Why Misuse the Lord’s Name?
Exodus 20:7 reads
“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.”
I should probably take the time to conduct some scholarly research, but I’ve been thinking about this commandment for some time. It is often overlooked and considered a “lesser” infraction of the ten commandments.
What does it mean to misuse the name of the Lord? Does this include the derogatory use of Jesus’ name? Why is it that people use Jesus’ name as a filler or a curse during normal discourse? Is it a coincidence that it is His name that is used in this derogatory way as opposed to the use of another religious figure?
No use of Buddha, or of Mohommad, or Joseph Smith…is this a coincidence? I guess I’ve been troubled by this because it seems I’ve been hearing the third commandment broken routinely. Any thoughts?
Tags: [Christianity, ten commandments, Lord, Jesus, Jesus Christ, curse
7 Comments so far
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Hi. Thanks for the comment at my blog. I came to your page and read your note on this topic. So, ironically, the first comment on this serious issue is coming from a Muslim!
You raise an excellent point. Even though I am NOT a Christian, as Muslims we worship the same ONE God that Jews, Christians and we believe in. So, hearing someone drop a hammer on their foot, it is amazing to hear them alternately scream “God!” and then “F&^%!”
We also revere Prophet Jesus, and I too have often wondered why it is so “accepted” (though not really “acceptable”) for his name to be taken, WITH and AS a curse word, no less, by almost every man who speaks or curses in the common language.
If you screamed “Jew F*Y^ing Crap” you would be run out of town AND country. If you screamed, “Black F^&%ing BullS&^”, you would be mugged and thugged…. and so on. I will not give every example in the interest of time.
In the meantime, Muslims will often say “Ya Allah, Ya Muahmmad” in meditation, Shiites will cry “Ya Ali” (even though Prophet Muhammad’s nephew Ali was a Caliph but not a prophet but is still deeply revered”. Even “Holy Moses” is used merely to express surprise or something like that.
I think almost everyone who curses does curse mixing God’s name in vain with other words. Yet, it is mostly Christians whom I hear scream out the Prophet Jesus’ name in cruse, anger and rage.
It is sad, and one hopes this social “habit” can fall by the wayside in times to come.
Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all.
Imran
http://IMRAN.TV
By Imran Anwar on 12.30.05 1:03 pm
Imran:
Thaks for your reply. Your comments are a welcome addition since you can provide me with your thoughts from a Muslim perspective.
You mention that Muslims do use similar phrases, but are any of them used in a derogatory fashion as they are using Jesus’ name?
By Wacko! on 12.31.05 2:33 pm
I have thought about this, too. I think that the use of any other name, other than God’s, would not do for those who use it as a curse. It would not hurt anyone else if their name were taken in vain. And only God actually hears every one of these expletives. I believe it breaks His heart.
I used to use His name as an interjection, but never as a curse. But as I came to know Him more, He showed me how hurtful this was to Him (taking His name lightly) and that He specifically told us not to do it. I no longer do it, unless it is more of a supplication, or prayer.
By Linda on 01.06.06 1:28 pm
The Commandment refers to the name of God (Yahweh, or YHWH), and is rooted in the ancient belief that using someone’s true name gave you power over them. Anywhere in the pentateuch where you see “The Lord,” YHWH (sometimes rendered JHVH) was what originally appeared.
In fact, that’s where “Jehovah” comes from, a misguided attempt to pronunce the JHVH rendering (which is simply the Germanic rendering of Yahweh).
From a purely technical perspective, “Jesus” isn’t really Jesus’ name, either, but the Greek rendering thereof. His name was actually something like “Yeshua,” which we generally translate (from Hebrew) as Joshua.
All that said, it’s still bad form to go around spouting “Jesus Christ,” even if this doesn’t violate the commandment.
Although I do it all the time.
By tgirsch on 01.09.06 4:04 pm
TGirsch,
Yes, but have you ever wondered why you utter Jesus’ name in this manner and NOT other names that I have suggested? Could it be perhaps that it is simply because you live in America and Christianity is the predominant religion? Or is it more than that?
By Wacko! on 01.10.06 10:05 am
I think you hit it on the head: Bascially, it’s that we live in a predominantly Christian culture, and nothing more.
It’s worth noting that it’s not unique to English. In Spanish, people use profanity in a very similar fashion.
A more simple explanation for why I utter “Jesus Christ” or whatever is that I learned the behavior from others.
By tgirsch on 01.11.06 3:37 pm
I think these examples miss the point entirely. Following Exodus 20 are a number of more specific laws and regulations; some of them have to do with taking oaths in the LORD’s (YHWH’s) name.
I would suggest this commandment is primarily about trying to use God to back up your (false) testimony in court settings and such. Sure, other meanings can be derived… but I believe that would be the main one. “Don’t smear God’s name trying to cover your lies.”
By Travis Seitler on 01.20.06 3:26 pm
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