Lessons in How Really to Take God's Name in Vain

Keep using my name in vain, I'll make rush hour longer.
– (Highway billboard ascribing authorship to God)

If I say “God” and “damn” together, have I taken God’s name in vain? Or just demonstrated poor taste? Most think this Third Commandment is to keep God's family name from being “damn” Growing up in Southern religion, that combo is hard to hear, and remains impossible for me to say.

But is this what it really means? What does two rather arbitrary sounds put together in Asheville in 2009 have to do with what Moses actually heard on Mt. Sinai? The first place to go (which most don't do) is to Sinai, to try to hear what Moses heard. Hard, as it is necessary.

Ancient Israel respected the name. The four letters forming their spelling of God's name were so sacred that they never wrote them out, and assigned them a completely different sound than the letters would suggest. God’s name was so holy that to write or to pronounce it was spiritually risky business. Whenever “God” was spoken or thought of, one couldn’t slouch or muddle through it. Instead, one had to be alert, be on best behavior and use the best possible thoughts. Since all talk and thought about God is incomplete at best, or misunderstood or even wrong, this commandment points us toward humility.

God-language, the thinking went, must remain holy, expensive, and not subject to literary inflation. Invoking the divine name as an aid to cursing is not what is going on here. Cursing is merely socially unacceptable language; it changes over the generations. It is cultural, not religious. Putting the “G” and the “D” words together only introduces how to take God’s name in vain. It is much, much more than mere impolite language.

It also means using God-language without thinking, such as mindless repetitions of “Praise the Lord,” and “I swear to God,” and other phrases, or praying the same prayer over and over again without it meaning anything.

Most importantly, the Third Commandment warns against passing off our causes, prejudices, crusades and passions as God’s will. As if God gets angry and happy at the same things I get angry and happy about.

When a parent, politician or religious person uses the name of God to get what he/she wants, that is offensive, and takes the name of God in vain. Examples: calling a war a holy crusade, blessing policies that divide people with references to God, or using one’s association with God as a ticket to public office, power or to greater acceptability. Let me be clear. The following take God’s name in vain much more than putting two little words together:

• When a religious person uses God as backup for inhuman theology (e.g., denial of civil rights).
• When a president justifies his wars and policies using God or biblical language, policies which result in hate, killing and anti-life actions.
• When a Supreme Court justice nominee is advised to parade her Evangelical faith to make her more acceptable.
• When a parent invokes “God’s gonna’ get you” as part of the disciplining process.
and let me get controversial ...
• The “Jesus Fish” on advertisements as a means to gain new business.

Substitution of self for God’s will is what the Commandment is all about. It’s about power, ethics and money. This Commandment questions our true intentions when we seek to bless our vain ploys by stealing (another Commandment!) God’s name. I think, in all humility, that God damns that.