*Atheists: What do you say to someone when they sneeze? ?

Question

I'm trying to figure out your thoughts because it comes so natural for me to say God Bless You when someone sneezes. What do you think when a loved one becomes ill? When a miracle happens who do you thank for it?

Answer 1

You can also say, "Bless you!

Or, other languages:

German: "Gesundheit!"

Spanish:  "¡Salut!"   (Sa-LOOT)

Russian:  

For a man you know:  "Будь здоров!"  (bood zda-ROV)

For a woman you know:  "Будь здорова!"  (bood zda-ROV-a)

As far as I can tell, atheists don't believe in miracles.. everything has a cause and effect, even if we don't know what that cause is.

My mother, who was not an atheist, used to say, "Thank goodness!"

Answer 2

Would you like a tissue?  It's always an unhappy time when someone you love is ill because it's hard to imagine life without them.  If a miracle happens, then great...but I truly believe in mind over matter...if you wallow in self-pity, it's self-defeating...if you believe you can overcome the odds...you probably will...and you have nobody to thank but yourself...that's what I believe.  

Answer 3

who cares what they say.

Answer 4

salud.. in spanish it means good health

Answer 5

Bless You.

Thats all.

Not "God Bless You"

Just "Bless you".

As in "I" bless "you

Answer 6

I use Gesundheit, which I believe is a simple "bless you" or I say "bless you" with no reference to god. Without referring to god, being blessed is simply another term for good luck. When a loved one gets sick, I think so, what? I hope you get better soon. God has not been proven to have any effect for or against getting ill, or for recovery from an illness. Miracles? Just another word for something I have no explanation for, YET. What you believers insist on calling a miracle is something which you can not explain and assume god had something to do with it, while I simply think we have not found the real explanation YET. Gravity used to be called a miracle. The Earth being the center of the universe used to be called a miracle, a divine thing that could only be made by god. What happened to the Earth being the center of the universe anyway? The church persecuted Galileo, put him on trial as a heretic, sentenced him to house arrest and forced him to recent his under threat of excommunication for publishing a manuscript placing the Sun in the center with planets orbiting the Sun. One person's miracle is another person's technology. There you go, the miracle of the Earth centered universe promoted exclusively by the church for hundreds of years blown out of the water by a simple telescope and an observation of the moons of Jupiter, and how long did it take before the church changed its position to fit the facts?. Just because we have not found the reason for some things does NOT mean there is NO reason to find, which is the fallacy of the miracle as far as the church is concerned. The church has stopped looking for the reasons. You have quit, given up looking and claim, without any concrete proof, that it was the hand of god. I am still looking for reasons why. Did god cause the Tsunami that killed so many? Did god cause Katrina? Why aren't you thanking god for those events when you thank god for the food on your table?

Answer 7

Umm... well normally they say 'bless you!' ....but it is pretty dumb thing to say actually it's supposed to stop your life force from coming out your nose when you sneeze.  So... it doesn't make sense at all.  Sneezing is  a normal bodily function that happens when you may have something that is  irritating and it wants to remove it.  

End of story.  

Answer 8

"You are SOOOOO good looking!"

-Anyone get this one?  lol!

Answer 9

"do you want a Kleenex?"

Answer 10

How about "Bless You?"

Answer 11

Bless you.I don't think just me changing a centuries old tradition,will make any difference to what others will say.

Answer 12

I say bless you because it is a centuries old tradition and I see it as being polite rather than being religious.

When a loved one becomes ill I hope they they will get better. I don't see the religious connection to this question at all...

I am yet to see a miracle or hear of one from a reliable source (aka not from the bible and something that had been properly documented and see by many unbiased people or maybe even filmed and confirmed not tampered with) that has not been explained scientifically. If I ever have any reason to believe a miracle actually occurred I'll let you know how I feel about it.

Answer 13

Živio! (atheists in Croatia)

It means "Have a long life"

Answer 14

i tell them: When you die, nothing happens."

and that's when it all starts...

Answer 15

I tell them I'm sorry that they sneezed, I hope they get over it soon.  Then when a loved one becomes ill I wish them the best, and hope that they recover.  I don't believe in miracles, more like coincedences but when something unique and amazing happens, I am shocked and happy.  Just the typical human emotions/ reactions to such events, minus the religious element, and sometimes I do say 'bless you' to a sneezer because it is just habit:)

Answer 16

cover your mouth next time

there are no miracles  only events

things  either are  or are not  

Answer 17

You say nothing. Or you can say Gazuntight. I dont think the spelling is right but makes for easy pronunciation:) It is greek for bless you

Answer 18

nothing

Answer 19

Salude or Bless you

Answer 20

u need to where more clothe

Answer 21

i say 'get a tissue, you snotty b*****d'.

Answer 22

ohh chill out just cuz we dont believe doesnt mean were gonna put you on blast like a christian were not like that i have never met and uptight atheist i swear, ya know why cuz we dont worry about what happens after you die we are living the life we have cuz if you belive in santa, the easter bunny, and all the other childhood fairytales then i guess you belive that their is just a magic kingdom we go to after we die that is ridiculous...

so anyways after we sneeze say whatever you like say god bless you, just say bless you, say fukc you we dont care chill out  

their is no such thing as a miracle things happen and things dont...

no miracles though and for me i live in america so i dont try to persuade people to not belive in god "to each his own"

everyone lives their own life and i dont hate on them for their own beliefs...

ahh im done you wont listen anyways        

Answer 23

Non-bless you.

lol

Answer 24

I ask them if they need a tissue and if it felt good. Do you know that a sneeze is the closest thing to an o****m that you can experience with out actually having one? when a loved one becomes ill I help them all that I can. What is a miracle? an act of God? like tsunami? or a hurricane like Katrina? or getting some polyps removed from your colon that are precancerous because you have health insurance? or not because you don't and then you die because you didn't? I wonder what a miracle is.