this post was submitted on 17 Sep 2023
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As an atheist that was raised as an evangelical Christian, probably using the Lord's name in vain interestingly enough. Like going "thank God/Jesus" when something good happens, "oh God/lord" when shit hits the fan, and using Christ's name as a swear word. I know it's supposed to a sin in the Christian religion, but it's the one thing I still do.
Not to be that guy, but "using the Lord's name in vain" has been misinterpreted and misapplied by Christianity as a whole for a very, very long time. "Using the Lord name in vain" is not saying "goddamit", or "Jesus Christ, thats Jason Bourne", but instead by saying you are Christian, or a follower of Christ's teachings, and being indistinguishable from non-christians in the way one acts, speaks, thinks, dresses, etc,.
Does this mean that cursing as described above is bad? Maybe, and maybe not--it depends on your convictions.
Back when the Torah and minor prophets were written, taking someone's name was to become their relative or kin. Even by the time Jesus came into the picture, it was still a common thing to take the name of a family to were adopted into, or to a land you moved to. Therefore, taking the Lord's name in vain" should be more accurately described as calling oneself a Christian, and then not living as one. This is endemic in Christianity--our divorce rates are practically indistinguishable for secular society, premarital sex, cheating--not to mention, we have a huge problem with covering up pedophiles, spousal abuse, child abuse, the list goes on. I believe God knows this, and Jesus even spoke to it when he was on earth.
So, basically, I think God cares about the important stuff, like not acting like a hypocrite while labeling oneself one of his believers--not the inane stuff like saying "goddamnit". But, if someone believes firmly that saying swearwords containing God's name in it is also a sin, then by all means, that is treated and will be judged as a sin for that person.
And if we want to get technical, Lord, Jesus Christ, and God are not his names. Even names the Christian god is known by, such as El, El Shaddai, Yeshua, Messiah, Jah, Jahova, and possibly Yahweh (YHWH, but we don't know for sure because Jewish scholars never recorded his name to prevent anyone from uttering it) are actually descriptors of who he is. El "The Lord", El Shaddai "The Lord will cover", Yeshua (actual name of Jesus, but not the name of God), Jah (first letter of the tetragrammaton "YHWH" ), Jahovah "The Lord will provide". Technically, it is impossible to use the Lord's name in vain if using his name in vain is defined as simply using it as a swear word or part of a curse because his name has been lost to history.
Sorry, that's way more information than I intended.
EDIT: And I also want to make sure I make it abundantly clear that this is simply my interpretation of things, based upon my own experience growing up in a Baptist church, and seeing all the hypocrisy there and in my own parents lives (where both were abusive in their own ways). I'm not really what anyone would call a practicing Christian because I don't attend church, tithe, or vote "prolife". Organized religion in its current form, is in my opinion, a perversion of what God intended. But this is just my opinion.
You just voiced all of my frustrations with so many Christians. I'm going to save this.
This is a really cool take. I’ve never heard that interpretation of “taking the lord’s name” but I like it a lot. Do you know anywhere I can read more about that idea or the history of the phrase?
The first time "taking the Lord's name in vain" was written in the bible is Exodus 20:7, and is echoed again in Deuteronomy 5:11.
The original Hebrew text and word used for the word "vain" in Exodus 20:7 is "Shav" according to Strong's Concordance. This word specifically means:
As defined above, "using the Lords Name in vain" has more to do with lying, guile, idolatry (believing in a god other than than the "one true god", which could be believing in a version of God inaccurate of who He is because you like your own version better), uselessness, and being false. I would very much define saying one identifying as Christian, yet not living and acting like one as the ultimate exercise in uselessness and hypocrisy.
The Strong's Concordance has every word in the King James Version exhaustively identified with definitions of each. It is how theologians that aren't actually fluent in Greek or Hebrew can break apart a verse to find the true meaning that has been lost to dialect, translation, and the time. If you're interested, I would highly recommend finding one, or even downloading it.`
Here is a blog post that hits most of what I mentioned, and also has a few more things to consider.
One interesting thing of note is that, according to Leviticus 19:12, Christians are commanded to not bring shame upon their God by using him to swear falsely.
This implies that there are ways and times where it may actually be appropriate to use the Lord's name, or your association to him as a Christian, to swear if something is true. However, Jesus recommends or commands in the New Testament that no one swear by anything, either by God or anything else, and to let only your "yes be yes, and your no be no" lest one brings judgement upon themselves.
And here is one more final thing to think about. In Christianity, God is perfect and without sin. If he were to sin in any way, by definition he would fall under the law of death, as death is the punishment for sin. Jesus, as an aspect of God, was also blameless and without sin. Many also believe the Bible to be the literal or interpreted word of God, such that any changes throughout time were foreseen and anticipated. I have my own views on this, but for the sake of my argument, we must assume the entire scripture to be God-breathed. If God cannot sin, and the bible must therefore be truthful, then how did God swear by using his own name, if swearing by his own name is sinful?
Therefore, either God sinned by using his own name in vain and cannot be god, God sinned by lying about it in the literal word of God in Scripture, or swearing by using the name of God or its derivatives is not inherently sinful, and the intent or veracity is what is judged.
Same.
For me it's my like for religious Christmas music.