Blasphemy in Giant Bomb Content

I have noticed that the more I grow in my faith as a christian, the more using the name of God as a form of swearing has bothered me. I love the personalities and games coverage of Giantbomb, but have found that every time this form of swearing occurs the usually permanent smile I have while consuming GB content fades away. I wonder if it is too much to ask of people to tone the use of God's name down in this current society where we are being asked to be inclusive and accepting of everyone's beliefs and lifestyles. There are many words we no longer say because they are offensive to certain people groups or lifestyles, why can't we do the same for God's name.

We are indeed asked to, but luckily I am free to not do what every person is asking of me. Every person that associates with a particular group is so easily offended by anything that I went from being very careful about what I would say, to: fuck it, this is not worth it. I use to get offended by a lot of things and instead of getting upset and frustrated about it I tried to learn to just accept it. You can indeed tell people what to do, but the chances of them actually doing it are slim. Also, you should wonder whether they even should do so to begin with.

As for this thing in particular, I have no problem cursing with God or any other faith based character. I also don't actually think of God when I use it to curse, it just sounds nice and cathartic. Lastly, I think asking not to use a particular name to curse with is very dangerous. Why should I be able to curse Pete but not God?

For me, yes it is too much to ask.

You are making an argument that can never be won. I don't mean that in a way that you are in the wrong. I mean it in a way that at this point you are not going to make 'God' a word that people don't use when they curse.

I don't think atleast asking for this is unreasonable, but I also believe that most of the Giant Bomb crew are set in their ways of speech. It'd be hard to not use swears with religious (christian) context when they're valued as lower impact / less offensive then other swears. Sorry.

And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come.

If the duders have blasphemed, they've committed an unforgiveable sin. No backsies. So maybe just get on with your life happy with the knowledge that they're probably doomed to an eternity of suffering and torment from an all-loving magic man for saying a word in a way he doesn't like.

Except Drew, maybe.

@mac4877: I think this is a matter of direct/indirect offense. Attempts to be more inclusive and accepting are typically focused on peoples that are marginalized based on inherited or personal traits. Things like race, gender, and sex are deeply personally defined while things like religion are much more malleable and universal. Obviously faith is deeply personal to any pious person but it is difficult for me to equate the vain use of "God" to derogatory remarks made against marginalized groups. If they were making remarks that directly referenced religious people then I would be better able to accept the equivalency. Right now I take their use of "God" to be rather nebulous. I say this as a person that is not very religious so I could be off-point in my thoughts.

@joshwent: He's a wizard is what you're saying? Wouldn't he be like a Warlock of some kind? Or a Paladin perhaps.

@joshwent: Hey, I may not share the OP's view either and I'm not religious myself but there's still no cause for insults here; they presented their case in a very civil manner.

I do have to agree with Zevvion here though: while I've heard the defense of the name-using before, I think comparing it to other personally offensive terms here is a little misguided. Words such a racial slurs are much more damaging to a modern society outside of religious considerations.

Because Pete didn't write the ten commandments?

Seriously though, whenever I hear someone saying how concerned they are about the feelings of others, and how we should be more inclusive, and then I hear them using God's name in vain, it's a pretty quick trip for me to the conclusion of hypocrisy. That's not a criticism of the GB Crew, btw. Just a general observation of a lot of different people.

At this point, I've pretty much reached your conclusion. I don't intentionally try to offend anyone, and if someone makes a polite request there are certain words I'll be happy to not use in their company, but otherwise I am who I am. I'm not going to ask anyone to change to suit my beliefs or opinions, and I'll ask that you do the same.

But for anyone who doesn't think that the Giant Bomb crew should change their language to appease a small religious portion of their listening audience, should you ever be about to argue that content in a video game should be changed because some people find it offensive, perhaps just remember that hypocrisy and let it guide you.

While politely asking doesn't hurt, outright calling certain manners of speech "blasphemy" like it's a commonly accepted fact certainly does. I think it's a terrible idea to try to pander to religious ideologies on here. Especially when they're very negative and mostly concerned with long-ass lists of things you shouldn't do and not productive suggestions what you should do to to better your life and the lives of those around you.

If you asked some of the representatives of "my" particular brand of hardcore catholicism ("mine" in the sense that I've been raised that way) even dabbling in video games will condemn you to an eternity burning in hell anyway. Enforcing that kind of spirituality gets very silly very quickly.

Salvation is the ultimate backsies. Seriously though, don't be a jerk. I believe it's a rule here.

Also, haven't seen you post in a long while. Good to see you again. I do mean that literally, despite what I just said.

Oh for Shao Kahn's sake!

@cale: That's not cool man.

If this person was gay instead of religious and was complaining about people using homophobic slurs instead of people blaspheming, how would this sound? You don't have to agree with them but that doesn't mean that their feelings are invalid.

Telling people to blame themselves for feeling bad is pretty fucked.

Amen. When someone tells you they're hurt, offended or excluded then you should start from a point of believing them, or at least trying to understand why that is.

I think this is probably a joke post.

If their enthusiasm for the new Doom is anything to go by, I think they'll be able to handle Hell just fine.

I feel like a terrible person because my initial urge was to respond w. a mean comment.

Seriously though, I want to, all the gratuitous violence and objectification of women in games don't bother you but hearing someone say "god" in front of "damn" over it does?

To answer your question, sorry but I don't think it'll ever happen.

If you were actually religious, you'd know that his name is Yahweh, sort of. The vowels may have changed over time. Also, he used to be worshipped alongside Baal and Mephisto.

I'm Catholic so I kinda get it, but I don't understand why this would go to the forums instead of something more direct like an email.

That's an unfair comparison though. Being gay is something that has nothing to do with choice. I'm not saying: 'hey, you chose to be religious so fuck you', but being offended by something sure isn't always someone else's fault. You can try to understand why someone feels a certain way, but that doesn't mean the person can't be (partially) at fault.

@subwayd: You do bring up a good point. If we're going down this path regarding taking blasphemy seriously, should the guys avoid anything involving the occult? How's about Nathan Drake's mixed fabrics (or his penchant for mass murder)?

I'm being a little facetious here and OP certainly has a right to their feelings. It's a tough thing, sure, as I don't have many religious friends or family, so blasphemy is not something I really think about. That said, my understanding of the teachings of Jesus Christ is that he was very much about letting sinners live their lives and loving them all the same. Perhaps OP can follow their messiah's example.

@levio: You are plying in pedantry. Most Christian denominations do not refer to god as Yawheh nor do they focus on the theologian history of Christianity.

@mac4877: I'm an atheist and I initially railed at your post, but you have formed your argument quite well. I think intent is the important thing to consider here. No one on the GB crew is blaspheming to belittle God, though I understand why you take it that way. You make a good point about how we have removed other slurs from our language because they are offensive. Heaps of people use "gay" as a slight, without intending to offend homosexuals, but it is still a derogatory term. I've never watched his content, but I know that PewDiePie has apologised for his use of that term in many of his earlier videos.

Offense is a difficult issue. Many people (as some in this thread already have) will blame YOU for being offended. On the other hand, there are many things that people in society often do misinterpret as offensive and sincerely do need to just shrug it off or get over it.

I think the important distinction here is that racial slurs, homophobic slurs and gender slurs essentially belittle the people of that group. Blaspheming, if we are to follow that same logic, doesn't actually belittle Christians, but, if taken seriously, belittles God. This is where it gets tricky as the existence (or non-existence) of God lies solely with the individual's belief. (I am firmly in the non-existent camp). At the end of the day, you have to consider yourself, is, would God be offended by the blasphemy of the GB crew? And in any case, is it your responsibility to police that or be offended on God's behalf? (please know that I'm not having a go at you here, I think it's a legitimate question). Personally I think it is good that you have noted it, and it is a shame that it impacts your enjoyment of GB content. Hopefully you can get to a place where you are somewhat accepting of GB's use of it, not that you will consider it 'okay', but that it becomes a minor annoyance that doesn't impact your enjoyment of GB's content (kind of like how Dan just irritates some people, or that some of Brad's expression can grate on me occasionally, but I still love their content).

If it continues to concern you, you could pray for them I suppose?

If it really does bother you, you could always write them (I doubt they will change their expressions, though I believe that many of them haven't even considered it as an issue, I know I wouldn't have, but you might make them aware of it). If it continues to really really bother you, you may really need to move away from GB content.

I hope you find enjoyment in whichever path you choose,

Note: I really like the way the GB crew express themselves. One of the funniest moments I can remember was Vinny dropping the C-bomb on a podcast when the crew were discussing what terminology is acceptable to use. I just like them to be who they are, but I get where OP is coming from.

Ctrl + F "God" replace with "Gods".

delete this. OP has 2 posts and this is a non-starter of a thread.

@captain_insano: This is completely off topic, but I just wanted to say that is a very cool and respectful response that I did not expect to find in this thread and one that I agrre with completely. Thumbs up duder.

This is the distinction that breaks the intellectually dishonest argument the OP put forth.

@rockyraccoon37: Sorry, I am at work so haven't been able to reply as much as I would like. I agree that blaspheme offends God, but if I am a believer in said God, would it not also offend me if I take my religion seriously. This is something I am trying to work through, so I want to thank everyone for their thoughtful and intelligent responses.

"Blaming himself" is not the answer here. People feel how they do and there's really no way to control that, whether it's about what words offend you or what makes you happy. A feeling is not a choice and asking them to consciously blame themselves is a shitty and close-minded thing to do.

I do agree, whoever, that using God in the manner that OP is saying is absolutely not on the level of racial slurs and other derogatory terms. It's okay to not like the use of it, but it isn't directly insulting or offending anyone and in a society where religion continues to wane and terms like that become socially acceptable, asking them to stop probably won't do much. It's probably fine to shoot them an email and voice concern that way, and it's not like any of us would even notice the change, but it's not anywhere near as offensive as other words.

The word "God" is not a name but a descriptor...

Fair points well made, but because topics about religion seem to attract a certain type of individual, we're going to address this and lock it up. So here we go;

It's safe to say that nobody is going out of their way to deliberately offend any specific group of people here at Giant Bomb, though obviously with such a wide audience of people from all over the world it's going to be almost impossible to please everyone. Without wanting to sound condescending, being offended by certain things is a completely reasonable response and you're entitled to feel that way. Just don't expect anything to change as a result.

Just for a bit of perspective, I get offended when Ryckert talks about wrestling. So... y'know. Each to their own.

If this is a concern that you'd like to follow up I recommend contacting the staff directly by PM. Alternatively if you've got any questions, feel free to drop the mods/Rorie a line. Thanks.