Speyside wrote:So if a believer in any God said to an Atheiest G** D*** you would it be meaningless? On the flip side if an Atheist said to a believer in any God G** D*** you would it have any meaning at all?
Real question?
Couple ways to attack it, I suppose.
One, would be to first determine how the phrase gets meaning in the first place;
-Context matters...almost always
-Intent matters....often
-Perception of 'receiver' matters....almost always
You have to sort through those (and probably other) aspects
Some might subscribe to the thought that 'hurtful' words can only have 'power' if the 'receiver' allows
Another way to come at it would be to poll a spectrum of believers/non-believers
Another perspective might be to ask whether the actual words have any real meaning to anyone beyond the societal norms that say they are 'bad words' and, again, the context of quotes
For this atheist, the actual words mean absolutely nothing -- but, the context means everything; if they are coming to me from someone I respect and are said in an 'angry fashion', then they have a lot of meaning.....but not really any better or worse than FU or a number of other things.
The conversation is sort of similar to one I had with a good friend about what is said after a sneeze. I was asked "Why do you say "Gesundheit"? I think 'God Bless you' would be better."
I replied that coming from me, it feels a little silly, and in fact, perhaps almost 'fake'.....but, when I say gesundheit, it is a genuine attempt at being polite....so while 'god bless' might make you feel better for some reason, you are probably going to get gesundheit....sorry