Essay : Why “Oh My God” is a Difficult Expression

 

Allow me, as someone of an older generation, to offer a reflection. This is a story from nearly 40 years ago.

 

When I had been attending an international school in London for about a year, at the age of 15, I developed a small ritual: a monthly visit to the nearby McDonald’s with my classmates. It was one of the few indulgences we allowed ourselves.

 

It was a bitterly cold winter, and despite the weather, we all ordered milkshakes. Naturally, holding the icy cup chilled my hands to the bone.

 

“Oh my God, my hands are freezing!” I exclaimed without a second thought.

 

Suddenly, an adult passing by—a Black man—grabbed my elbow and asked sternly, “Who are you? Why are you, someone who doesn’t seem Christian at all, saying ‘Oh my God’?”

 

What a lookism.I was bewildered, left staring at him in silence, unsure what was happening. At that moment, another man, who appeared to be of Middle Eastern descent, joined in.

 

“Are you Muslim? No? Then how dare you invoke the name of God? Outrageous!”

 

I was stunned. While there are Japanese Christians, I was not one of them. Why was I being interrogated about my faith? Not wanting to escalate the situation, I decided to leave, but the adults were too absorbed in their theological sparring to notice.

“God is the Christian God! Why is a Muslim even chiming in here?”

“Muslims say ‘Allah,’ but Allah is the same as the Christian God. Don’t you know Gabriel delivered the Qur’an to Muhammad?”

 

At the time, I had many Muslim friends at school and was aware of the shared figure of the angel Gabriel in both Christianity and Islam, thus able to follow the adults' argument. However, lunchtime was short, and I had no time to waste on such a heated debate. I quickly headed back to school.

 

Later, I started pondering alternatives. I knew that the Buddha is referred to as “Lord Buddha” in English. Moreover, I had heard the expression “Oh my Lord,” which seemed to carry a similar sentiment to “Oh my God.” Would it not be safer to say “Oh my Lord” instead?

 

This “Lord,” I reasoned, could be interpreted as a reference to Buddha, at least in my case. It felt slightly exaggerated but seemed like a plausible defence should a religious debate arise.

 

A few weeks later, I went back to McDonald’s. This time, the chicken nuggets I ordered were scorching hot. Without thinking, I exclaimed, “Oh my Lord, it’s too hot!”

 

At once, the adults around me turned their heads.

 

The first to react was a White young couple. The woman glared at me with bared teeth, while her companion, stareing at me, muttered, “Just let her say whatever she wants to say.”

 

But the situation spiralled quickly, just as before.

 

“Why are you, visibly a non-Christian, saying ‘Oh my Lord’?”

“How dare an unbeliever invoke the name of the Lord?”

 

A Muslim breaked in, echoing the same sentiments:

“Judging by your appearance, you’re not Muslim, so why use the word ‘Lord’?”

 

I replied as calmly as I could, “Because Buddha is Lord Buddha. Isn’t that reasonable?”

 

The adults were momentarily dumbfounded.

 

Then, an Indian man, who seemed knowledgeable about Buddhism, immediately interjected, “Do you follow Theravāda or Mahāyāna Buddhism?”

 

Not being a monastic, I responded, “Mahāyāna Buddhism.”

 

To this, he retorted, “Mahāyāna Buddhism is a cheat. It deludes people into thinking they can attain enlightenment without renouncing worldly life.”

 

What followed was a fiery theological debate between Christians, Muslims, and Buddhists. Each side dissected the validity of Buddha’s enlightenment and whether it could compare to the omniscience of a deity like God or Allah.

 

Not wanting to be drawn into this quagmire, I quietly slipped away before my chicken nuggets turned cold.

 

If “Oh my God” and “Oh my Lord” were both taboo, what could I say instead?

 

I’d also heard expressions like “Good Lord,” but I had started to feel that using any “Lord” in English might inadvertently provoke conflict. Still, it felt somewhat defensible to use these expressions because they tied back to the idea of “Lord Buddha.”

 

Then, I remembered a phrase my classmates often used: “Oh, Gosh.” I learned that “Gosh” was a euphemistic substitute for “God.” It seemed far less likely to offend anyone, making it a safer choice.

 

From that point on, I limited myself to two expressions: “Oh my Lord” or “Oh, Gosh.”

 

Among close friends who knew me well, “Oh my God” was acceptable. However, I suspected that Christians and Muslims alike often wondered why someone like me would use it.

 

On one occasion, when I exclaimed, “Oh my Lord,” a nearby person asked, “Do you really say that?” I realised they found the use of “Lord” oddly dissonant coming from me.

 

I explained, “I say it because Buddha is Lord Buddha, and I want to avoid offending others by invoking God’s name directly.”

 

Today, if you search online, “Oh My God” often appears on Japanese websites as one of the top expressions non-Christian or person without faith should avoid. Yet, I occasionally see Japanese schoolchildren using it casually, perhaps unaware of its nuances.

 

I cannot say whether such conversations still occur in contemporary London. What I can say is that for those of us who aren’t Christian or Moslem, using “Oh my God” can sometimes spark unexpected controversy.

 

Perhaps it’s safest to stick with euphemisms like “Oh, Gosh.” or "Oh my Goodness"