Posted by Magus 23 at 208.213.219.104 on November 29, 1999 at 10:31:47:
In Reply to: how do you explain everyone taking God's name in v posted by Kayhallie on November 28, 1999 at 00:14:23:
Well, technically, you appear to be thinking in very modern terms, as to what constitutes "taking God's name in vain." We tend to call phrases like "Jesus Christ" or "Goddammit" taking God's name in vain, but that's not always been the interpretation. Originally, the commandment was directed against speaking God's name lightly or trivially, which is why, when reading the Hebrew Torah, the name of God--and, yes, God does have a name: YHWH, which is usually transliterated as Yahweh (or mistransliterated as Jehovah)--is never spoken aloud, but rather said as "Adonai." (And while I no longer consider myself a Christian, I do know a little bit--but anyone more knowledgeable can certainly feel free to correct me.)
Since Biblical translations into English usually just translate YHWH as "God" or "The Lord," Christians (and yes, I realize I'm making a blanket statement here) tend to forget that God does have a name at all, and therefore, interpret the commandment to fit in with those sensibilities. (After all, how else *can* one take the lord's name in vain if God doesn't have a name?)
"God" is therefore more of a title than a name (although its use as a personal noun may justify its capitalization, a convention which--though I don't observe the same beliefs--I adopt here), and phrases incorporating said title don't really qualify as violations. Similarly, I would argue that Jesus--the anglicizing of the slightly more accurate Yeshua Ben Yusef (again, please feel free to correct me)--is the name of a human being: the human incarnation of God, perhaps, but not really the *name* of God (although, yes, the name was dictated by Heaven). And, since "Christ"--despite common misconception--isn't in any way a name, but exclusively a title (meaning "savior" or "redeemer," if I'm not mistaken), its use doesn't qualify at all.
And since the film (as I recall) doesn't have anyone using "Yahweh" or even "Jehovah," we don't really have a violation--and I tend to think long-lived beings (or long-dead) such as angels and apostles would tend toward the older interpretation.
Any responses?
Bill