AMDG

[mytwomonkeys]

What does that mean???

 

I see it often here & have no idea.

 

When I googled it, it says it means "to the greater glory of God".

 

That doesn't make sense though.

 

So just enlighten me -- thanks! :)

[OnTheBrink]

I've wondered this myself. I've asked before, but no one answered.

[Hunter's Moon]

I believe AMDG stands for the Latin translation of "to the greater glory of God". 

 

It is used, mostly by Catholics, but I am sure others use it as well, to remind one that their words can harm as well as help. It is a reminder to themselves that what they do should be for God's glory. 

 

HTH. 

[mytwomonkeys]

Google says, "to the greater glory of God"

 

It seems like it would go in their siggy then though & not prior to the posts I see it attached too.

 

I really don't care, it would just make it easier to read a post if I knew it was just a greeting or precursor of sorts.

[Kathy in Richmond]

I believe AMDG stands for the Latin translation of "to the greater glory of God". 

 

It is used, mostly by Catholics, but I am sure others use it as well, to remind one that their words can harm as well as help. It is a reminder to themselves that what they do should be for God's glory. 

 

HTH. 

 

Yep, AMDG = ad majorem Dei gloriam = to the greater glory of God

 

[mytwomonkeys]

I believe AMDG stands for the Latin translation of "to the greater glory of God".

 

It is used, mostly by Catholics, but I am sure others use it as well, to remind one that their words can harm as well as help. It is a reminder to themselves that what they do should be for God's glory.

 

HTH.

Thanks. That's what I read too. Just wasn't sure if it was correct.

 

I was just making sure it wasn't short for something like JAWM :)

 

Thanks!

[Isabella]

I guess I can see why someone may always want to be reminded of not hurting with the written word, but I do find it disconcerting to read it in the beginning of a post.

[swellmomma]

nm

Edited February 18, 2014 by Moderator
That's fight-picking. Unnecessary.

[chiguirre]

I think it's equivalent to a Muslim writing Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim at the beginning of their physical correspondence. I learned to include it when I studied Arabic because it was an expected salutation. Although, I've never seen anyone start a WTM post with it, so I guess forum posts don't "need" it. I don't know where AMDG would be an expected salutation, but it doesn't do any harm other than momentarily dredging through your half forgotten Latin phrases to figure it out.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

I believe AMDG stands for the Latin translation of "to the greater glory of God".

 

It is used, mostly by Catholics, but I am sure others use it as well, to remind one that their words can harm as well as help. It is a reminder to themselves that what they do should be for God's glory.

 

HTH.

AMDG

 

Well, I think that sums it up so nicely I can't imagine what I would add. Thank you for being able to express the sentiment so nicely and succinctly, elishiba!

 

Well, I would add this . . . I do apologize for not fielding any questions about using it. I would always want to do that but obviously miss queries sometimes. I do tend to drop topics when they get contentious and not go back so I may have missed something that way. Also, I tend not to glance past the first page so if it rolls over to page two, I wouldn't see it there, either.

 

I apologize for missing opportunities to answer!

[Tammi K]

I admit I sometimes also skip posts that begin with it. I can't explain why it annoys me, but it does. 

 

I taught in a Catholic school and the kids in my class were told in previous years to write GOD at the very top of their papers.  I wasn't raised Catholic (converted when I got married) and didn't go to a Catholic school so it seemed really weird to me. I told them in my classroom we didn't do that. I can't explain why, but that annoyed me, too.

[HRAAB]

When I was inside the Catholic Church, I might have used AMDG on e-mails or posts with other like minded Catholics, but I would never have used it elsewhere.  It seemed out of place to do so.  Instead of being humble, it was almost like shouting "look at me".  Besides that most people wouldn't know what it meant, and others might be bothered by it.  It's like praying out loud so everyone can hear you as opposed to praying silently.  No need to do it out loud.  Either you're honoring God wit your words or you're not.  If it's inside, you will live it, and it will show on the outside.

 

Just my personal opinion.  

[Susan in TN]

My brain keeps trying to translate it as some version of OMG and that's the only reason it bothers me - certainly not the fault of the comment poster.

[HRAAB]

I taught in a Catholic school and the kids in my class were told in previous years to write GOD at the very top of their papers.  I wasn't raised Catholic (converted when I got married) and didn't go to a Catholic school so it seemed really weird to me. I told them in my classroom we didn't do that. I can't explain why, but that annoyed me, too.

 

Twelve years of Catholic school, and we were never instructed to write GOD at the top of our pages.  However, we were instructed to write JMJ - Jesus, Mary, Joseph.  Writing GOD seems very odd to me.

[Hunter's Moon]

I guess I don't quite understand why such things are found to be acceptable in signatures, but not in the beginning of a post.

 

There are many people who proclaim their life choices in their siggy, whether they be about religion (or non-religion), educational choices for their children, or parenting choices ("crunchy," breastfeeding, etc.).

[swellmomma]

I guess I don't quite understand why such things are found to be acceptable in signatures, but not in the beginning of a post.

 

There are many people who proclaim their life choices in their siggy, whether they be about religion (or non-religion), educational choices for their children, or parenting choices ("crunchy," breastfeeding, etc.).

 

I think because most people don't take the time to look at siggies unless really interested, otherwise they just scroll on by.  When it is at the top of a post is a proclamation that can be irritating to readers and can not be scrolled by without scrolling by the whole post. It is not that the poster is doing anything inherently wrong but it is irritating none-the-less, like how some don't like when people write in colors or bolded font.  

[HRAAB]

I guess I don't quite understand why such things are found to be acceptable in signatures, but not in the beginning of a post.

 

There are many people who proclaim their life choices in their siggy, whether they be about religion (or non-religion), educational choices for their children, or parenting choices ("crunchy," breastfeeding, etc.).

 

I would guess most people don't bother to read signatures or read them once and don't bother to look again.  When it's at the top of the post, it's the first thing your eyes land on.

[Hunter's Moon]

Thank you swellmomma and ishki, I had not thought I that.

 

I suppose this just falls under quirky things that fellow humans do - sometimes they bother us and don't make sense, but aren't wrong.

[dancingmama]

Weird.  I went to Catholic school for 13 years and we weren't instructed to write anything on top of our papers except name and date.  No, god, jmj, amgd or anything else like that.  Hmmm.

 

I am also distracted by it at the top and often do not read the message as I am using the scroll page button so that person's post often goes unread.  It's just too distracting to me.  

[YaelAldrich]

Jews have a similar saying that we put at the beginning of our correspondence (although I don't put it on things I write for secular matters, I do tend to write it when I am writing another religious Jew).  bs"d or b"H (with the help of Heaven, with the help of G-d).  It is a good reminder to the writer but I could see how people could get annoyed with it up there... 

[readinmom]

Another one here who didn't know what it meant!  Now I know...

[mytwomonkeys]

I guess I don't quite understand why such things are found to be acceptable in signatures, but not in the beginning of a post.

 

There are many people who proclaim their life choices in their siggy, whether they be about religion (or non-religion), educational choices for their children, or parenting choices ("crunchy," breastfeeding, etc.).

I think it's acceptable anywhere. I really thought it was short for something like JAWM, so when I googled it, I just assumed it had to be something else. I'm not Catholic though, so I wasn't aware that was a common salutation and doesn't need to have any correlation to what follows. I'm just glad to know what it means now, lol. I always thought it was directly related to the post, so I felt out of the loop :)

[dancingmama]

It's not that it's unacceptable, but that it's just distracting.  Every time I see it, I have to go through the mental process of remembering what it means.  I just skip it to save time now.  Not the authors problem but my problem.  In the signatures, I automatically skip the signature lines unless I need to figure out a child's age or a curriculum being used or somesuch so there it wouldn't be as big of an issue, or even at the end of a msg.  At the top it just takes extra brain cells and thought.  

[Audrey]

When I was inside the Catholic Church, I might have used AMDG on e-mails or posts with other like minded Catholics, but I would never have used it elsewhere.  It seemed out of place to do so.  Instead of being humble, it was almost like shouting "look at me".  Besides that most people wouldn't know what it meant, and others might be bothered by it.  It's like praying out loud so everyone can hear you as opposed to praying silently.  No need to do it out loud.  Either you're honoring God wit your words or you're not.  If it's inside, you will live it, and it will show on the outside.

 

Just my personal opinion.  

 

 

The bolded.  Exactly.

[umsami]

Thanks for posting this, 'cause I didn't know what AMDG meant. :)

I think it's acceptable anywhere. I really thought it was short for something like JAWM, so when I googled it, I just assumed it had to be something else. I'm not Catholic though, so I wasn't aware that was a common salutation and doesn't need to have any correlation to what follows. I'm just glad to know what it means now, lol. I always thought it was directly related to the post, so I felt out of the loop :)

 

What does JAWM stand for??

Is it a Jesus something something Mary?

[Audrey]

Thanks for posting this, 'cause I didn't know what AMDG meant. :)

 

What does JAWM stand for??

Is it a Jesus something something Mary?

 

Just

Agree

With

Me

 

I think it was Mrs. Mungo who first coined that acronym. Maybe? 

[LucyStoner]

JAWM means Just Agree with Me- a label for a post where someone is looking for support and commiseration rather than advice or feedback.

[KungFuPanda]

My brain keeps trying to translate it as some version of OMG and that's the only reason it bothers me - certainly not the fault of the comment poster.

My brain reads it as "Oh My Dear God" EVERY time. I know better. I'm catholic even! But still . . .

[Catwoman]

AMDG

 

Well, I think that sums it up so nicely I can't imagine what I would add. Thank you for being able to express the sentiment so nicely and succinctly, elishiba!

 

Well, I would add this . . . I do apologize for not fielding any questions about using it. I would always want to do that but obviously miss queries sometimes. I do tend to drop topics when they get contentious and not go back so I may have missed something that way. Also, I tend not to glance past the first page so if it rolls over to page two, I wouldn't see it there, either.

 

I apologize for missing opportunities to answer!

I just wanted to let you know that you answered me immediately when I asked you what it meant, and you were very gracious about it. (I was raised Catholic, but had still never heard of it.)

 

Thanks! :)

[Catwoman]

My brain reads it as "Oh My Dear God" EVERY time. I know better. I'm catholic even! But still . . .

Every time I see it, my brain immediately reads it as, "Here's a post from MomOfOneFunOne." :D

 

If other people start picking up on it, I will get all confused, so let's not start a trend here, people. ;)

[WishboneDawn]

I think forum discussions are a little more analogous to talking rather then writing so the AMDG is disruptive to the reader in a way it might not be in a letter our email.

 

I do agree that in mixed company it might cause more issues then the author is trying to avoid.

 

That said, my minor irritation with it is my own. I'm similarly annoyed by bold and colored don't but I just deal with it. Lots of people I talk to IRL have tics or verbal works that are distracting to I sort of put it in that category and move on.

[Mommyfaithe]

Every time I see it, my brain immediately reads it as, "Here's a post from MomOfOneFunOne." :D

 

If other people start picking up on it, I will get all confused, so let's not start a trend here, people. ;)

Agree.

[dancingmama]

Every time I see it, my brain immediately reads it as, "Here's a post from MomOfOneFunOne." :D

 

If other people start picking up on it, I will get all confused, so let's not start a trend here, people. ;)

 

 

I didn't even realize it was just one person who did it.  See, like the signatures, I only look at who wrote something if there is a reason.  Names are nicely on the side so it's not distracting.  :)  

 

Well, now I know.  

 

And like Wishbone Dawn, I also have issues with bold and colored text but it is my own issue.  But like when I talk to people, I have to decide whether that "quirk" can be dealt with.  I know that I used to have a habit of touching my face when talking to people.  Someone once told me that I did it (I hadn't noticed) and told me that she (and probably others) found it distracting.  I learned to stop so that people would focus on my message instead of my littler quirk.  We all make choices.  :)

[mytwomonkeys]

I didn't even realize it was just one person who did it. See, like the signatures, I only look at who wrote something if there is a reason. Names are nicely on the side so it's not distracting. :)

 

Well, now I know.

 

And like Wishbone Dawn, I also have issues with bold and colored text but it is my own issue. But like when I talk to people, I have to decide whether that "quirk" can be dealt with. I know that I used to have a habit of touching my face when talking to people. Someone once told me that I did it (I hadn't noticed) and told me that she (and probably others) found it distracting. I learned to stop so that people would focus on my message instead of my littler quirk. We all make choices. :)

I had no idea it was a single poster either. I though it was an acronym used by several posters here.

 

I talk with my hands. Well, I've gotten much better about it -- but I used to wave them all over the place when talking (and had no idea!) -- I'm sure that was ridiculously distracting!!!! :)

[momto10blessings]

Twelve years of Catholic school, and we were never instructed to write GOD at the top of our pages. However, we were instructed to write JMJ - Jesus, Mary, Joseph. Writing GOD seems very odd to me.

That's what we were taught to do. I still do it without thinking sometimes.

[Laurie]

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but AMDG is also used as a motto by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits).  

 

My husband and I both received some of our education at Jesuit schools, so I'm happy to give them a little publicity here!      http://www.jesuit.org/aboutus

  

 

 

[DianeW88]

I always thought it was some sort of expletive, because that's what it looks like across the top of a post in all caps.  Swearing and shouting. :lol:

[LMA]

My Orthodox Jewish friends used to write Hebrew letters at the top of their work in school and this was public school. It was a phrase related to "with the help of God," I think. I don't quite remember. (It's been many years.)

[Catwoman]

I had no idea it was a single poster either. I though it was an acronym used by several posters here.

You could very well be right -- but as far as I'm concerned, MomOfOneFunOne gets the credit for all of the AMDG posts.

 

I like to keep things simple. :D

[Guest submarines]

I don't have any issues with it, but my brain does. Every time it sees the acronym, it stumbles. My brain would like it better if the acronym were in a smaller font. Then it could gloss over it.

 

But my brain also struggles if there are posts entirely in bold or in a different color. I skip those.

[WishboneDawn]

I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet, but AMDG is also used as a motto by the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits).  

 

My husband and I both received some of our education at Jesuit schools, so I'm happy to give them a little publicity here!      http://www.jesuit.org/aboutus

I never went to a Jesuit school but I consider them the Beatles of the education world. :D

[Wildcat]

The AMDG bothers me in that I have religion thrown in my face all.the.time. Message boards are like 'conversation' to me (as WishboneDawn said), so that is what seeing that acronym at the beginning of each post feels like to me--- religion being thrown in my face. MomofOneFunOne seems like a really nice person and I generally like her posts, so I'm sure her intent isn't to make others feel uncomfortable, but it is uncomfortable to me.

 

Bolding in posts doesn't bother me, but posts in all color do. Someone posts in all green and it hurts my eyes to read. I'll read short posts, but it they are more than a few sentences, I have to give up. I also won't look at websites with black backgrounds and white font---I just can't read with that type of color contrast. I was surprised to see there are still some of those out there!

[KarenNC]

I guess I don't quite understand why such things are found to be acceptable in signatures, but not in the beginning of a post.

 

There are many people who proclaim their life choices in their siggy, whether they be about religion (or non-religion), educational choices for their children, or parenting choices ("crunchy," breastfeeding, etc.).

 

I don't know that I would go so far as to say it was unacceptable, but I find it a distraction to communication. I understand the sig to be additional information, not related to the topic of discussion. Frankly, pretty much any acronym or group-specific jargon is likely to be the same, unless it is one that is very common within the group using it (so AMDG wouldn't be as much a stumbling block in a primarily Catholic group, for instance, where the majority of people could be expected to recognize it).

 

I will have to admit that I am like one of the previous posters and assumed it was some sort of shorthand like JAWM or OMG or possibly an expletive of some kind, and made no connection with religion. Since I don't read these boards in the context of a particular religion but of homeschooling, even when I am aware of the meaning of a religion-specific acronym, it's not always the way my mind first interprets it. For instance, I've seen some Muslims use PBUH after the name of Jesus (not sure if it was on here, but in a non-religious posting situation) and my mind immediately interprets it as a written form of a verbal "raspberry", which is a bit disconcerting. I have to stop and re-read to make it make proper sense. It's not out of lack of respect for the person, topic, or religion, just that it's not  expected in the context and not something I encounter regularly enough for it to be automatic. I have to go back and look at the poster, realize she's a Muslim, and then I understand what they meant.

[WishboneDawn]

The AMDG bothers me in that I have religion thrown in my face all.the.time. Message boards are like 'conversation' to me (as WishboneDawn said), so that is what seeing that acronym at the beginning of each post feels like to me--- religion being thrown in my face. MomofOneFunOne seems like a really nice person and I generally like her posts, so I'm sure her intent isn't to make others feel uncomfortable, but it is uncomfortable to me.

 

Bolding in posts doesn't bother me, but posts in all color do. Someone posts in all green and it hurts my eyes to read. I'll read short posts, but it they are more than a few sentences, I have to give up. I also won't look at websites with black backgrounds and white font---I just can't read with that type of color contrast. I was surprised to see there are still some of those out there!

I definitely don't feel it's religion being thrown in my face.

 

I think what should be considered is the poster. MomofFunOne is generally a polite and considerate poster and not prone to proselytizing. There is a point where I think that has to be taken into account and the feelings of offence dismissed. To those who are familiar with her It's quite obvious it's something she does for herself and it's not meant to say anything about the rest off us.

 

 

I'm actually regretting saying anything though. We've now moved to essentially discussing just one (lovely) poster and I think that's unfair.

[JoJosMom]

 

I'm actually regretting saying anything though. We've now moved to essentially discussing just one (lovely) poster and I think that's unfair.

 

:iagree:

[Wildcat]

I definitely don't feel it's religion being thrown in my face.

 

I think what should be considered is the poster. MomofFunOne is generally a polite and considerate poster and not prone to proselytizing. There is a point where I think that has to be taken into account and the feelings of offence dismissed. To those who are familiar with her It's quite obvious it's something she does for herself and it's not meant to say anything about the rest off us.

 

 

I'm actually regretting saying anything though. We've now moved to essentially discussing just one (lovely) poster and I think that's unfair.

 

I also regret posting to this thread. I normally stay out of threads like this one because I often lack tact and eloquence, both of which are important while writing. 

 

I hope MomofOneFunOne doesn't feel picked on. She is the only one (that I have seen) using the acronym, however, which is why her name was mentioned up thread.  As I said in my first post, she seems really nice in her posts and I am sure she doesn't mean to make anyone uncomfortable.

[Chris in VA]

For some reason, it always makes me think of Queen Amidala from Star Wars.

 

Not that anyone cares, just throwin' that out there... :D

[Guest]

It doesn't bother me anymore, since learning what it means and why it's there. Honestly, several posters have a feature of their personalization that is a bit annoying, but...welll, we often have to accept these small irritations. It wouldn't hurt if I specifically reminded myself before every post that my words matter.