Using God's Name In Vain

James Romance said...


In all of history, no one has ever used God's name in vain. How do I know that? Because no one knows what God's actual name is.

@James Romance

You make an extraordinary claim to a knowledge of history. I believe your knowledge is incomplete, and inaccurate.


The ancient Jews did know what God's personal name was. They held God's name in high regard, in reverence, that His name was not to be spoken.

God's personal name is Yahweh. (In the Hebrew, of course, it is just four consonants. We represent the Hebrew consonants using the Roman letters YHWH.

And God has another speakable personal name, the name of Jesus. The name before which every knee will bow and every tongue confess.

So, it's not at all true that no one knows the name of God. Put that silly notion aside.

The bigger question, of course, is: what does the Bible mean when it speaks of "taking the Lord's name in vain"? What is the actual meaning?

For one thing, it means taking a solemn oath in God's name, and then not honoring that oath. That devalues the name of God.

Actually, any usage of God's name that devalues God is consider "vain". That is, "taking the Lord's name in vain"would be any usage of His name that imparts a lack of substance or worth. Basically, any foolish (unwise) use of God's name.

Such usage is sometimes referred to as "swearing" or "cursing". (I think we get the idea of "swearing" from the meaning of swearing an oath on something of value, and we get the idea of "cursing" from the meaning of God causing a curse to fall upon a group or an individual.)

N.B. This notion of cursing is not to be confused with the more generic "vulgarity", which simply means an inelegant or coarse expression, one that could be offensive to good taste or propriety.)

In summary, a true understanding of the third commandment is much deeper than the superficial meaning you propose.

HTH