Yeshua Explored
14th November 2022
Blasphemy
How do we all use God’s name in vain?
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“You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name”. (Exodus 20:7)
So what does this command, the third “commandment”, mean by misusing God’s Name? The JPS (official Jewish) translation translates it as taking the Name of God in a vain oath. Is this about taking oaths, or making solemn promises in His Name? The Sefer ha-Chinuch is a medieval Spanish commentary on the Torah, specifically the 613 laws and instructions within it. It interprets a vain oath as a trivial or unthinking misuse of God’s Holy Name.
One example would be concerning issues that are patently impossible, such as swearing that a black object is in fact white. Or swearing on an issue that is patently obvious, such as insisting that a black object is actually black! An equally ridiculous vain oath would be to swear about something that is humanly impossible, such as flying without wings or going without sleep for a month. These are indeed ridiculous examples and it’s hard to believe that God’s Name would be used in such a way, that the Name above All Names would be used in such a trivial manner. Yet we see this in our everyday language, when we use His Name in such a throw-away way.
Rabbinical commentators had much to say about this commandment, because of the reverence they had for God’s Name and the irreverence behind its misuse. One commentary declared that one who takes His Name in vain is to be considered as evil as an idol worshipper, because a reverence for God implies that His Name would never be used frivolously in an oath. This is not to say that God’s Name couldn’t be used in an oath, but rather that it couldn’t be used frivolously. Those who do are surely playing with fire. In the Midrash we read of the Hasmonean King, Alexander Yannai, who apparently lost two thousand cities for too much swearing on oath. This was despite never swearing falsely, he simply over-used the process, with many of his oaths unnecessary!
Of course, in the New Testament, we are discouraged from this activity point-blank:
“Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.” (Matthew 5:33-37)
And, again …
Above all, my brothers and sisters, do not swear—not by heaven or by earth or by anything else. All you need to say is a simple “Yes” or “No.” Otherwise you will be condemned. (James 5:12)
We have a name for taking God’s Name in vain, blasphemy. The Torah took this seriously. Breaking this commandment had consequences:
Say to the Israelites: ‘If anyone curses his God, he will be held responsible; anyone who blasphemes the name of the LORD must be put to death. The entire assembly must stone him. Whether an alien or native-born, when he blasphemes the Name, he must be put to death’. (Leviticus 24:15-16)
It’s as well we are not under the Old Covenant in terms of consequences of actions, otherwise the world would be a very lonely place, inhabited only by a few maiden aunts and the odd vicar. Because the rest of us would have been stoned to death for blasphemy!
But I’ve never taken the name of God in vain in any way! Yes you have.
First a list of some euphemisms for “God”; by gad, oh my gosh, by gum, by Jove, by George, so ‘elp me Bob, by Godfrey, great Scott, good grief, goodness gracious, begorrah, we’ve all uttered one or two of these in our time, haven’t we?
Then we have these; Gadzooks (God’s hooks), drat! (God rot), doggone (God damn), cor blimey (God blind me), by golly (God’s body), darnation (damnation), strewth (God’s truth), suffering succotash (Suffering Saviour), zounds (God’s wounds).
Then there are the alternative names for “Jesus”; Jiminy Cricket, Gee wiz, Jeez, Gee, Jeepers, Judas Priest, Jeepers Creepers.
For “Christ”; Criminy, Crickey, Cripes, for crying out loud, chrissakes.
For “Lord”; Lor, Lawdy, Lumme (Lord love me).
These are known as minced oaths, religious euphemisms that were created to avoid direct blasphemy, which in older days, would have got you in trouble with the authorities. Many of these would have been created round the time of the Puritans, who were particularly hot on this issue. Here’s a typical notice from 1623:
For as much as all profane Swearing and Cursing is forbidden by the Word of GOD, be it therefore enacted, by the Authority of the then Parliament, that no Person or Persons should from thenceforth profanely Swear or Curse, upon Penalty of forfeiting one Shilling to the use of the Poor for every Oath or Curse. Refusal or inability to pay resulted in the offender being set in the stocks (if over twelve years old) or whipped if younger.
Have we taken the Lord’s name in vain? Of course we have, though, in mitigation, we mostly haven’t realised it, or have felt safe in the knowledge that a derivation is not the actual word, so no worries! I wonder what God thinks?
Yet even Christians have been known to utter such epithets as “Oh my God!” or “Oh God”. These may not be seen as blasphemies, but perhaps can be suggested as over-familiarity with the Deity. The use of the phrase “Jesus Christ!” in all of its derivations seems to be on the rise in popular dramas, even our daytime soaps. We don’t need euphemisms or minced oaths these days as there is no guilty conscience or penalties in uttering blasphemies. That’s a good indication that our society today is very much Post-Christian.
This is an extract from the book, Sinner’s Charter: Are the ten commandments for today?, available for £10 at https://www.sppublishing.com/the-sinners-charter-260-p.asp
