Is saying "O my god" a sin?

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bigbibles

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Hello,
Is saying “o my god” a sin? Is it a mortal sin?

What does it mean to take the Lord’s name in vain?

I have a lot of knowledge friends of mine who are serious catholics use “God’s name” somewhat flippantly. Is it a sin?

Is there any church documents that speak to this?

thanks
 
I myself take a pretty hard line on this. The Lord’s name is a gift to us and should be held in great respect. It shouldn’t be a common word used as an explicitive but a word that should be held silently in our heart, used only for worship and adoration. The Jewish people often will not even write the word God out but instead put G-d, in order to avoid even accidentally profaning his name. I try to avoid even the options, like ‘Oh my Gosh’, for in my heart I would still be saying the same thing.

I instead try to replace them with other terms by using them in my language whenever something comes up. When most people would say a cuss word, I usually say "butter biscuits’ or ‘bull butter’ 🤷

The Catechism says:
2142 The second commandment prescribes respect for the Lord’s name. Like the first commandment, it belongs to the virtue of religion and more particularly it governs our use of speech in sacred matters.
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2143 Among all the words of Revelation, there is one which is unique: the revealed name of God. God confides his name to those who believe in him; he reveals himself to them in his personal mystery. The gift of a name belongs to the order of trust and intimacy. “The Lord’s name is holy.” For this reason man must not abuse it. He must keep it in mind in silent, loving adoration. He will not introduce it into his own speech except to bless, praise, and glorify it.74
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2144 Respect for his name is an expression of the respect owed to the mystery of God himself and to the whole sacred reality it evokes. The sense of the sacred is part of the virtue of religion:
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Are these feelings of fear and awe Christian feelings or not? . . . I say this, then, which I think no one can reasonably dispute. They are the class of feelings we should have - yes, have to an intense degree - if we literally had the sight of Almighty God; therefore they are the class of feelings which we shall have, if we realize His presence. In proportion as we believe that He is present, we shall have them; and not to have them, is not to realize, not to believe that He is present.75
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Is it a sin? I think so. Likely not mortal as you are doing it out of habit, but if you were doing it on purpose in order to profane his name… then it would be mortal. It’s still a habit to break and one to work on and try to avoid.
 
I think it can be sinful, but it depends on the context, situation, person, etc. Some people say it in vain while others say it as an exclamation. I really think it just depends.

My personal opinion: There are plenty of other things to say, so why even bother with something that could be sinful and/or could cause a bad habit in the future. I say people should refrain from using it alltogether unless in prayer.
 
Personally, I think it best to use His name when praying, worshipping or evangelizing.

I hear Christians use OMG and then others allow themselves useage of Jesus’ names in anger and exasperation.
 
bigbibles said:
Is saying “o my god” a sin?
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Depends. As an exhortation, act of praise, or preface to asking for something (protection)
It most certainly is not. If used as an offhand, unthinking expression of surprise, then yes I would say it is.
Is it a mortal sin?
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In most cases no because those doing it, even Catholics, have not thought about it and so are not meeting the criteria for a Mortal sin.
What does it mean to take the Lord’s name in vain?
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the name of the Lord is hallowed. It should not be invoked lightly or without just.

Peace
James
 
This is something I need to work on. I do it almost reflexively–bad habit from a misspent youth. Since in this culture people do it without any forethought, it is a very easy habit to fall into.

Thank you for mentioning it.

Mortal sin? I think it depends on the context. Nevertheless, it is an unattractive habit for a Christian. We should always show respect for God, to whom we owe our being.
 
God’s name is not God. So it’s a little confusing as to how using the word “God” would be taking *His name *in vain.

I do not think it is sinful to use the phrase “Oh my god,” to express surprise/shock/excitement/horror/etc if you are acknowledging the mysteries, the surprises, the challenges you face and either 1) comparing those to the mystery of God, or 2) calling on God for guidance, comfort, etc.

(For the non-OMG people, what phrase do you use to express surprise/shock/excitement that doesn’t sound silly?)
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
God’s name is not God. So it’s a little confusing as to how using the word “God” would be taking *His name *in vain.
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While God is technically not his name… who else do you refer to when you say God? Jesus is technically not the name of Jesus, it would be something along the lines of Yeshua Ben Joseph. Yet when you say ‘Jesus’ we know who you are talking about. The same with God.
 
I believe that it is definitely a sin, though usually not a mortal sin but only a venial sin, when you say it out of shock, anger, surprise, or anything like that. Regrettably, I do occasionally slip and commit this sin when angry. I am going to try harder from now on to not do that.

Now, if you beginning a prayer with the words “Oh my God” then there is of course nothing wrong with that because you are addressing God.
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
God’s name is not God. So it’s a little confusing as to how using the word “God” would be taking *His name *in vain.

I do not think it is sinful to use the phrase “Oh my god,” to express surprise/shock/excitement/horror/etc if you are acknowledging the mysteries, the surprises, the challenges you face and either 1) comparing those to the mystery of God, or 2) calling on God for guidance, comfort, etc.

(For the non-OMG people, what phrase do you use to express surprise/shock/excitement that doesn’t sound silly?)
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See, and this is where my confusion lies. His name isn’t God. He is THE God but that’s not His name. Mind you, I don’t believe He has a name as He is the one True God and thus needs no identifier.

That said, I’m not comfortable using the phrase ‘OMG’.

I DO use it out of habit now and then but when I catch myself I switch to oh my gosh and that works just as well. 🤷
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
God’s name is not God. So it’s a little confusing as to how using the word “God” would be taking *His name *in vain.
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Jews won’t spell out God in writing. They instead write it G-d. The name is holy to them and to Judeo-Christians.
 
Boulder257 said:
I think it can be sinful, but it depends on the context, situation, person, etc. Some people say it in vain while others say it as an exclamation. I really think it just depends.

My personal opinion: There are plenty of other things to say, so why even bother with something that could be sinful and/or could cause a bad habit in the future. I say people should refrain from using it alltogether unless in prayer.
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I agree here, it depends upon the context.

For instance if you firmly believe your life is going to come to a sudden and violent end in the next few seconds, I believe you are in the clear. No sin will be counted against you, because for real, this is now more of a plea with God.

If you just throw it out there casually like “Oh-Em-Gee I went to DQ and had the best Sunday!” (replace with the above), I think there is sin there. There is no need to reference God here, so why are you doing it?
 
Interestingly enough, today is The Most Holy Name of Jesus day. There was a very good homily about God’s name by Father Michael Coutts this morning on televised daily mass. (It’s broadcasted from St. Basil’s in Toronto)
 
Barbkw said:
Jews won’t spell out God in writing. They instead write it G-d. The name is holy to them and to Judeo-Christians.
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That is largely irrelevant to us, we frequently say the word “God” and see no problem with it.

That is because Jewish tradition became scrupulous. They were so concerned that they might break an oath to God that they figured it was better to just go ahead and abandon saying His name ever. This is one possible approach, but certainly not the only. It’s the Catholic equivalent of becoming a eunuch to avoid sexual sin.
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
That is largely irrelevant to us, we frequently say the word “God” and see no problem with it.
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To whom are you referring to as “us” in your statement?

The vain use of names that apply to and are attributed to the Trinity, is a sin.
 
VeritasLuxMea said:
(For the non-OMG people, what phrase do you use to express surprise/shock/excitement that doesn’t sound silly?)
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I’ve had to lose a LARGE number of expletives, phrases and excited utterances in the last two years! I’ve found that in almost every case, no such habitual phrase is actually required. it goes back to that phrase your mother might have said, “Use your words”.

I do occasionally get lazy :cool: and say,
“Oh, no”
“Oh, my”
“See?”
“That’s what I’m talking about”

One thing that helped me with the habitual use of God’s or Jesus’ name is developing the habit of either crossing myself when I hear anyone (me or someone else) use a Divine Name out of prayerful context or at least silently offering an apology to God or Jesus for someone doing such a thing.

and finally, go up to your wife/husband/parent/sibling and say their name over and over again. different contexts, different intonations…see how long it takes before they’re annoyed with you!!
 
michelleds said:
I’ve had to lose a LARGE number of expletives, phrases and excited utterances in the last two years! I’ve found that in almost every case, no such habitual phrase is actually required. it goes back to that phrase your mother might have said, “Use your words”.

I do occasionally get lazy :cool: and say,
“Oh, no”
“Oh, my”
“See?”
“That’s what I’m talking about”

One thing that helped me with the habitual use of God’s or Jesus’ name is developing the habit of either crossing myself when I hear anyone (me or someone else) use a Divine Name out of prayerful context or at least silently offering an apology to God or Jesus for someone doing such a thing.

and finally, go up to your wife/husband/parent/sibling and say their name over and over again. different contexts, different intonations…see how long it takes before they’re annoyed with you!!
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Not long! Surprisingly!

Haha.

This is a good idea (the crossing oneself). My coworkers say the phrase a lot and I’ve taken to gently correcting them (they’re younger then me and I’m their supervisor so I just tell them it’s not appropriate language in a retail situation. You never know WHAT will offend a customer so it’s important to be prudent with your words).
 
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