LogFAQs > #962440788

Notschmendrake posted...

Taking the lord's name in vain refers to using the lord's name to justify acts of evil and selfishness.

Think less "stubbing your toe and saying goddamn it" and more "Joel Osteen" or "fake christian conservative invoking their religion to refuse a vaccine mandate"

That's not actually true. The intent of the rule is against any misuse of God's name. Yes, false preaching would fall under that guideline, but so does swearing to God and breaking your word, or even using God's name as a curse ("God damn it!"). The point is that you're essentially profaning something sacred.

It's also why stricter Jewish sects literally cannot say the name of God (Yahweh/YHWH). It's seen as a sin to invoke something divine in any mundane material sense. (which is why substitute words like "Lord" and "God" exist in the first place, so they can refer to him without naming him).