I understand the blessing "bless you" [in response to a sneeze] as a totally selfish concern for your own well being by begging the big sky daddy to bless me so you don't get sick as well. Atheists don't have an equivalent because when you sneeze, they make plans to avoid the germs and prepare for the upcoming epidemic with hospice care and disposal actions.
20 February, 2013
Bless You
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Only after Christians have built and staffed the hospice.
ReplyDeleteAh ha ha ha! How very funny. Empathy doesn't require religion, and it is pretty clear religion kills empathy for anyone outside the in-group.
DeleteWell I never say bless you because I was not brought up that way. In France we say “a vos souhaits” to your wishes. In Germany they say Gesundheit which means to your health. So when someone sneezes near me I say one or the other – if they look at me strange, then I tell them that I am not from around here. Many Christian expressions that Americans used are not translated the same in other languages – it is very strange to me that so much is religious in the US language.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that! I had always assumed Gesundheit was the same as bless you. Yay! I have something to say now!
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