]

Though I do wear a mjlonir necklace whenever I go out, causes alot of people to think I'm some christian burning pagan. I just wear it as a good luck charm well that and I like viking metal so... gotta rock the style.

My player. Got one myself, course last time I went to paganfest most everyone had one.

OT: I dunno, sounds a bit less serious to me and some people might use it to differentiate themselves from a monotheistic religion or something.

 

[rob_simple]

Since I don't believe in any of them, using the singular or the plural makes no difference really; it's just a word to express surprise.

Personally, I prefer 'oh crumbs' or the classic, 'oh bother'.

 

[Lieju]

Also, I doubt it has anything to do with religion. The difference there will be from "oh God" to "oh god" - religious people will or should capitalise the g I think. Also, "gods" is polytheistic, whereas you seem to be referring to atheists and they have no reason to associate themselves with a polytheistic religion rather than a monotheistic one.

Well, a lot of atheists live in places where the monotheistic religions are the majority.

I'm an atheist, and it's pretty weird how often religious people assume atheists actually believe in (their) God but pretend not to. Because of Evil, I guess?

People have seriously made the argument at me that if someone says 'oh God' it's a sign of believeing in God.

I generally use the phrase 'Sweet Cthulhu', personally.

 

[Kathinka]

they are obviously pagan vikings! beware, you might be sacrificed to the thunderer if you appear weak.

seriously though, maybe it's to avoid "blasphemy" *heavy eye rolling* for christians? i remember when i was in the state that i got subjected to some "don't take the lords name in vain" fundamentalist bs..

 

[HellbirdIV]

I use it occasionally for the sake of variety, since I don't strictly believe in any particular deity/deities.

 

[CriticalMiss]

You could always say 'By the Nine!' and earn some geek-cred.

And I think people say 'oh gods' because if you're going to reference fictional characters you might as well reference some that are interesting. Plus some religionists might organise a witch-hunt if you use their imaginary friend's name in vain whilst they're around. That's usually not fun unless you love bonfires.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Well...it happens that the singular God that you'd be referring to does have supremacy in most of the West, which certain people are concerned with. It's a minor thing, but it resists the implication that one must be Christian, which is an attitude which is very strong in some parts.

(Yes, Christianity isn't the only monotheistic religion, but it's what the phrase usually refers to)

 

[Catfood220]

Maybe it's from watching too much game of thrones?

Coming into this thread, I thought it was going to be about Battlestar Galactica because the human survivors worship multiple Gods and often use phrases like "oh Gods" while the Cylons worship just the one God.

I'm slightly disappointed.

 

[Zantos]

To be honest I think people use it as a reference. We say "Oh God" in the real world because of the current dominance of monotheistic religions. It makes sense that in fiction with polytheistic dominance they'd use the plural. Then people hear it, think it's quite interesting, and use it in real life. Something which I don't do, but can't really blame them for since I can't go more than a few hours without making a reference.

So yeah, I think it's mostly used in reference, particularly since "Oh God" and "Jesus Christ" are used so frequently with no religious meaning attached to it.

 

[BartyMae]

It seems less offensive to me. But perhaps that's just a result of my upbringing. *shrug*

 

[Angelous Wang]

Maybe it's from watching too much game of thrones?

Coming into this thread, I thought it was going to be about Battlestar Galactica because the human survivors worship multiple Gods and often use phrases like "oh Gods" while the Cylons worship just the one God.

These.

I would defiantly say it's just a side effect from watching to much TV and movies. And maybe video games too.

In Fantasy, Sci-fi, Amine and things set in the past (300, Spartacus ect) very often there are multiple gods that come up somewhere. And you hear people say "oh gods" or "by the gods" in these shows/films all the time.

Then it's just a case of monkey see, monkey do.

I bet if you actually asked them anyone you heard say it would ether tell you they only actually believed in one or no gods.

 

[Angie7F]

I wasnt aware of this phrase but I can see why that can happen.
A lot of christians would say that "Oh god" is blasphemous.
To me it is jsut a phrase but i am sure many people shange it or not use it at all to reflect their religious stand point

 

[Ed130 The Vanguard]

I say it because I like to keep my options open just in case some random deity is looking in at the time.

 

[somonels]

Or it's just a reference to the holy trinity. But no, americans - as seen by others - usually worship just the personification of jesus and generally have no clue about the texts, philosophy or nature of religion.
But what do I know, I'm one of the Hedoneus people on earth.

 

[Wereduck]

Maybe it's from watching too much game of thrones?

- snip -

I would have guessed Battlestar Galactica myself. The colonials are polytheistic and the cylons are monotheistic so saying "oh god" is a good way to get yourself spotted as a cylon infiltrator.

I've always enjoyed the exclamation "Ye gods and little fishes!" so it's always "ye gods" for me.

 

[trollnystan]

This is something I've heard both online and IRL, and I've really begun to wonder about it lately. There are some people who say "Oh gods" instead of "Oh god," and it just makes me wonder...why? I am a Christian, but to me "Oh god" is simply a phrase to express something like surprise or dread. I don't really think of it as a very religious term, just as I don't think of "mother fucker" as a phrase that is specifically addressing somebody's mother. I understand the phrase will always be slightly religious in nature because it has the word "god," but in its modern usage it's rarely used to make any sort of theological statement.

I never really thought much about it until I started hearing people say "Oh gods" instead of "Oh god." And I just wonder...does it really matter to people that much? Do they think their religious beliefs will be confused or misinterpreted if they use the phrase? I don't think anybody assumes you believe in the Abrahamic God or any sort of monotheistic deity simply by saying "oh god." In fact, simply using the phrase more often sends the message you aren't religious, as conventions still hold that religious people tend to not use "offensive" language or casually invoke their god's name. To me, it feels like taking a phrase which has pretty much lost any religious connotations it once had and adding back in religious connotations, and for no reason at all. It's just a phrase people say, like "Bless you" when people sneeze. I don't think most people assume you are actually performing some sort of rite to bless them if you happen to say "bless you" after someone sneezes. Or "speak of the devil."

I know a few of you out there say this, so I'd just like to ask why? What made you change the phrase? Why is the distinction important to you? I've also noticed some people who will say something like "Oh god (who I don't believe in)." Again, if you are one of the people that says this, why is making this distinction so important? Is that really a problem you have frequently faced, people assuming you are a theist just because you use the phrase "Oh god?" It just seems like a really unnecessary non sequitur. It would be like a religious person saying "Speak of the devil (who I don't worship because he is evil)."

I have an non-denominational Christian American friend who absolutely HATES it when people say "Oh my God" or "Jesus Christ". This means I, raised as a blasphemous Irish Catholic and in the Swedish culture of use ALL the swears, have had to stop using them completely so as not to slip up in front of her out of respect for her beliefs. She thinks it's disrespectful and against the 10 Commandments if you're a Christian, and disrespectful towards her religious beliefs if you're not.

She does say that if you have a well thought out argument to WHY you use those particular sayings she'd accept that, but I seriously doubt she would. She's VERY set in her ways on this. Saying that you're not using it to refer to any god makes her ask "Then why say god? Why not say something else that wouldn't insult my faith?" Etc, etc. I'm not good at debating so I just go with it. Therefore I don't say "oh my gods" either, because I'm agnostic, not pantheistic, and she'd probably have a problem with that too. FRIENDSHIP MAN.

I'm surprised she hasn't had an aneurysm from living in the "oh my god" capital of the world, AKA Sweden.

 

[Davey Woo]

Well considering there are multiple faiths therefore multiple 'versions' of god, and some individual faiths with many gods. I'm surprised it's not more common that people says oh gods, instead of oh god. It's possibly also people trying to sound a bit different but obviously with loads of people doing it, it's not any different at all.

I personally prefer to use oh for fucks sake. Because I get to say the word fuck and that makes me happy.