Thursday, September 14, 2006

blasphemy or not blasphemy? That is the question.

What constitutes blasphemy? I am specifically referring to taking the Lord's name in vain.

I don't think that it is disputable to say that if one uses God, Jesus, or Christ in an irreverant way, it is blasphemy. However, what about substitute words like "gosh", "gee", or "oh my Word" or things that replace the the blatant blasphemy in common expressions, but are used to express similar feelings?

I don't have an answer that I am comfortable with yet, so I really would like some input/feedback.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

My love,
All I can say to your blogs, as many of the previous as I could read today, is wow! I am amazed at your clarity and remarkable ability to not get hot-headed. I enjoyed reading each one completely, and I pray that God is working in the hearts of the lost readers and commentators. Again, wow! God is definately molding you and training you as the weeks go by. I love you. --steph

Michael said...

wow... this blog is getting a bit to hot for me.

All joking aside... I agree that using the Lords name in vain is not good, I would be a hypocrite if I said I didn't do it. I do believe that it is using the Lords name in vain, and people should not do it. I need to work on it myself.

good post by the way!

Unknown said...

I agree that taking the Lord's name in vain should never be done.

I think though that if someone says "gosh" or "gee" without intending to replace saying that Lord's name in vain then that is alright. Yet if they are merely replacing God's name, but still have the same intention then that is Blasphemy.

EJ said...

I tend to agree, Danny. I think that we need to defend the name of the LORD with zeal, but not foolish-extravagance or pharisaic type rules. But, as in most things, that fine line between blasphemy and non-blasphemy might be finer and closer than we think.

still pondering.

Captain Slappy said...

I am going to take a different view on this. I think we use replacement words for a lot of things to make the statement better. My wife'd mom uses sugar in stead of the far more vulgar explative. She is replacing it with somthing else to convey the same angst. I think by using replacement words instead of God words, you are actually closer to how you feel. I like good greif, instead of Good __. I am usually upset when I would say something like that. Just my 2 cents.

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