Has God enriched English?

Christians, Muslims and Jews believe that God created the universe, Earth and everything in them. According to Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, the universe, the Earth and everything in them evolved over a long period of time. Rationalists also do not believe that the universe was created by an omnipotent God. Despite such divergent views on God, it is pertinent to inquire whether He has enriched English.

Whenever we wish to emphasise how surprised, angry or shocked we use such expressions as, “Oh my god, I’ve never heard of such large scale corruption.” Similarly, when we do not understand something at all or have no knowledge of it, we say, “God knows where she is going.” On the other hand, we say, “God willing” to mean that everything happens in the way we want. We also use the word “God” when we wish to swear. You might say, “I swear to God that I didn’t misuse my powers.”

In informal English, we thank God when we are happy because something bad did not happen. A minister who did not lose his seat at the general election would say, “Thank God I’ve been re-elected.” Sometimes, we receive a sudden windfall, an unexpected promotion or a foreign trip. Don’t we say, “There is a God?”

Creator

When we write the word “God” with a simple “g” (god), we do not necessarily refer to the Creator. Hindus and some Buddhists believe in 330 million gods! God knows where they live or what they do. However, most of us have faith in one or more gods and we expect them to help us realise our ambitions. In India there are images of various gods all over the country. Even in Sri Lanka worshipping gods has become a part of our culture. Although the Buddha did not pay much attention to gods, almost every temple has a kovil for one or more gods.

Sometimes, we walk into a restaurant to have our meals. While leaving the restaurant, we might say, “That was a god-awful meal!” Once a trishaw driver drove his vehicle at breakneck speed. The only passenger happened to be a foreigner. He shouted, “Don’t drive so goddam fast!” The driver slowed down the vehicle. Thank God, the foreigner’s life was saved from a possible accident. Sometimes, we lose our cool when an official transaction takes a long time. Then we invariably say, “Goddam, how much longer will it take?”

Some of us are god-fearing men and women because we try to live in the way we believe God would wish us to. However, the modern world is running short of god-fearing men judging by the way man is killing his own fellow men on the battle-field. Sometimes we wonder whether religion has failed to mould humans into god-fearing people. If there are god-fearing men, most of the atrocious crimes would be a thing of the past.

God-forsaken places

Sometimes circumstances force us to visit god-forsaken places here and abroad. Such places have nothing interesting or pleasant. Certain areas in the metropolis have become virtual god-forsaken places with pickpockets, prostitutes, snatch thieves and muggers. One might wonder whether the whole world has become a god-forsaken planet!

In almost every part of the world there are highly talented painters, authors, pets and architects. Who or what made them stand above the rest? We say that such people have God-given talents. In other words, we are unable to explain how they became talented. Probably, another Shakespeare will not be born. Will there be another Keyt, Amaradeva or A.R. Rahman? Probably not. All of them possess God-given talents.

With narcotics flowing into countries like a tsunami, one may wonder whether we are turning the world into a godless planet. Almost all the morals have fled from society. Fathers molest their daughters; mothers sell their daughters and children dump their old parents on the roadside. These are terrible signs of a godless society.

Godlike qualities

Although the modern society is rotten to the core, there are still a few who possess godlike qualities. Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and Mahathma Gandhi had godlike attitudes. How many of us would emulate the example set by them?

When we consider how the word “God” has enriched English, we cannot forget Moses Maimonides who claimed that we could say things about God, but they must be understood as telling us about God’s actions. rather than God’s being. Most people tend to visualise God in human form. According to Maimonides, it is a mistake to think that God is a bodily thing. “God” he says, “has no attributes and He cannot be defined.”

Whether we agree with Maimonides or not, the word “God” has undoubtedly enriched English in no small measure.