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

[NathLines]

I only say it because it sounds funny. I even go further and say "Oh, ye gods!" It has nothing to do with religion.

 

[Padwolf]

To be honest I don't know, it's just how I've said it since I was little, to be honest I wasn't aware that many more people did it. Plus there are many Gods, why not call out all of them at once and avoid confusion/possibly offending someone in some way.

 

[gasmaskangel]

Its an affectation I picked up from the Discworld novels more or less unconsciously.

 

[maxben]

snip

I say both because they are exclamations that come out without thinking. Why does it bother you too the point that you would start a thread about it? This thread seems to say more about you then people who use the latter or former.

 

[lemby117]

I believe Hinduism is polytheistic. I'm not to read up on it though, so I may be wrong. Also it's not nearly as huge outside of India, but because India is such a massively populous country Hinduism is often counted among one of the most popular religions in the world.

Hinduism and Buddhism are both poly-theistic (at least some Buddhism as previously mentioned). But Hinduism is becoming more far reaching. It may not be in name itself but its teachings have been. Yoga is generally derived from the teachings and practices of Hinduism. So though just because you partake in Yoga you aren't of the Hindu faith, the teachings of spirituality and cleansing the mind and body are derived from it. Most of the breathing techniques and even the chanting are from Hinduism.

OT, part of it may include the recent increase in Norse culture/religion/myth in the recent past. If a person wants to call out to a "God" they don't particularly believe in, it may as well be ones you find more interesting the the current sect. Don't know, never heard it just a guess.

Have people in America not heard of Hinduism? Apart from Christianity its like the first religion people here in the UK learn about.

OT: Haven't encountered this myself always thought it was a joke in any series that featured more than one god.

 

[Evonisia]

I think it's being used ironically myself. I don't think that "Oh God" is particularly offensive or anything so I just use Oh God or Oh My God.

A lot of christians would say that "Oh god" is blasphemous.

The other saying would be "Don't take the Lord's name in vain". Of course you could always respond that the Christian God's name isn't God. God's just another word for the term 'deity'.

 

[BlackStar42]

I say it because as an atheist, I figure if I'm going to reference one deity I don't believe in, I may as well reference all of them.

 

[Froggy Slayer]

I often yell 'By the Nine Divines!' when something shocks me. Don't know why. Sometimes, it's just 'GOOD GOD'.

 

[Asmundr]

For me its is because I truly believe in Gods, nature spirits, and ancestors. Saying "Oh God", "God" or some other variation becomes a bit tricky. Which god am I referring to? Odin, Thor, Freyr? While for me its not something about religion but identification. I had something like this discussion happen once when I was out with friends and used the exclamation "Gods!". This drew some eyebrows and I was asked why do I say that, was it because it was different or because of fantasy, etc. I explained that if I had said "God!" what would they have thought to which a man said Christian.

But I am not Christian. By saying variations of "Gods" I am trying to identify myself as something other and especially so where I live, southern Texas. I don't get much flak from folks save the highly religious Central American and Latino Catholics.

So' Gods willing, you now know about why folks say the plural instead of the singular. I can't speak for everyone but for some its because they wanted to be identified as something else religiously. Other wanted the extra flavor. Other still because they watch enough fantasy settings for it to be picked up lol

I know the latter can happen. I watch to much BBC and have started picking up some phrases xD

 

[Agayek]

I don't say "gods" myself, but I do believe it's to avoid any confusion of religious beliefs. It makes sense at least, considering no major modern religions are polytheistic (to my knowledge). It's just a theory though, I still say "Oh god" and "Jesus" a lot and I'm as atheist as you can get.

Hinduism, Shinto, and (I think) Wicca are polytheistic. I'm not sure I'd count any of them but Hinduism as major, but they're also not insignificant.

 

[darron13]

I'm atheist, but I say it as a joke in reference to the Nine Divines from the Elder Scrolls games.

 

[Technocrat]

I say "Oh, Ford!" or "Thank Ford for that!"

It's a reference to my favourite book.

 

[frizzlebyte]

I always suspected that it was a way to make it less offensive, a la "gosh," but with a comical twist, but it looks like a lot of atheists use it as a way to distinguish themselves from Christians.

Which is a little odd IMHO, but alrighty. I've actually never cared what people thought my religion was. If they get it wrong I can just tell them otherwise or let it drop.

 

[Chaos Isaac]

Well. It adds a bit of variety to the saying. It may be also referencing some of their favorite lore or series that has multiple gods, or a joke.

Or, they just say it for the heck of it.

 

[loc978]

For me, it springs out of a desire to remove christianity from my colloquial phrases. I didn't start using "gods", "jeebus" and the like until the dubya administration, when religion started really going mainstream in US politics.

Not that I have any issue with folks following their chosen religion (so long as they study the thrice-damned thing instead of just letting preachers tell 'em what to believe... sometimes I feel like I'm a better christian, muslim, jew and wiccan than most people who follow such religions... through sheer force of actual literacy), I just want religion out of politics. It's really screwing up our financial sectors.

So I say the more people who marginalize religion in their daily speech, the better. No offense meant. My beef isn't with any religion, it's with religious people who have never read a verse from their own book without being directed to it at a religious gathering.

...also, I started using "seven hells!" back when I started reading A Song of Ice and Fire.

 

[Lovely Mixture]

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

I often yell 'By the Nine Divines!' when something shocks me. Don't know why. Sometimes, it's just 'GOOD GOD'.

Guys! It's "By the Eight" now. Do you WANT the Thalmor to kill us all? You know they have spies everywhere.

 

[TrulyBritish]

I tend to use "Oh gods" as opposed to "Oh God", though both is fine. It's not religious, as I'm atheist and don't believe in any god yet.
So for me, long story short, it's not really important. It's just something I say, and it really makes no difference to me whether it should be God or Gods.