The Lord's name in vain.

[DamianWarS]

75% Christian affliction.

Statistics on Religion in America Report -- Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

 

[seeingeyes]

Statistics on Religion in America Report -- Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life

I don't think he was doubting your numbers, but enjoying your use of the word "affliction".

The rest of the post was good, too.

 

[Blessedj01]

lol, yes

 

[DamianWarS]

I don't think he was doubting your numbers, but enjoying your use of the word "affliction".

The rest of the post was good, too.

I missed that completely obviously the word should be "Christian Affiliation"

 

[Tnmusicman]

I don't know about other believers but swearing doesn't bother me unless it's G-d d----t!! That word just grinds my gears. Kind of like calling a woman the C-word. Very disrespectful ! Of course, I understand I'm probably in the minority on this but taking Gods name in vain (at least I feel it is Gods name in vain) is a good way to lose your testimony. I feel it's a word to avoid.

 

[revrobor]

Using God's name in vain is not about what we call swearing. Using God's name in vain is crediting God with something He had nothing to do with. For example: If one says "God told me to do this" or "God told me to tell you this" when in fact He did not then you have used God's name in vain. I agree that using what we call vulgar language or swear words destroys your testimony.

 

[Blessedj01]

Interesting point: God's name YHWH also correlates to breath.

Breathe | Laced With Grace

When a man is born, he's given the "breath of life." The first thing a baby does is learn how to breathe.

When a man dies, he "takes his last breath." After he is dead he breathes no more.

Some have concluded therefore that it is the breath of life in God's creation that he "breathed into life" that sustains us our entire lives. After all, breathing is one of those uncompromising things that we just HAVE to do.

THEREFORE: Anything we do which is against God's will is taking his name in vain as well! You get me? When we speak something evil, we are using God's name (...this is the air I breathe...know the song?) in vain. When we do something evil, we are using God's name in vain as well because we are sustained by His name.

God is the source of our existence and our lives. Therefore anything we do under His creative source and living-flow, with this breath of life that He gave us, or anything we say out of sinful hatred or rebellion against God or perversion of His will, can be considered taking His name in vain as well.

We speak His name our entire lives. We declare His glory with every breath. Interesting, we denounce God with the same breath that speaks to His goodness, glory and existence.

 

[Harry3142]

I suspect that the admonition against taking the Lord's name in vain was referring to those who were going much farther than simply uttering his name automatically in a moment of surprise or fright. I suspect that instead it was a warning that God would hold accountable those who professed to be speaking in his name, while really endeavoring to advance their own agendas, which involved personal gain for themselves and dominance over all those around them rather than enlightenment as to what God wants of the people.

We see this today in some of the radical churches and sects. The self-proclaimed leaders who claim that everyone must obey them or else God will strike them down, when their true goal is to make people so afraid of God that they're willing to do whatever those leaders order them to do in order to avoid his wrath, are examples of those who are taking his name in vain. Those leaders will not go unpunished. God is more merciful to an abject sinner who knows what he is and asks only for God's mercy than he is to those who would 'hijack' the gospel of Christ in order to use it as a means of obtaining for themselves wealth and power.

 

[Blessedj01]

Guys, it's both. It's using his name carelessly and putting his name to things He has nothing to do with. In fact, it goes beyond that. His name carries power we can hardly comprehend, we abuse it in ways we don't even understand.

 

[DamianWarS]

Guys, it's both. It's using his name carelessly and putting his name to things He has nothing to do with. In fact, it goes beyond that. His name carries power we can hardly comprehend, we abuse it in ways we don't even understand.

I understand the name "God" is widely accepted as the name of the creator however in reality that name is very alien and really has nothing to do with him only the meaning we have represented behind it but it just as well could be any 3 letter word. Since the name "G-O-D" itself has no significant holiness than any other name or sound that comes from our mouths should we hold people accountable for "misusing" this word when the word itself is meaningless to the person speaking it? Should they not first be obligated to understand the word before they can be held accountable for misusing it? I don't think most Christian even understand what using the Lord's name is vein really means to begin with.

I understand people know it is related to Christianity but do they really know who God is or what Christianity represents? Not unless they have been exposed to the gospel in ways they can understand otherwise what they hear is probably just a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal from our lips snapping back at them saying "don't use the Lord's name in vein!" what message does that really communicate? I think "the Lord's name in vein" goes a little beyond using a culturally accepted word that for is far removed from salvation and the creator.

 

[Blessedj01]

I understand the name "God" is widely accepted as the name of the creator however in reality that name is very alien and really has nothing to do with him only the meaning we have represented behind it but it just as well could be any 3 letter word. Since the name "G-O-D" itself has no significant holiness than any other name or sound that comes from our mouths should we hold people accountable for "misusing" this word when the word itself is meaningless to the person speaking it? Should they not first be obligated to understand the word before they can be held accountable for misusing it? I don't think most Christian even understand what using the Lord's name is vein really means to begin with.

I understand people know it is related to Christianity but do they really know who God is or what Christianity represents? Not unless they have been exposed to the gospel in ways they can understand otherwise what they hear is probably just a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal from our lips snapping back at them saying "don't use the Lord's name in vein!" what message does that really communicate? I think "the Lord's name in vein" goes a little beyond using a culturally accepted word that for is far removed from salvation and the creator.

What's the next question? Is sin sinful? Come on man. The Bible says no man is ignorant of God. We're born rejecters-of-God. You think God could create the whole universe for his glory but man would simply not notice? It's worse than that. We've been cursed by Adam to completely ignore that fact.

Forget about holding people accountable...but would you personally aspire to use God's name in vain as a force of habit? I would like to think that my vocabulary could increase. Why do people choose "God" for a word to blurt out? Don't you think that's a pretty large coincidence? Did that happen by accident? There's a ton of other options. Why not "Sheep!" Why not "Oh my Cruise Ship!"

I also strongly disagree that "God" is just a word of no consequence.

 

[gods prophetess]

the lord will get you for taking his name in vain so i dont do that and never will

 

[Blessedj01]

I like the way you put it.

 

[DamianWarS]

Forget about holding people accountable...but would you personally aspire to use God's name in vain as a force of habit? I would like to think that my vocabulary could increase. Why do people choose "God" for a word to blurt out? Don't you think that's a pretty large coincidence? Did that happen by accident? There's a ton of other options. Why not "Sheep!" Why not "Oh my Cruise Ship!"

I also strongly disagree that "God" is just a word of no consequence.

there is nothing sacred about the word "G-O-D". Just like there is nothing sacred about the greek "theos" which is the word translated into God or the word "Allah" which is the Arabic word for "theos" in the Arabic Bible. What is sacred is what the word represents. Any word in itself is meaningless unless we give it meaning and we have given the meaning for the all powerful creator to the word "God".

When Moses asked God what his name was God replied "I am who I am" This is God's name... not the hebrew of "I AM" but the emphasis of his eternal existence over a limited name. God has no name he only has titles that we give him but nothing we call him will ever describe his power and authority as he is above all names and understanding.

It's use as a swear word or some ordinary exclamation had no doubt ill-purpose origins directed at Christianity and that certainly is no coincidence. But how old are its origins? 50 years... 100 years... 200 years... more? Most simply are raised in a context where the original use of this word against God is all by forgotten and it simply is just a word that is used with no understanding behind it. We as a culture are the ones that give words meaning but I suggest "GOD" has two meanings. To the "churched" it is "the all powerful creator" but to the "unchurched" it is a term analogous to any other exclamation and even considered more acceptable and less crude then many other more elite swear words.

So what don't we call the name "God" some other name... how about "Pig". Well if we call God "Pig" it would be highly insulting and disrespectful... why? Because our culture says it is. It is our culture that gives these words meaning and we abide by the rules that our culture lays down for what words are allowed and what words are not like why "Pig" is thought of as an insulting term. To those unfamiliar with Christian-culture the word "God" has no meaning not because they are throwing an insult toward God but because literally they don't know who or what God is or any concept of meaning behind that word. This is not something they consciously think about but just as we know without thinking about it that "Pig" is insulting they know without thinking about it that "God" is meaningless because their culture has dictated this meaning not them.

So are they disobeying the 3ird commandment? Do they even know what that means? The next time you hear someone say "Oh My G--" reply back to them "you just disobeyed the 3ird commandment" and see what they say? They will probably look at you confused and have no idea what you talking about. There is a reason why they will be confused because they have no clue to what this stuff means. You have to remember that commandment was given to a people who had full understanding of what it means to misuse the name of God because they knew who God was. We have to show people meaning behind this word so it can be embraced before it can be thought of as against the 3ird commandment.

Certainly there are varying levels of understanding with this and some who are unchurched will most definitely misuse the name of God in many different ways and ignorance alone is not an excuse. But mostly the causal utterances of "Oh My G--" in normal conversation among most people is meaningless. It is our job to show them them its meaning not to hold them accountable for it.

 

[IisJustMe]

I suspect that the admonition against taking the Lord's name in vain was referring to those who were going much farther than simply uttering his name automatically in a moment of surprise or fright. I suspect that instead it was a warning that God would hold accountable those who professed to be speaking in his name, while really endeavoring to advance their own agendas, which involved personal gain for themselves and dominance over all those around them rather than enlightenment as to what God wants of the people.

Your speculation does not hold up to scrutiny of the original Hebrew. The word is shav' (pronounced "shaw-vh") and it means emptiness, vanity, falsehood, a worthlessness of use or speech. In other words, uttering the Lord's name with no intent of praise, honor, glory, request or prayer. Simply uttering His name without intent is a sin, because it reduces God to a worthlessness that is an affront to Him and to those who believe Him to be Who He says He is. Your other examples are equally valid, but you cannot eliminate the useless utterance of His name as being a violation of His command as well.

 

[DamianWarS]

Your speculation does not hold up to scrutiny of the original Hebrew. The word is shav' (pronounced "shaw-vh") and it means emptiness, vanity, falsehood, a worthlessness of use or speech. In other words, uttering the Lord's name with no intent of praise, honor, glory, request or prayer. Simply uttering His name without intent is a sin, because it reduces God to a worthlessness that is an affront to Him and to those who believe Him to be Who He says He is. Your other examples are equally valid, but you cannot eliminate the useless utterance of His name as being a violation of His command as well.

The words use in the 3ird commandment for "God" are Yahweh and Elohim. Are these names sacred or is it what they represent that is sacred? Is the word "God" sacred or is it that which it represents that is sacred? When we use the Lord's name in vein what is the sin? The insult on the word or the insult on that which we have represented the word to mean?

What if the word "God" represents nothing in a persons mind including God himself because they have no understanding of God? So when they speak it in some casual expression since it represents nothing how can it be used in vein. In order for something to be used in vein it first needs to have a meaning. The word "God" has traditional meaning toward the almighty creator but only to those who know the tradition. To the speaker outside of the tradition they have no intent to misrepresent God because they don't know God all their intent is to articulate their expression in words completely removed from what we call "God". They have no purpose to call God "nothing" but just simply to utter a phrase that represents some state they are in.

As a Christian I have understanding of God. I represent the word "God" to the almighty creator so if I utter the casual phrase "Oh my G--" than I am guilty of misusing that name because of the way I personally identify the name. the sin is based on my understanding of the word but not on the phrase or word itself. To the "unchurched" it is just a phrase... and I think it is irresponsible to point to it as sinful as they don't even understand God to begin with or sin for that matter. This isn't to say they are without sin or that things they do cannot be called sin... but it is the untouched sinful state that they exist in that is the problem. If they were to stop saying it they are no more without sin then they were when they were saying it. First they need to identify their need for Christ and accept him giving meaning and understanding to all these things before we wag our fingers at them that they used the Lord's name in vein.

 

[Blessedj01]

there is nothing sacred about the word "G-O-D". Just like there is nothing sacred about the greek "theos" which is the word translated into God or the word "Allah" which is the Arabic word for "theos" in the Arabic Bible. What is sacred is what the word represents. Any word in itself is meaningless unless we give it meaning and we have given the meaning for the all powerful creator to the word "God".

Disregarding sacredness, how can you say that the word is meaningless? All things were created by God, including words. Including all language in fact. Everyone knows what it refers to. No-one consciously says it without knowing what it means, they just say it without thinking about it. Not thinking about something and not knowing what something means are two different things. In fact, it echoes our hostile sentiment towards God that we would use a name that is intended for His description as a common curse word. How can you not see that? Who are you making excuses for?

When Moses asked God what his name was God replied "I am who I am" This is God's name... not the hebrew of "I AM" but the emphasis of his eternal existence over a limited name. God has no name he only has titles that we give him but nothing we call him will ever describe his power and authority as he is above all names and understanding.

God has no name? That's not actually true. "Jesus" (greek transliteration of the Hewbrew 'Yeshua') was actually God's given name for his son, that God chose. Also, "I AM" is a name. God has many names.

It's use as a swear word or some ordinary exclamation had no doubt ill-purpose origins directed at Christianity and that certainly is no coincidence. But how old are its origins? 50 years... 100 years... 200 years... more? Most simply are raised in a context where the original use of this word against God is all by forgotten and it simply is just a word that is used with no understanding behind it.

Don't you think that kind of tells you something?

We as a culture are the ones that give words meaning but I suggest "GOD" has two meanings. To the "churched" it is "the all powerful creator" but to the "unchurched" it is a term analogous to any other exclamation and even considered more acceptable and less crude then many other more elite swear words.

God does NOT have two meanings. It has one meaning and the other is a lack of meaning. It's the inference of emotion over meaning. I was not raised in church and I did and still do use the name of God in vain sometimes. It has nothing to do with our pious mentality verses their innocent relaxedness. Truth is not relative.

So what don't we call the name "God" some other name...

What do you mean, so what? That's entirely the point. We often don't. Therefore that has to tell you something about our attitude towards God and about our attitude towards the word. Don't forget that "Jesus Christ," "Christ," "Lord" and a myriad of other terms make their way into our language as expletives. We even say "Jesus Wept." You honestly think that's just a coincidence?

...how about "Pig". Well if we call God "Pig" it would be highly insulting and disrespectful... why? Because our culture says it is.

Why would it be disrespectful if I bang my toe and yell out "Pig!?"

To those unfamiliar with Christian-culture the word "God" has no meaning not because they are throwing an insult toward God but because literally they don't know who or what God is or any concept of meaning behind that word.

So you're saying God wasn't being accurate when He said, "All have heard?" The fact is, by implying what you're saying, you're implying people are not sinners because they can't possibly know who this God is that they're sinning against by virtue of their born-state of rebellion. I mean, even today's open society with all the debates we have about God, to argue that no-one understands the concept behind the word is kind of absurd.

This is not something they consciously think about but just as we know without thinking about it that "Pig" is insulting they know without thinking about it that "God" is meaningless because their culture has dictated this meaning not them.

Culture doesn't dictate anything to God. It's against our culture to honour God, does that make it innocent?

So are they disobeying the 3ird commandment? Do they even know what that means? The next time you hear someone say "Oh My G--" reply back to them "you just disobeyed the 3ird commandment" and see what they say? They will probably look at you confused and have no idea what you talking about.

...and? People react that way when they are convicted of ANYTHING to do with God.

You have to remember that commandment was given to a people who had full understanding of what it means to misuse the name of God because they knew who God was. We have to show people meaning behind this word so it can be embraced before it can be thought of as against the 3ird commandment.

What's your angle? Who's freedoms are you fighting for? Do you personally want to be saying "Oh my God" and "Jesus Christ!" every five minutes? If that's something you aspire to then I can understand the defensiveness, if it's not that can you please explain to us why you're going to such lengths to justify this?

But mostly the causal utterances of "Oh My G--" in normal conversation among most people is meaningless. It is our job to show them them its meaning not to hold them accountable for it.

I don't actually recall anyone saying we should hold people accountable for anything. This is just like any other sin. Discussing why it is sinful doesn't mean we're advocating the admonishment of strangers. Also, the fact that our purpose is to bring glory to God so that people would understand Him better, doesn't have any bearing on whether or not using His name as an expletive is vanity. It either is or it isn't. Ignorance is no excuse. The nature of all sin that we do it in rebellion to God, not because we are somehow innocent and don't know any better.

 

[IisJustMe]

The words use in the 3ird commandment for "God" are Yahweh and Elohim. Are these names sacred or is it what they represent that is sacred? Is the word "God" sacred or is it that which it represents that is sacred? When we use the Lord's name in vein what is the sin? The insult on the word or the insult on that which we have represented the word to mean?

Red herring. Has absolutely nothing to do with the discussion. The colloquial or cultural name for God is His name, and using that name without intent is sin. Period. Like it or not, God is real, and what name we use to address Him cannot be used without intent to worship, glorify, appease, pray, seek or otherwise address. To do so is to reduce God to a lifeless, useless "thing" and I assure you, He is not such.

 

[BrandonLParks]

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.

 

[Blessedj01]

Brandon, I believe it it includes that but is not limited to it. Surely you don't think God approves of people saying "Jesus Wept!" and "Christ Almighty!" when they stub their toes or when they get angry with others. Surely you don't think God approves of people saying, "Jesus 'H' *expletive* Christ" or "Oh my *expletive* God" and the myriad of other ways you can reduce his name to vanity.

IMO vanity is vanity. When one swears an oath he will not keep, that oath is in vain. Likewise when one uses God's name for an empty, vacuous reason such as getting angry at something, or expressing displeasure, etc...that is vain as well.

Vanity can be described as:

lack of real value; hollowness; worthlessness: the vanity of a selfish life.
5. something worthless, trivial, or pointless.

I think these examples fit.