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I was thinking to myself, is it wrong to say 'my God!' if you are in awed of something? It got me thinking so I read some articles on the subject. It seems many authors agree that that was not what the original meaning of the phrase meant. Rather, to bear false witness or falsely attribute something to God. Not simply saying 'God' out of the blue, oh my God, God dammit.etc. Also, is it just me, or is saying 'Christ, Jesus' as like a cuss word considered a little worse? Or Christ Almighty or something. I mean really we shouldn't be saying either, but it's super-common to hear people say that, even professing Christians. Now it's considered almost daggy to say 'oh my gosh, for Pete's sake.etc'. Anyway, how bad do you personally think it really is?
Some people are so out of control that devaluing God and his identity is first nature .... See this Commandment is also broken when people make up a belief that the truth Lord God never authored which will take the identity of the Lord in vain , which many religion of the world do..... The false prophet and the beast both exploit men to sin against God with this .......
I was thinking to myself, is it wrong to say 'my God!' if you are in awed of something? It got me thinking so I read some articles on the subject. It seems many authors agree that that was not what the original meaning of the phrase meant. Rather, to bear false witness or falsely attribute something to God. Not simply saying 'God' out of the blue, oh my God, God dammit.etc. Also, is it just me, or is saying 'Christ, Jesus' as like a cuss word considered a little worse? Or Christ Almighty or something. I mean really we shouldn't be saying either, but it's super-common to hear people say that, even professing Christians. Now it's considered almost daggy to say 'oh my gosh, for Pete's sake.etc'. Anyway, how bad do you personally think it really is?
Well, when you say that "many authors agree that that [saying 'my God!] was not the original meaning of the phrase" then you are getting near to what the Biblical text actually prohibits, and the sense if best taken concerning the matter of oaths or promises.
So, assuming that you are still bound by the Mosaic Covenant to follow it's commandments and wish to do so, let's see what it actually means. I'll use a more Hebraicized English translation to get closer to the original text (The Schocken Bible, with the Torah translated by Everett Fox).
Exodus - The Decalogue
The main reference to the commandment is found in the "mini-introduction" (the Ten Commandments, or the Decalogue) to the actual corpus of Laws following it.
You are not to take up
the name of YHWH your God for emptiness,
for YHWH will not clear him
that takes up his name for emptiness.
(Exodus 20:7, SB)
This is pretty close to the Hebrew. The translator's notes mention that it prohibits the use of YHWH's name "for a false purpose" and that "the traditional translation 'take in vain,' limits its scope unnecessarily". The verb "clear" has legal connotations, such as "acquit". So it is not a prohibition against cursing or profanity (as is often assumed), at least. Another translation serves well for comparison:
You shall not swear falsely by the name of the LORD your God;
for the LORD will not clear one who swears falsely by His name.
(Exodus 20:7, NJPS)
Again, we get a sense that using YHWH's (the LORD's) name for emptiness/falsely/in vain is directed to those involved in legal disputes, or those situations where one's honesty is on the line and is being backed up by an appeal to God - a self curse, if you will. Typical phrases such as "By the life of the LORD, I will (or will not)...", or "May the LORD do such and such to me if I did (or if I didn't)..." are good examples (see Note in The Jewish Study Bible, where these examples are given). If one makes such a "self-curse" without the proper reverence, (for example - if the uttere of the oath does not really believe that YHWH will punish him) then it is against the Mosaic Law - for the utterer of the oath is being impious. It puts a great burden on God, if He were to be expected to punish every single person that invoked His name in a dispute in vain/falsely/for emptiness.
Leviticus - The Holiness Code
Chapters 18-26 introduce what scholars call "the Holiness Code", and it introduces a new aspect into the laws of Leviticus - focusing on the idea that "I YHWH your God am Holy, thus you shall be Holy" - the imitatio dei.
As a result of this (and for othe reasons I won't go into here), much of the Decalogue is broadened here and given a bigger scope.
The immediate context of the prohibition is, again, one of being honest in legal and personal disputes - a way of living holy that brought one closer to God by imitating His ways.
You are not to steal,
you are not to lie,
you are not to deal-falsely, each-man with his fellow!
You are not to swear by my name falsely,
thus profaning the name of your God -
I am YHWH!
(Leviticus 19:11-12, SB)
Again, a comparison with another translation may be helpful:
You shall not steal;
you shall not deal deceitfully or falsely with one another.
You shall not swear falsely by My name, profaning the name of your God:
I am the LORD.
(Leviticus 19:11-12, NJPS)
The context should once again make the prohibition clear: it has nothing to do with profanity, and it's doubtful as to whether saying "Oh my God" would even fall under that category. The profanation of the name of YHWH occurs when a person uses the Name to lie - for isn't making a promise that one never intends to keep a lie? Or standing in front of a judge and saying "By God, I did not do that thing", when the opposite is true, a lie? By invoking the personal name of God, most people would believe the person - for who would vainly/for emptiness/falsely use God's name in such a way? Only an impious liar.
Suggestion
From the above, I think it's relatively plain that one could use the name of YHWH in an oath - but the person doing so would have to be absolutely sure that he was being truthful and honest; anything else would be a profanation of God's name, and a direct violation of the Mosaic Law. On a personal note, it also should remind one that, even if they use the Name or not, making promises or oaths should not be done lightly - there is no real way to undo them. Any breaking of the promise or oath will foreve reflect badly on the person who made it. Bringing the Name of God into it makes it even worse.
As for the use of "God" - it's not really the same as uttering the personal and actual name of the Israelite god: Yahweh. We must not confuse the two in importance.
Matthew 5 33“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but keep the oaths you have made to the Lord.’ 34But I tell you, Do not swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.
James 5 12Above all, my brothers, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. Let your “Yes” be yes, and your “No,” no, or you will be condemned.
'in vain' means without power, or producing no effect.
To say the God says "blah", where God does not, is vain.
To declare any doctrine as being from God, when it is instead truthfully from man's logic, is vain.
To say that God wants people to do some thing, when in truth the statement of entirely a lie, is vain.
Likewise to make-up some new thing as being a sin, and to teach that as being a sin, is also without God's power and love behind it. Would also be vanity.
Preaching without God empowering your words, is vain.
Any usage of 'The Lord' without empowerment is vain.
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