Do not believe in a god but say "bless you" when people sneeze?

@TheKramer89 said:

@Animasta said:

I say bless you because I am not an obnoxious militant atheist scumbag

Perfectly worded.

Really? Not saying bless you makes an atheist obnoxious/militant/scumbag? I say it but that's a pretty dumb thing to think.

Satan will jump into their soul if you don't say 'bless you', I personally don't believe in that but it's not worth risking it.

I'll only bless you if the cooldown on your sneeze is really long.

With my ex (who made a big deal about religion being pointless, etc) I would always say "Exactly who are you asking to bless me?" 

People say bless you when you sneeze because sneezing used to be the first sign of the plague so people would say bless you as in please dont get the plague and it stuck.

@ez123 said:

@TheKramer89 said:

@Animasta said:

I say bless you because I am not an obnoxious militant atheist scumbag

Perfectly worded.

Really? Not saying bless you makes an atheist obnoxious/militant/scumbag? I say it but that's a pretty dumb thing to think.

I barely say bless you either (I think sneezing is awesome personally), but when someone doesn't say it specifically because they're atheist...

how does language work??

I yell "EWWWWWW!" and then I run away.

I say things like "Oh my god" or "Thank god" even when I don't believe there is a god. It's just something I say without any religious context. I don't say "bless you" though, I often just say "You're excused" when someone sneezes.

@selbie said:

In ye olde times when doctors used to dress like this

they believed evil spirits were trying to invade your soul when you sneezed, so saying bless you would theoretically ward off anything bad.

I'll buy that. My understanding was that ppl. believed that, for a second when you sneeze, your heart stoppped or something like. 'Bless you' was to ward off or acknowlege the near brush with death. But I like what selbie says also. That, and ppl. might have investigated why the phrase, instead of running off on a fuck-you evil religion tirade first. That could have been down the line, because the internet needed to hear that position pro or con....again.

I don't say it, but I do say 'chicken!' as I sneeze and that's always excellent.

I say gesundheit and speak german as a foreign language. Gesundheit is totally easy to pronounce. "GE-SOONT-HAIT"

Yeah I say bless you because I have manners, religion or not. Even atheists say "God dammit", so saying bless you isn't much of a stretch.

You know the whole thing about saying bless you is because people thought their souls were escaping when they sneezed, and saying bless you was a countermeasure to stop that/the devil stealing your goddamned soul?

So the whole thing is insane.

Stop making threads like these people!

@Animasta said:

@ez123 said:

@TheKramer89 said:

@Animasta said:

I say bless you because I am not an obnoxious militant atheist scumbag

Perfectly worded.

Really? Not saying bless you makes an atheist obnoxious/militant/scumbag? I say it but that's a pretty dumb thing to think.

I barely say bless you either (I think sneezing is awesome personally), but when someone doesn't say it specifically because they're atheist...

Wow, that's a lot of shit to call someone based on a minor thing they won't say. Pretty shitty I think, or scumbaggy.

there's always a crowd of other people who say bless you when someone sneezes so it's not really necessary for me to say anything. honestly nobody really thinks of it as a religious thing, it's just sort of a knee jerk reaction. sometimes i'll say gesundheit or salud in spanish class (they both mean good health)

@Deusx said:

Stop making threads like these people!

Seconded. Too many of them this week.

When i see, hear or read something like this it makes me pray harder that god can flood the hell out of this world again and start over because obviously whats here is not working. And im not religious!

@Krakn3Dfx said:

I just remember banging this girl from church when we were both 15 who got dragged to church by her parents but didn't believe in any of it either and had sex just to get back at them for making her go.

That's nice. Don't know if there is a God, but i really hope so now.

@ez123 said:

@Animasta said:

@ez123 said:

@TheKramer89 said:

@Animasta said:

I say bless you because I am not an obnoxious militant atheist scumbag

Perfectly worded.

Really? Not saying bless you makes an atheist obnoxious/militant/scumbag? I say it but that's a pretty dumb thing to think.

I barely say bless you either (I think sneezing is awesome personally), but when someone doesn't say it specifically because they're atheist...

Wow, that's a lot of shit to call someone based on a minor thing they won't say. Pretty shitty I think, or scumbaggy.

It's not the fact that you wont say it, or forget to say it, it's the fact that you refuse to say it because "hurr durr i hate all religion and to even associate myself with the word bless would be bringing me down to the inferior religious morons".

It's a weird thing we do. If someone produces any other noisy bodily function, it's on them to excuse themselves. But if they sneeze, suddenly the social responsibility shifts to me? What'd I do? They're the one who fired a shotgun blast of disease into the air.

@Landon: I do say it. That weird hurr hurr quote is what your mind goes to for whatever reason, people can chose to not want to associate themselves with a religious saying.

I just don't see why it makes anyone an asshole or anything like that, let alone militant.

@ez123 said:

@Landon: I do say it. That weird hurr hurr quote is what your mind goes to for whatever reason, people can chose to not want to associate themselves with a religious saying.

I just don't see why it makes anyone an asshole or anything like that, let alone militant.

You'll understand when you're older.

@Landon: hurr hurr indeed

Yeah, I say "God bless you" because it's a gentlemanly thing to do.

@ccampb89 said:

Yeah, I say "God bless you" because it's a gentlemanly thing to do.

Class.

@liako21 said:

i say jah bless because im a rasta

Yes, I.

No, it's a completely idiotic thing to say.

@ez123: It's hurr durr, buddy.

@McGhee said:

No, it's a completely idiotic thing to say.

It's two little words that express politeness. I don't understand whats so idiotic about it.

@ez123 said:

@Landon: I do say it. That weird hurr hurr quote is what your mind goes to for whatever reason, people can chose to not want to associate themselves with a religious saying.

I just don't see why it makes anyone an asshole or anything like that, let alone militant.

if you're actively not saying bless you because you're an atheist, you probably think about atheism and christianity a lot. I don't say it, but as I said I think sneezing is awesome and if I could sneeze once an hour for the rest of my life I would do so. Not saying it because you don't believe in god is fucking dumb. that context of it being religious just isn't there anymore, It's like christmas in a way.

@NlGHTCRAWLER said:

@McGhee said:

No, it's a completely idiotic thing to say.

It's two little words that express politeness. I don't understand whats so idiotic about it.

Politeness would be holding the door open for someone that is entering a room behind you. Saying "bless you" after a sneeze is just a tradition born out of superstition.

Have you ever sneezed and then gotten mad if no one told you "god bless you" after? I doubt it, but it is far more likely that you would get mad if someone let a door slam right in your face.

Some things go away after time as society grows. Perhaps this will be one of them.

@McGhee said:

@NlGHTCRAWLER said:

@McGhee said:

No, it's a completely idiotic thing to say.

It's two little words that express politeness. I don't understand whats so idiotic about it.

Politeness would be holding the door open for someone that is entering a room behind you. Saying "bless you" after a sneeze is just a tradition born out of superstition.

Have you ever sneezed and then gotten mad if no one told you "god bless you" after? I doubt it, but it is far more likely that you would get mad if someone let a door slam right in your face.

Some things go away after time as society grows. Perhaps this will be one of them.

You still didn't explain what was so idiotic about it. If it's because your Atheist then read the comment above yours because I couldn't have said it better myself.

@NlGHTCRAWLER said:

@McGhee said:

@NlGHTCRAWLER said:

@McGhee said:

No, it's a completely idiotic thing to say.

It's two little words that express politeness. I don't understand whats so idiotic about it.

Politeness would be holding the door open for someone that is entering a room behind you. Saying "bless you" after a sneeze is just a tradition born out of superstition.

Have you ever sneezed and then gotten mad if no one told you "god bless you" after? I doubt it, but it is far more likely that you would get mad if someone let a door slam right in your face.

Some things go away after time as society grows. Perhaps this will be one of them.

You still didn't explain what was so idiotic about it. If it's because your Atheist then read the comment above yours because I couldn't have said it better myself.

It is idiotic because it is based out of superstitious nonsense. I don't say it just for the same reason that I do not throw salt over my shoulder after spilling some. One may then say that it really means "are you OK?" or "hope you are alright". Then why not just say that? Do you say "bless you" after someone has a coughing fit? Maybe you just say "are you alright"? If that is your true meaning then why not use that?

I say "gesundheit" but it doesn't bother me when people say "bless you" just like it doesn't bother me when people say "under God" during the Pledge of Allegiance.

In Sweden, we say "Prosit". Which is derived from the Latin "Pro sit", which basically means that you wish someone good health.

@McGhee said:

@NlGHTCRAWLER said:

@McGhee said:

@NlGHTCRAWLER said:

@McGhee said:

No, it's a completely idiotic thing to say.

It's two little words that express politeness. I don't understand whats so idiotic about it.

Politeness would be holding the door open for someone that is entering a room behind you. Saying "bless you" after a sneeze is just a tradition born out of superstition.

Have you ever sneezed and then gotten mad if no one told you "god bless you" after? I doubt it, but it is far more likely that you would get mad if someone let a door slam right in your face.

Some things go away after time as society grows. Perhaps this will be one of them.

You still didn't explain what was so idiotic about it. If it's because your Atheist then read the comment above yours because I couldn't have said it better myself.

It is idiotic because it is based out of superstitious nonsense. I don't say it just for the same reason that I do not throw salt over my shoulder after spilling some. One may then say that it really means "are you OK?" or "hope you are alright". Then why not just say that? Do you say "bless you" after someone has a coughing fit? Maybe you just say "are you alright"? If that is your true meaning then why not use that?

I just don't see the point of directly going out of my way to not say Bless You because it's superstitious. If I were use to throwing salt over my shoulder like it were an everyday thing, I wouldn't really care how it looked, especially if everyone around me did the same. It's just one of those things that are so unimportant that it would almost be too stupid to focus on. But it's your life and what not... so enjoy not being superstitious I guess.

@Canteu said:

I don't say shit when someone sneezes. Motherfucker is just sneezing, it's a natural bodily reaction.

You don't say anything when someone farts, or coughs or blinks.

I might start saying 'bless you' when people fart, cough and maybe not blink.

@TheKramer89: Don't worry, someone got that...

I generally tell people to knock that shit off.

I mostly use Gesundheit, but always in reference to the film The Taking of Pelham One Two Three.

@BoG said:

I'm pretty certain that the phrase has completely lost its religious meaning.

This, also as far as my knowledge of 'bless you' goes, it didn't start with Christianity and started with the sort of Pagan beliefs before that when someone sneezed, they were sneezing out evil.

So it's possibly not Christian at all, and I'm pretty sure there aren't many Pagans left.

@believer258 said:

"Gesundheit" means "health" in Germany; as I've never been there and know nothing of the culture, I don't know if this is said when someone sneezes. But saying "health" doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

that is actually what everyone says when someone sneezes. it basically omits the "I wish you [health]" part. people who want to be funny add, in case the "sneezer" is a repeat offender, stuff like "beauty", "wisdom" ... depending on how often the person sneezes and how creative they are.

I basically go with "cheers" or the German equivalent (prost!), depending on who's sneezing, or if I know the person really well, they just get a simple "mop it up!" (stolen from the German dubbing of Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze)