The Lord's name in vain.

[IisJustMe]

Unfortunately for many of the posters here the understanding of "using the Lord's name in vain" is misconstrued. The commandment not to use the Lord's name in vain has nothing to do with swearing and everything to do with oaths. In ancient times when people made promised with regard to business deals, they would promise in God's name that they were trustworthy. This commandment is basically saying that one should not promise something in God's name unless they really were going to deliver.

You are making excuse to use the Lord's name as a swear word. What you fail to grasp is that to use His name in a phrase of angry exclamation is indeed a false oath, a worthless use of the Name, a reduction of God to a useless "thing." Stop making excuses and see the command for what it is. Your definition indeed embraces the one I laid out earlier.

 

[BrandonLParks]

To both lisJustMe and BlessedJ, you are anachronising by placing contemporary understanding on past situations. In the bible there is no such thing as cussing and using the Lord's name in vain has nothing to do with cussing, but with making business or personal transactions. Besides that, "God" is not the name of the Lord we're asked not to use in vain, "Yahweh" is. Which means that when we do traditionally criticize people for saying things like "God D__n" or "Jesus Christ" they are not using the Lord's name "Yahweh" in vain.

 

[Blessedj01]

To both lisJustMe and BlessedJ, you are anachronising by placing contemporary understanding on past situations. In the bible there is no such thing as cussing and using the Lord's name in vain has nothing to do with cussing, but with making business or personal transactions. Besides that, "God" is not the name of the Lord we're asked not to use in vain, "Yahweh" is. Which means that when we do traditionally criticize people for saying things like "God D__n" or "Jesus Christ" they are not using the Lord's name "Yahweh" in vain.

Culture does not dictate truth. I highly doubt there was no "cussing" in ancient times, the Bible even states that "there is nothing new under the sun."

God is one of God's names. If it isn't, then that term still can't be rightly applied to any other deity. There is only one true God and all the rest are fakes. They don't even exist. To use a term like God and mean something else is illogical. You simply can't describe anyone else truthfully with that name. You'd be describing an imaginary concept, not a real God.

God has MANY names. How can you think that Yahweh is his only name? Jesus is another name, for instance. Oh so it's not his name because it's a transliteration of a Hewbrew word? I don't buy that. In order for us to even be able to slightly comprehend God, he has to work with the understanding we currently have. The fact that we translated His name doesn't mean it's not His name.

Also, how can you think that saying "God damn" is not using the Lord's name in vain!? The Bible has examples of people damning things in God's name. I hope you know what "damn" means! You're basically making an empty request of God when you say that. You're imploring God to damn something, be it whatever trivial, without even thinking about it!

That's vain! It's taking his name...in vain. Come on bro! Why the need for such a narrow legal definition? We shouldn't be referring to God -at all- unless we're doing it in an innocent pretext. That's just common sense. Would you want someone screaming out your name in anger or frustration? Would you want your name synonymous with negative things?

 

[IisJustMe]

To both lisJustMe and BlessedJ, you are anachronising by placing contemporary understanding on past situations. In the bible there is no such thing as cussing and using the Lord's name in vain has nothing to do with cussing, but with making business or personal transactions.

Paul didn't make a habit of warning against things that did not exist.

But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. (Ephesians 5:3-5, NASB)