Post by makatala on Jul 2, 2008 14:04:20 GMT -5
Today was a run of the mill day and the freinds I hang with I talk with on some serious matters and silly ones but today seemed to be serious.
We talked about non-tolorance and ignorance, then the issue of "God bless you" came up since I said it today twice.
"Pagans aren;t supposed to use God bless you, maybe gazuntite or Goddess bless." I blinked for a few moments absorbing her opinion but I disagreed.
"Why is that so?" I asked in earnest wanting to get opinion out in the open.
"Because Pagans worship Gods, they don't just have one."
"Then its not okay for Pagans to even say bless you?" She nodded her head and left while I was still thinking on this.
Before wee get down to hitorical facts I want to say in my own opinion that I was not in the wrong or at least how I feel, I could say it was my upbringing but thats a lame excuse o_0
As a pagan I see my God as energy and Goddess/es as energy, so there for I can say God bless you. Now, on with terminally! ^o^
The term god bless you has afilliation, such as in Europe when the black plague was around and some one sneezed they would say this phrase in hopes of not getting the dsiease themselfs and hoping for the health of the infliceted one.
Another afilliation would be "The savage looked upon sneezing as an abortive attempt of the soul to escape from the body. Being awake and on guard, the body was able to thwart the soul's attempted escape. Later on, sneezing was always accompanied by some religious expression, such as God bless you!" posted on a forum about the term God Bless you by bud85348.
And lets not forget Wikipedia! =D
Several possible origins are commonly given. The practice of blessing a sneeze, dating as far back as at least 77 AD, however, is far older than most specific explanations can account for.
One explanation holds that the custom originally began as an actual blessing. Gregory I became Pope in 590 as an outbreak of the bubonic plague was reaching Rome. In hopes of fighting off the disease, he ordered unending prayer and parades of chanters through the streets. At the time, sneezing was thought to be an early symptom of the plague. The blessing ("God bless you!") became a common effort to halt the disease.
A variant of the Pope Gregory I story places it with Pope Gregory VII, then tells the common (though untrue) story of "Ring Around the Rosey" being connected to the same plague.
A legend holds that it was believed that the heart stops when you sneeze, and the phrase "bless you" is meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating.
Another version says that people used to believe that your soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze,that sneezing otherwise opened your body to invasion by the Devil [ or evil spirits,or that sneezing was your body's effort to force out an invading evil spirit. Thus, "bless you" or "God bless you" is used as a sort of shield against evil.
Alternatively, it may be possible that the phrase began simply as a response for an event that wasn't well understood at the time.[citation needed].
Another belief is that people used to see sneezing as a sign that God would answer your prayers or an omen of good fortune or good luck. In this case, "Bless you" would be in recognition of that luck.
In Chinese one would say nothing but people believe that a sneeze means that someone is talking about them behind their backs or missing them
In Irish it's "Dia leat", literally meaning 'God [be] with you.'
In Japanese, one says "Shitsurei Shimashita" which means "Excuse me."
So, what do you guys think is it okay for Pagans to say "god bless you"?
We talked about non-tolorance and ignorance, then the issue of "God bless you" came up since I said it today twice.
"Pagans aren;t supposed to use God bless you, maybe gazuntite or Goddess bless." I blinked for a few moments absorbing her opinion but I disagreed.
"Why is that so?" I asked in earnest wanting to get opinion out in the open.
"Because Pagans worship Gods, they don't just have one."
"Then its not okay for Pagans to even say bless you?" She nodded her head and left while I was still thinking on this.
Before wee get down to hitorical facts I want to say in my own opinion that I was not in the wrong or at least how I feel, I could say it was my upbringing but thats a lame excuse o_0
As a pagan I see my God as energy and Goddess/es as energy, so there for I can say God bless you. Now, on with terminally! ^o^
The term god bless you has afilliation, such as in Europe when the black plague was around and some one sneezed they would say this phrase in hopes of not getting the dsiease themselfs and hoping for the health of the infliceted one.
Another afilliation would be "The savage looked upon sneezing as an abortive attempt of the soul to escape from the body. Being awake and on guard, the body was able to thwart the soul's attempted escape. Later on, sneezing was always accompanied by some religious expression, such as God bless you!" posted on a forum about the term God Bless you by bud85348.
And lets not forget Wikipedia! =D
Several possible origins are commonly given. The practice of blessing a sneeze, dating as far back as at least 77 AD, however, is far older than most specific explanations can account for.
One explanation holds that the custom originally began as an actual blessing. Gregory I became Pope in 590 as an outbreak of the bubonic plague was reaching Rome. In hopes of fighting off the disease, he ordered unending prayer and parades of chanters through the streets. At the time, sneezing was thought to be an early symptom of the plague. The blessing ("God bless you!") became a common effort to halt the disease.
A variant of the Pope Gregory I story places it with Pope Gregory VII, then tells the common (though untrue) story of "Ring Around the Rosey" being connected to the same plague.
A legend holds that it was believed that the heart stops when you sneeze, and the phrase "bless you" is meant to ensure the return of life or to encourage your heart to continue beating.
Another version says that people used to believe that your soul can be thrown from your body when you sneeze,that sneezing otherwise opened your body to invasion by the Devil [ or evil spirits,or that sneezing was your body's effort to force out an invading evil spirit. Thus, "bless you" or "God bless you" is used as a sort of shield against evil.
Alternatively, it may be possible that the phrase began simply as a response for an event that wasn't well understood at the time.[citation needed].
Another belief is that people used to see sneezing as a sign that God would answer your prayers or an omen of good fortune or good luck. In this case, "Bless you" would be in recognition of that luck.
In Chinese one would say nothing but people believe that a sneeze means that someone is talking about them behind their backs or missing them
In Irish it's "Dia leat", literally meaning 'God [be] with you.'
In Japanese, one says "Shitsurei Shimashita" which means "Excuse me."
So, what do you guys think is it okay for Pagans to say "god bless you"?