Expressions with Religious Origins 301
My first and second post in this category focused on expressions with the word Devil, Angel or Heaven respectively. This blog post is a continuation. This blog post is a continuation. My regular disclaimer for these posts is that religion is complicated and there can be different versions of stories and beliefs. The intention of this blog post is not to hurt anyone’s sentiments or feelings.
God
In Everyday Use
Phrases related to God are embedded in our psyche. They are everywhere. We say, “Thank Goodness”, “God Willing”, “So help me, God”, “Honest to God”. O.M.G. is a popular emoticon. God Bless Our Homeland Ghana is the national anthem of Ghana.
Per Wikisource,
“God Save the Queen is traditionally used as the national anthem of the United Kingdom and the royal anthem of Canada. It is one of two official national anthems of New Zealand. When the British monarch is male the anthem becomes God Save the King“.
Taking God’s Name in Vain
“Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain May Seem Harmless to Many, but Not to All“, per this headline of an article in a popular Human Resources website. The religious underpinning of this is that the phrase occurs in one of the top ten commandments in Christianity, “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain, for the Lord wilt not hold him guiltless that take his name in vain”.
The phrase “Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain” is in common use and is used to mean that God’s name was taken in a way that is wrong or worthless. There are strong opinions on this, and a well-written perspective linked below is from the Seattle Times on the use of OMG, which is ubiquitously used in chat rooms and text messages,
“Oh my gosh! Should I say OMG?“
Sections of society have tried, at times, to prevent taking God’s name in vain. A classic book “Fahrenheit 451”, on which a popular documentary was based, is taught in high schools across America. This book came under fire because of profanity and using God’s name in vain.
An Italian soccer player was banned in 2020 for the same reason,
“As Roma’s Bryan Cristante has fallen victim to Italy’s strict ban on taking God’s name in vain on the pitch, picking up a one-match ban for blasphemy“
An outdated law in the state of Indiana in the US attempts to outlaw using God’s name in vain by children, as this news article goes on to describe,
“An 1854 ordinance made it illegal for children under the age of 14 to swear, but only if that swearing is in some way using God’s name in vain“
Along with smoking cigarettes and playing cards, taking God’s name in vain had some serious repercussions, per a CNN article that described life under ISIS rule in a town on the Turkish-Syrian border in 2015,
“Taking God’s name in vain could lead to prison; smoking cigarettes, a public lashing; playing cards, being locked in a cage for days”
As God is my Witness
This is a phrase that some people use as an oath. There are contradicting opinions on it’s use and it is sometimes considered as another example of taking God’s name in vain. Nevertheless, it is used, not uncommonly.
Perhaps the most famous quote to use this phrase is from the classic novel ‘Gone With the Wind’ by Margaret Mitchell, and in the movie by the same name. Based on the American Civil War, the protagonist Scarlett O’Hara says the lines below when she returns home to find her plantation in ruins.
‘“As God is my witness, as God is my witness they’re not going to lick me. I’m going to live through this and when it’s all over, I’ll never be hungry again. No, nor any of my folk. If I have to lie, steal, cheat or kill. As God is my witness, I’ll never be hungry again.”
Here is another example from an online article,
“Maybe this pandemic has finally cracked open my sanity like a roasted chestnut. But as God is my witness, I spent the next hour doing dishes and cleaning countertops and tapping my toes and loving Christmas songs that used to make me gag ”
A popular use of the phrase has been,
“As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly.”
This one comes from an episode of a TV show aired in 1978 when 20 live turkeys are tossed from a helicopter as part of a live radio broadcast and the radio station manager utters the lines above.
Act of God – Force Majeure
The name of God is also used in our legal contracts. Insurance, lenders, landlord-tenant contracts sometimes have a provision, specifically for an Act of God, in a Force Majeure (French for ‘Supreme Force’) clause. Generally, an Act of God applies to catastrophic events that occur naturally (E.g., Tornadoes, Earthquakes), whereas Force Majeure also includes events that occur from human intervention. In both cases, the events are outside the control of the affected party (E.g. War).
Whether the recent pandemic could be classified as an Act of God is not cut an dry, as this headline from a post on a popular online legal subscription services states,
“Coronavirus as an Act of God: Force Majeure Clauses Explained“
An article in Wall Street Journal is titled
“Some Acts of God are better than others”
The author goes on to write that a fallen tree is way better than water damage or a fire. Her article is also an excellent example of the use of another phrase that we will see in Part 4 “To get Religion”. The article quotes “You get religion real fast when you’re standing in an apartment that looks like a burnt marshmallow. An elderly tenant lit his suite up with a cigar butt that he inadvertently left smoldering in an upholstered chair”.
Alpha and Omega
Alpha and Omega is a phrase that designates the comprehensiveness of God, per Britannica. They are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and imply that God includes all that can be.
Here is a quote from a state legislator, emphasizing the importance of state legislatures,
“In my office in Washington, I use my chair from the Virginia House of Delegates that I bought when both chambers were renovated back in 2008. It’s old, and the springs are shot, but it reminds me that in our system of government, the states are the alpha and omega. It was the states that created the Federal government, and it was the states that created our local governments as well. Our founders set up a system of, by, and for the people that placed the state Legislatures at its very heart, and that heart still beats strongly today“.
An article on the allure of sports trilogies has these lines,
“But, by far, the alpha and omega of sports trilogies remains Ali and Frazier. Kilroy is adamant: Nothing compares to those three bouts. ”
Fit for the Gods
Although it is said that God eats and drink ambrosia and nectar, the phrase fit for the gods usually denotes something of high quality. It is often used in the context of food but has also been used to describe events and houses. The news headline below applies it to describe a digital music fest held in April 2020 during the pandemic lockdown:
“Technology blends with tradition to serve a digital music fest fit for the Gods“
Another example is in this article in the Washington post extolling the virtues of Ghee (a form of clarified butter):
“Ancient Sanskrit literature describes ghee as fit for the gods. Foods cooked in ghee are considered superior to those that eschew it”
Nectar of the Gods
There are several synonyms listed for the phrase Nectar of the gods to describe a drink such as aromatic, tangy, tasteful, edible, appetizing. In Greek mythology, Nectar was called the divine drink that the Olympian gods had.
In Hinduism it is called “Amrit” and there is a legendary story of the churning of the ocean between the Devas (Gods) and Asuras (demons) where the nectar of immortality rose out of the ocean.
Here is a headline that uses the phrase,
“Chateau Chantal’s Ice Wine Festival to serve nectar of the gods“
And an article that discusses my favorite drink, coffee,
“Given coffee’s popularity, it’s surprising how much confusion surrounds how this hot, dark, nectar of the gods affects our biology“.
Greek God
I have no idea why the phrase for a Greek Goddess isn’t in popular use, but Greek God refers to a man who is handsome and well built, as the following examples demonstrate. An article on WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) has the following lines,
“While not every single wrestler has the physique and the beauty of a Greek god chiseled out of granite, it certainly helps if you do“.
Another headline describes a very popular Bollywood (The name for India’s movie industry) movie actor:
“Behold the Greek God: Hrithik Roshan could make the sun melt with his hot looks“
God’s country
Where does God live? God’s country , per Wikipedia, is a name given to various countries and regions around the world, usually areas that are sparsely populated with wide expanses of nature.
“Not here in small-town America; we continued our legacy of kind hearts, friendly faces and caring for those that live with us in God’s country”
“This is a dirt road, a clay, dirt road way out in the middle of what we call God’s country“
The headline of an article that describes the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in the state of Utah in USA is,
“When Everybody Wants A Piece Of God’s Country“
The article has the following quote,
“We’ve always said it’s God’s country,” Steed says. “The people from out here said that’s because nobody’d have it but God, and now it seems like everybody wants it.”
Godspeed
God speed is a way of wishing a person a safe and successful journey. Per this source, it was first used in Anglo-Saxon times 1,300 years ago. At the time, the phrase used was God Spoed You (speed was spelled as such in old English) and originally meant to signify prosperity and success. It also showed up in phrases “God spede me” and “God spede thee.
In 1962 when the famous American astronaut took off for the first US manned orbital flight, the backup astronaut for the mission, said the words,
“Godspeed, John Glenn“.
When Bond Girl “Tanya Roberts” passed away, her former coworker said,
“We lost a great one. Rip #tanyaroberts you were a wonderful person to work with and we all loved you very much. Godspeed.”
Godspeed, dear readers. I will meet you in the next post.