phrases, sayings, idioms and expressions at

Godsmacks & blasphemy

Posted by Lewis on January 08, 2004

In Reply to: Makes you think... posted by pdianek on January 08, 2004

: : : : : : : : 'America is riven today by a "God gulf" of distrust, dividing churchgoing Republicans
: : : : : : : : from relatively secular Democrats.' (N. D. Kristof, today's New York Times)
: : : : : : : : "God gulf"? Is this a keeper?

: : : : : : : Nice alliteration, but it's not even true. Going to church (which, in fact, I do) doesn't mean one has a meaningful understanding of or closeness to God, or acts in healthy and holy ways outside church walls. But it's something people point to, to differentiate themselves from another. Silly, really.

: : : : : : : Interesting, though, the writer's choice of the word "riven", which is scarcely ever used in the US.

: : : : : : I'm not sure if that phrase has legs. It could have. It is interesting though, both the term and the fact that Republicans seem to be saying that God is on their side. A companion phrase that I found recently:

: : : : : : GODSMACK - "Creationists do generally agree with scientists that minor changes can occur within species over time.(but) they're likely to Godsmack anyone who suggests one creature could morph into another over eons." The Five-Minute Guide to Evolution," Esquire magazine, July 2003.

: : : : : When I listen to most people and organisations who claim God is on their side I gain the impression that God is a bit of a silly old fool if he goes along with the opinions they tend to express. Creationists for example express opinions and make assertions that are so nonsensical as to make a cat laugh while politicians who invoke God's blessing on their enterprises surely don't believe that they can mislead an omnipresent, omniscient, superhuman being with their pathetic scheming. Perhaps they know that God is just a clever little man-made device designed to distract minds and, as such, is a bit of harmless fun in the final analysis.

: : : : I, for one, would be mortally afraid to go around saying that I was speaking for God. But anyway. This thread has inspired me to search for a movie quote that addresses this issue:

: : : : Lurlene: "Imagine your own daddy cutting you out of a will because the Lord called you to the ministry."

: : : : Orville: "Lurlene, how is it that the Lord always calls on you to do something? 'Cause He ain't never said sh*t to me." (Daddy's Dyin'...Who's Got The Will? - 1990)

: : : The source of the above is Freethought Related Movie & TV Quotes at www.foofer.org

: : Interesting site, but it's not surprising that they left out this quote from Sleeper:

: : Luna Schlosser (Diane Keaton): Miles, did you ever realize that God spelled backwards is dog?
: : Miles Monroe (Woody Allen): Yeah, so?
: : Luna: Makes you think.
: : Miles: Yeah.

: : P.S. There's a rock band called Godsmack, although I don't know any of their songs. Now at last I know where they got that name from!

: I like the morphing of "gobsmack" to "Godsmack" -- although is God really in the business of smacking us around? Was it Voltaire who, on his deathbed, refused to accept a priest, saying, "Dieu me pardonnera -- c'est son métier" ("God will forgive me -- it's his job")?

'Godsmack' - to be sure a good one that! I have a Christian faith, but find fundamentalists frightening in their religion. So many of that ilk that I have met do have an internalised persona of "God" that agrees with all their prejudices and is used as an argument-stopper. The discussion-ending, "that's God's word" quoted, or more often mis-quoted, from scripture is, I think, the "Godsmack" referred to in the posting - rather than getting a slap from the Almighty for being a heretic. With such little knowledge that we as mankind possess, for anybody to claim divine support for their scabby self-willed plans is blasphemous. But hey, they have a bit of a plank in the eye about the real nature of blasphemy. Blasphemy is not simply saying 'for God's sake!' in a moment of frustration - misrepresenting God as speaking through them in reinforcement of some prejudice is truly taking the name of God in vain.

The difference between a martyr and a fanatic is that the martyrs endure suffering for their cause, whereas fanatics kill for theirs.

Somebody who exhorts others to kill in the name of religion must be a blasphemer of the deepest-dyed hue, because even if the Ten Commandments are a little old, the spirit of the law is unlikely to directly contradict them and killing people based upon on their (often nominal) religion or even for their lack of a particular badge of faith has just got to be sinful.

Let he who is without sin shoot the first bullet...

(and for the benefit of covenantors, "Sorry pal, being 'under the blood' just don't qualify for THAT test")

© 1997 – 2024 Phrases.org.uk. All rights reserved.