Q. Someone told me that saying ‘geez’ is the same as saying ‘Jesus,’ so is it wrong to say geez when you are upset?
A. Despite all the many and varied “rules” that govern language, language is an evolving reality. Since there is no Divine Language written into the fabric of the world, mankind is free to develop language as we see fit.
This means the meaning of words can—and does—change, as the original meaning is lost and a new meaning replaces it. “Awful” once meant to inspire awe or wonder in someone, so telling a friend his or her painting was awful would have been a nice compliment. Now it is an insult. The meaning of words change.
So, has “geez,” a minced oath that comes from the Name of Jesus, changed in meaning enough that it no longer means the Name of Jesus, but is simple a harmless exclamation? That is the question.
First, though, we need to look at why saying the Name of Jesus might be a problem. The Second Commandment states: “Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in Vain.” Parsing this out a bit (big thank you to Vern Steiner of the Emmaus Institute for his insight into the Hebrew and the following translation), what this is really saying is, “You shall not carry about, on your lips or in your life, the name of the LORD voided of its true significance or falsified of its true meaning.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church says the Second Commandment prescribes respect for the Name of the Lord. We are not to degrade God’s name by using it as a curse or blasphemy, nor are we to use it to misrepresent who God is, either by our words or our actions.
It is not about simply invoking the Name of God, it is about degrading God by using His name inappropriately. Saying the name of Jesus or even “Oh my God” can be a part of prayer, as occurs in the Act of Contrition which begins with “Oh my God, I am heartily sorry…” Even saying it outside of a formal—that is, a written prayer—can be a prayer, if we intend it to be.
Generally, though, people say “Oh my God” or “Jesus Christ” when shocked or surprised. While this can (and has) become flippant in the wider culture, it can also be a real prayer, inviting God to be present in a situation that has caught us off guard, or for which we feel unprepared. Saying “Jesus Christ” because we slammed our finger in a door seems harder to claim as a true prayer, whereas saying “Jesus Christ” because we just got some terrible news could, with the right intention, be a true prayer. Adding “be with me” to the “Jesus Christ” makes that even more clear, though, and it’s not a bad habit to adopt.
For many people, saying “Jesus Christ” or “Oh my God” is a mindless habit. For whatever reason, they default to this as a reaction to negative situations. While habit can diminish culpability, that presumes that one is trying to break that habit. If effort is not being made to stop taking the Lord’s Name in vain (which is what is happening any time one says “Jesus Christ” out of anger), then it would seem that a person is not actually resolved to amend his or her life, which is always a problem when it comes to sin. Habits are learned, and they can be unlearned.
It can be argued that substituting “geez” or “oh my gosh” is a step toward breaking the habit. Since the words are not the Lord’s Name, using them cannot be taking the Lord’s Name in vain, at least, so the argument goes. After all, if a man said “shoot” when he dropped something, I doubt anyone would be scandalized, even though shoot is a stand-in for another word that begins with an s.
So have “geez” and “gosh” and similar stand-in words and phrases lost their original meaning, to the point that they can no longer be considered sacrilegious? I am not sure who gets to decide that. I think it can be innocent for those who do not know the words’ origins. And for those who do know the origin, it just seems like there are a lot of other words that could be used instead. My grandma would say “shoot the dog” when she was mad about something. I am not recommending that as a good exclamation to start using, but it does demonstrate the vast potential of the English language for creative and non-blasphemous exclamations that can be used.
My best effort at an answer to this questions is this: if you use the Name of Jesus out of anger, that is clearly a sin and saying it’s just a habit doesn’t make it OK. If you use “geez,” that might be a sin, and you should try to change your habit and adopt some new word because there are a lot of words out there that are not connected to the Name of Jesus.
This question was answered by Father Caleb La Rue, chancellor of the Diocese of Lincoln. Write to Ask the Register using our online form, or write to 3700 Sheridan Blvd., Suite 10, Lincoln NE 68506-6100. All questions are subject to editing. Editors decide which questions to publish. Personal questions cannot be answered. People with such questions are urged to take them to their nearest Catholic priest.
