Saying gods name in vane question

[stove]

What is saying gods name in vane exactly. I heard on the radio the other day that saying “Oh My God” was saying in vane. I thought that it was just when swearing or something.

Is God Darnit saying his name in vane?

 

[kell0618]

Speaking God’s name in vain is saying it anytime without much thought or reverence. If a baby is born healthy, we may say in praise, “Oh God, she is beautiful!” In that example, we are admiring the wonderful creation and speaking in praise and thanksgiving. If we see an oncoming car swerve toward us at a high speed, we may call out, “Oh God, please no!” and we are doing so asking for His divine intervention. If someone shows us a new shirt, and we say, “Oh my God!” there is no reason for using God in this context. We must be cautious to use the Lord’s Holy name carefully. I myself have had to work harder on this issue in the past.

My two cents.

 

[jrabs]

yes. There are certainly many other words one can select when frustrated or angry.

 

[pprimeau1976]

Could saying the Lord’s name in vain also be using God’s name for selfish purposes such as praying for material things?

 

[Margie07]

yes. There are certainly many other words one can select when frustrated or angry.

Yes, I have a boatload of other words. They don’t necessarily make sense but they do make me laugh.

 

[scapularkid8]

I usually don’t even use His name outside of prayer or revrent conversation. It helps me to recognize that He is so Divine, even the word referring to the being we know as “God” is Holy. The Our Father offers a great meditation opportunity for this. “Hallowed (or Sacred) be Thy Name.” I like the Latin more because it translates to “Your Name is Sanctified” (Sanctifiteur Nomen Tuum), which is more awe inspiring than the Old English words!

The Jews have a great respect for the Name of God (they use abbreviations because they won’t even write it!). We could probably follow that same idea of respect! In our culture where every other sentence is “OH MY GOD!!”, it’s hard to remember what His Name truly signifies.

 

[Rawb]

If someone around me says “Thank God!” or “Please God” then I will give them the benefit of the doubt and interpret it as prayer. As someone said above, crying out “Oh God!” while frightened or in a dangerous situation is also a prayer.

When someone says “Oh my God!” Or “For Christ’s Sake” or just “God” then I say “Sit nomen Domini benedictum” which means “blessed is the name of the Lord.” Usually I say it under my breath, because I’m not doing it to correct others, I don’t want to push my faith into people’s faces all the time, and it’s not for them; it’s an apology to God for we who take His name so callously. Oftentimes people catch me whispering as we talk though and finally just ask me, so I explain what I’m doing, so it’s brought up anyway, and usually they try and stop after that.

 

[SLCFranciscan]

I had a Franciscan superior (now with the Lord) who was of Irish background and very religious. Whenever something surprising or devastating would happen, she would exclaim “Jesus, Mary and Joseph!” I did not think of that as swearing, as she was truly invoking the Holy Family. However, when I hear t.v. personalities and high school kids blurt out “OMG”, that it an entirely different story.