
English: 
Can atheists be grateful
or thankful?
Because if we are grateful or thankful,
who are we grateful to?
Normally people say, you know,
"I'm grateful and I'm thanking God for whatever
it is good that happened in my life,"
but I don't have-- I don't have any problem with
the words grateful or thankful, or anything like that,
because it's just
a matter of directing it
in the place where
it deserves to be directed.
You know, if you went through a surgery
and you came out better on the other side,
you don't have to be grateful
to God for that.
Let's thank the doctors and nurses
who made that happen and made you--
and cured you,
or at least helped you
recover from that. If your parents
and your friends, your family, supported you
through a really
difficult time in your life,
thank them for their support.
I don't see anything wrong with that.
I think we only get into trouble if we just don't say who
we're thankful to and we just kind of throw it up in the
air: "I'm just grateful that this happened."

Spanish: 
¿Los ateos pueden
sentirse agradecidos?
Porque si estamos agradecidos,
¿a quién le agradecemos?
Normalmente la gente dice: "Doy gracias a Dios por
todo lo bueno que me ha pasado en la vida",
pero no tengo ningún problema con las palabras
de agradecimiento, ni nada de eso,
porque solo es
cuestión de dirigirlas
al objetivo al que
merecen ser dirigidas.
Si pasaste por una cirugía
y todo salió bien,
no tienes que agradecerle
a Dios por eso.
Agradécele a los doctores y
enfermeras que lo hicieron posible
y que te sanaron,
o al menos te ayudaron
a recuperarte. Si tus padres
y amigos, o tu familia, te apoyó
durante ese momento
difícil en tu vida,
agradéceles su apoyo.
No veo nada de malo en eso.
Solo nos metemos en problemas si no decimos a quién
le estamos agradecidos y lo dejamos en el aire:
"Agradezco que todo esto haya pasado".

English: 
No, I'm grateful to that person
or that other person,
the farmers who made the food and, you know,
all those people who helped me along the way.
That's who you need
to be grateful for.
There's even a broader
question hereof:
can we ever mention,
you know, godly things,
godly phrases?
And I don't have any problem
with that either.
I say phrases like, "Oh, my god" all the time.
It's just a part of my vernacular.
And again, I don't have any problem
with people who say that either.
Or "Bless you!"
after you sneeze.
I know you're not actually referring to God
in some cases, anyway, if you're saying that.
It's just a figure of speech.
There's nothing wrong with that.
But again,
if you say it,
yes, some people mean it in a religious sense.
I think a lot of people just kind of say it without
thinking about it.
But there's no problem with
saying religious phrases.
But hey, if you can redirect them
and point them in the right direction,
instead of saying "God bless you,"
say "Gesundheit."

Spanish: 
No, le agradezco a tal persona,
o a tal otra persona,
a los granjeros que cultivaron la comida,
y a todos los que me ayudaron en el camino.
A ellos les debes
estar agradecido.
Incluso hay una pregunta
más amplia:
¿podemos mencionar
cosas piadosas,
frases piadosas?
Tampoco tengo
problemas con eso.
Digo frases como: "Ay, Dios mío" todo el tiempo.
Es parte de mi vocabulario.
Y repito, tampoco tengo problemas
con que la gente diga eso.
O "¡Bendito!",
después de un estornudo.
Sé que no te estás refiriendo a Dios
en ciertos casos, si dices eso.
Es solo una forma de hablar.
No hay nada de malo en eso.
Pero de nuevo,
si lo dices,
sí, algunos lo dicen en un sentido religioso.
Creo que muchos lo dicen sin pensarlo.
Pero no hay problema en
decir frases religiosas.
Claro, si puedes apuntarlas
en la dirección correcta,
en vez de decir "Dios te bendiga",
di "Salud".

Spanish: 
En vez de decir "Ay, Dios mío", di "Ay, madre mía".
Si puedes hacer eso, enhorabuena.
Lo mismo aplica en Acción de Gracias.
¿A quién le estás dando las gracias?
A quienes prepararon la comida,
a la familia sentada a tu mesa,
a los que hicieron de
esa ocasión algo mejor.
Mi nombre es Hemant Mehta.
Escribo en FriendlyAtheist.com
Por favor, deja tus mensajes
y preguntas aquí en los comentarios.

English: 
Instead of saying "Oh, my God," say "Oh, my goodness".
If you can do that, more power to you.
The same thing applies to Thanksgiving, too.
Who are you giving thanks to?
To the people who made the food,
to the family who's at your table,
everyone who made
that occasion a better one.
My name is Hemant Mehta.
I write at FriendlyAtheist.com
Please, leave your messages
and questions below in the comments.
