What do you say to an atheist that sneezes?
Asked by
zenvelo (
39407
)
October 22nd, 2012
Similar to the question from a couple days ago, what do you say to an atheist that sneezes?
I walked down the street yesterday by an outdoor cafe when a girl sneezed twice. I said “bless you” but then realized that might be a bit presumptuous.
What would you say?
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33 Answers
“You are so good-looking!”
“Did you get any on you?”
Bless you.
If they have a problem with it, bash them in the head with a pipe a few times so they have something to actually worry about.
I’m about as atheist as they come, there is even going to be a clause in my prenuptial agreement that says I get custody of the kids if there are attempts to indoctrinate them to a religion. However “OMG” and “bless you” and such things are not really a problem.
Dude, I see that you’re exhibiting an immune response indicative of the early stages of viral infection or allergic reaction. Although there are some chemical compounds which may alleviate some of the discomfort of these conditions, in the end the outcome will be determined by the adaptive fitness of your organism. Good day!
Maybe you should call in sick?
@marinelife
Or “Aufwischen!”, which is German imperative for “Wipe it up!”
I am an atheist, and I say “bless you” after a sneeze. Keep in mind that those who do believe in a god are not saying it for the reasons that that tradition was originally started; in other words, the religious folks don’t mean it any more than I do. It’s just a tradition, not a reason to start a philosophical argument.
Absolutely nothing. Not sure why anything would be required. Nobody feels this urge to comment when I cough.
Personally, I don’t appreciate people commenting on my sneeze. It’s my body – and my allergies. It’s not affecting anyone else because I cover my face. I don’t want to have to talk about it, and don’t want people commenting on it.
@tom_g Maybe we should come up with a sneeze-related version of “bah humbug!” for you to use on such occasions.
“get away from me! I don’t want to get sick!”
“Do you have a cold? Or is that just allergy?”
Hahaha. I say do you have a cold, or get away from me sometimes depending on the situation. Check out girl at the supermarket I often change lanes, I don’t trust people to say it is a cold. My MIL is famous for saying she has an allergy, but it lasts one week and a grandchild catches it. Yesterday a friend did not sneeze, but when she greeted me her voice gave away she was sick. I am so glad she didn’t try to hug me when she saw me. I said right to herm oh, so I shouldn’t get close and took two steps back. I do have a feeling she probably brought an appetizer or dessert to the party, because she is one of those people who usually feels she has to bring something, that freaks me out a little. I didn’t eat anything that was not made by the host. Still serving spoons could have been touched, but I am pretty sure I ate before my sick friend.
I say God bless you or gasundheit usually. I say God bless you and not just bless you, because if I am going to go ahead and say the bless you, I figure might as well add the God since originally it was used to ward of the devil. I also use God forbid when saying something out loud that we would never wish to happen to keep away evil. It’s a superstitious thing really. I am an atheist and not superstitious, but I say these things mostly for the other person or because I think the tradition is a nice one.
Nothing wrong with saying, “Bless you.”
I would say “bless you” there is nothing religious about offering your blessings to a person. I never say “god bless you’ and don’t shake hands until they wash theirs.
I’m an atheist, I say bless you or gesundheit. Sometimes I don’t say anything. If someone keeps sneezing, I might ask if they’re okay.
Saying a reflexive social convention like “bless you” is not only not offensive or presumptuous, it’s kind of an indication of courtesy. Someone who is ridiculous enough to take offense to such an innocuous bit if courtesy isn’t worth wasting breath on.
If someone belches i’ll say “pardon you”, that doesn’t make me pontius pilate though now does it?
“What the fuck!? Turn your head you slob.”
I’m an atheist, and I say “bless you” pretty much every time. Force of habit, I guess.
@zenvelo If you go ahead and throw in a “my child” with that you can get a startled (sometimes nasty) look.
Stop infecting everything with your non faith, you heathen beast!
I’ve already become accustomed to not saying anything after someone sneezes, regardless of belief.
Is this another case of PC gone nuts??? I say bless you because I think it is a nice thing to do. If anyone is offended by it, it’s their problem.
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