# The CHURCH FINGER!



## song_of_serenity (May 15, 2010)

You know what people do...they raise their pointer finger when going up the aisles to "excuse themselves" I always giggle to myself because if they just got up and walked out/to the bathroom or what have you, you wouldn't notice them but as SOON AS THE FINGER GOES UP, peoples eyes, mine included, follow them down that seemingly looong walk. 

So I googled "the church finger" and came to Snopes. I LOVE snopes.
*The Claim:*


> Have you *ever attended a church service* and *saw someone hold up a finger as they are exiting the sanctuary during the service?  *What does it mean?
> 
> During the slavery days when the *masters took their slaves with them to public gatherings,* the slaves would always sit in the balcony.*  When the slave had to go to the bathroom or wanted to be excused for any other reason, they would hold their hand up and  keep it up until their master acknowledged that they saw their hand and gave them permission to leave or in other words "excused them to leave".  After the slave was given permission to leave,* they would *hold up one finger as they were leaving to inform anyone that saw them leave that they had been excused.  So it means "My Master has excused me".*
> 
> ...


They list it as "undetermined"
http://www.snopes.com/religion/finger.asp

Snope goes on to give reasons why this WOULDN'T be plausible. One of them:



> There are *problems with this supposed origin.* First,  if a master had brought some of his slaves to a public event and seated them in that building's balcony, *he wouldn't have been keeping an eye on them throughout whatever it was he'd come to see.* Given that his attention would have been directed towards the figures enacting whatever public affairs drama was underway (e.g., political speech, criminal trial),* he wouldn't have seen upraised hands among his servants, ensconced as they were on a higher level and probably to the back of him.* Also, *it would have bordered on unthinkable for slaves to risk disrupting public functions with their comings and goings, yet the premise of this origin has it that this practice was so commonplace as to have inspired a widely understood ritual of their raising their hands to seek permission to leave, getting it by way of a nod from their masters, then holding up a finger to signify to others that permission for the act underway had been duly sought and granted.*


 

It's a good read!


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## Jenibo (May 22, 2010)

Oh that dreaded baptist finger!!! Interesting info you provided


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## MelodicVessel (May 25, 2010)

I think it is hilarious and in some churches, they hold up TWO fingers... lol...
Interesting info, OP!


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## GodsPromises (May 25, 2010)

I truly hate "the finger".  It is one of those things that was passed down from generation to generation and no one knew the history behind it.  It was just done. If more people knew why it was done as stated in the OP then maybe they would stop doing it.


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## JustKiya (May 25, 2010)

I've heard another explanation, saying that it was a form of avoiding the evil eye, since you were leaving/disrupting a religious event...... which makes more sense to me. It was also passed down from slavery time, though.


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## Love Always (May 25, 2010)

I never knew the logic behind the church finger, I never do it to excuse myself when I exit the santuary.


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