Saying "oh my gosh" a Sin?

  • Thread starter Thread starter RedDuke50
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
R

RedDuke50

Guest
My brother was saying how my grandmother used to say “oh my garsh” instead of the one with God’s Name in it. He said that that was a sin too.
Is that right? Is it a sin to say “oh my gosh, oh my goodness” or anything like that instead of saying it with God’s Name in it?

Thank you

P.S. He is going to be my future Confirmation teacher and I would usually trust what he says but this sounded strange to me so I wanted to know what others thought about it.
 
I can’t believe ‘gosh’ or ‘garsh’ are sinful. Is there an expert out there?
 
Even saying “Oh my God!” as an exclamation is not breaking the Commandment against using God’s Name in Vain. That would be something like killing another person and saying God told you to do it.

No, it’s disrespectful but, unless you mean to slander God Himself, it’s venial at worst. An oral interjection as an expression of sympathy, or to show that you’re listening, or for whatever you want ot use it for in a conversation. It’s just a part of speech. It’s not a sin. Don’t even worry about it. If you refrain from saying “gosh” because it sounds too much like “God” you’re being overly scrupulous - be more concerned with what’s getting you to exclaim in the first place.
 
losh14 said:
Even saying “Oh my God!” as an exclamation is not breaking the Commandment against using God’s Name in Vain. That would be something like killing another person and saying God told you to do it.

No, it’s disrespectful but, unless you mean to slander God Himself, it’s venial at worst. An oral interjection as an expression of sympathy, or to show that you’re listening, or for whatever you want ot use it for in a conversation. It’s just a part of speech. It’s not a sin. Don’t even worry about it. If you refrain from saying “gosh” because it sounds too much like “God” you’re being overly scrupulous - be more concerned with what’s getting you to exclaim in the first place.
Click to expand...
But then saying “Oh my God” can be a sin though if it’s just thrown around like these days right? My parish priest says it all the time but he says it as a prayer and not just vainly…
 
losh14 said:
Even saying “Oh my God!” as an exclamation is not breaking the Commandment against using God’s Name in Vain. That would be something like killing another person and saying God told you to do it.

No, it’s disrespectful but, unless you mean to slander God Himself, it’s venial at worst. An oral interjection as an expression of sympathy, or to show that you’re listening, or for whatever you want ot use it for in a conversation. It’s just a part of speech. It’s not a sin. Don’t even worry about it. If you refrain from saying “gosh” because it sounds too much like “God” you’re being overly scrupulous - be more concerned with what’s getting you to exclaim in the first place.
Click to expand...
Agreed.

For reference, Fr. Serpa’s take: forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=36923&highlight=commandment
 
gosh, garsh, darn, dang, dinglefritz, fiddlesticks –

not sinful, imo.

even p–p and s…t only describe bodily functions. I just cleaned up a whole bunch of it from my animals. :cool:
 
I just read something in Cardinal Ratzinger/Pope Benedict’s God and the World which might be useful in this discussion.

On the Fourth Commandment, page 169-170:

"…] At that very moment when we dishonor God, disfigure his face, and render him inaccessible to the world, so that he can no longer illuminate it, man loses his own light at the same time.

"Martin Buber once said that no world has been so misused as the word GOD. That word is so stained and so disfigured that one can no longer actually use it. …]

“But each single misuse of God’s name, each and every act that obscures his face so that he can no longer be recognized, leaves behind it a monstrous track of filth. The great power of atheism, the rejection of God, and the indifference to God are quite inexplicable without this repeated misuse of God’s name. His face was disfigured to such an extend that man felt bound to turn away from it. It has in this way long since become clear what terrible effects the breach of this commandment can have in human history.”

I found this passage very enlightening. When we use God’s name improperly this action is not just between us and God; it has consequences for others. I do not want to make God inaccessible to others.
 
Thank you for your answers, everybody. Maybe he will say what he means when I am being taught by him in Confirmation classes.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top