Cussing
Every once in awhile I cuss. Usually there's something unusual that provokes it, something unusually disturbing. It seems unusual to me that of all the things I could do to earn eternity in Hell, cussing is one of the big ones. Christians are supposed to believe that cussing blasphemes God. You know, "Don't take the name of the Lord thy God in vain." That's even one of the Ten Commandments. It's a biggie!!
I've always been suspicious of that. I'm not suspicious of the seriousness of that commandment. It makes sense that this taking the name of the Lord in vain could be a significant deterrent to having a close relationship with the true God. What I am saying is that cussing isn't what that commandment is talking about. Despite the best efforts of "Christians" to make it appear that God was instructing His people not to cuss, I think He was saying something else completely, something far more significant, something Bible thumping Christians do all the time and don't want to admit is wrong.
Cursing and swearing are words that the Bible uses to mean something other than what we call cussing. A curse is when spiritual power is used to make something evil happen to someone. Swearing means making a pledge using the name of God to back it up. Neither of these uses refers to cussing. The Bible warns against using spiritual power for evil means. It also warns against making pledges in the name of God. Both of these things are serious offenses but both are things that Christians do routinely.
Strong's Concordance gives a clue in the definition of the word "vain" as it is used in the commandment. Strong's defines that word (Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary word number 7723) as false (-ly), lie, lying, vain, vanity. Wouldn't it make a lot more sense then to think of that commandment as God telling his people not to use the Lord's name in a self-serving lie? In other words, don't say that God supports something that is selfish, something He doesn't actually support? For example, don't claim that God wants America to be a strong imperial power. Another example might be don't claim that God commanded his people not to cuss, not to use profanity. Was profanity an issue when the Israelites were being led by Moses to the Promised Land? Was that the reason for that commandment? It doesn't seem likely.
Using that commandment to demonize cussing simply masks the real meaning. Masking the real message in the Bible uses God's name in vain.
I've always been suspicious of that. I'm not suspicious of the seriousness of that commandment. It makes sense that this taking the name of the Lord in vain could be a significant deterrent to having a close relationship with the true God. What I am saying is that cussing isn't what that commandment is talking about. Despite the best efforts of "Christians" to make it appear that God was instructing His people not to cuss, I think He was saying something else completely, something far more significant, something Bible thumping Christians do all the time and don't want to admit is wrong.
Cursing and swearing are words that the Bible uses to mean something other than what we call cussing. A curse is when spiritual power is used to make something evil happen to someone. Swearing means making a pledge using the name of God to back it up. Neither of these uses refers to cussing. The Bible warns against using spiritual power for evil means. It also warns against making pledges in the name of God. Both of these things are serious offenses but both are things that Christians do routinely.
Strong's Concordance gives a clue in the definition of the word "vain" as it is used in the commandment. Strong's defines that word (Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary word number 7723) as false (-ly), lie, lying, vain, vanity. Wouldn't it make a lot more sense then to think of that commandment as God telling his people not to use the Lord's name in a self-serving lie? In other words, don't say that God supports something that is selfish, something He doesn't actually support? For example, don't claim that God wants America to be a strong imperial power. Another example might be don't claim that God commanded his people not to cuss, not to use profanity. Was profanity an issue when the Israelites were being led by Moses to the Promised Land? Was that the reason for that commandment? It doesn't seem likely.
Using that commandment to demonize cussing simply masks the real meaning. Masking the real message in the Bible uses God's name in vain.
posted by Bill | 8:30 AM
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