The Third Commandment

10 Commandments Monument courtesy Wikipedia

by blogSpotter
Before broaching this religious topic, I must put my cards on the table. I was raised in a Christian home and believe in God, but my communing with a higher power is now done outside of organized religion. Have never encountered an organized religion whose mythological stories convinced me to do otherwise. Nevertheless, the Christian history, lore, icons and such have always held some fascination for me. A very large part of Christian lore is 'The Ten Commandments' -- a code of moral laws handed down by God to Moses in the Old Testament.

The 10 Commandments deal with the most serious human character flaws -- those of lust, envy, arrogance and such. Breaking several of them would be felonies, even in secular society -- theft, murder and perjury to name three. Others are clearly major breaches of the social contract without necessarily breaking a law -- idolatry and adultery. Clearly what the stone tablet covers are the major subject areas of human behavior; it doesn't dwell on the trivial. "Thou shall not overeat" is not on there. So, even as a child, I was always challenged by the third commandment:

"Thou shall not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain".

Both Sunday school teachers and my own parents told me that it meant that you shouldn't say, "God damn it" or "God damn you". What bothered me is that these are profane epithets that anyone might utter while hammering a nail or misapplying wallpaper. Part of God's interpretation of your words would surely be intent or effect. God, having made you, can certainly discern where you are 'coming from' with anything you say. An angry epithet would be on par with jaywalking or littering in a park. These are certainly bad behaviors, but are they worthy of the Moses curse? What occurred to me is that my Sunday school teachers were putting too much of a literal meaning on the commandment, while altogether bypassing its more important meaning.

The commandment means that you shouldn't try to assume the identity of God, or present yourself as God. It is much more directed at hypocrites or anyone presuming to speak for God -- televangelists and minions of organized religion come to mind. Anyone whose words are "God has chosen me ..." or "God speaks thru me..." is suspect. The most extreme cases would be the Reverend Jim Jones of cyanide-laced Kool-Aid fame, or Marshall Applewhite's "Heaven's Gate" cult where followers gulped fatal sedatives in hopes of riding the Hale-Bopp comet in an after life.

So does that mean learned scholars can't discourse the purpose or intent of God and God's scripture? It only prohibits that if the speaker claims that he is God, or directly speaks for God. We can assert God's purpose in a more collective sense -- by evaluating scriptures, but also by tapping into our aggregate knowledge and employing practical observation. Now, one might have to pose an odd question. Was Jesus violating the third commandment by claiming that he was "the way, and the only way" long after Moses brought down the tablets? Maybe God makes exceptions and there is coda that says, "* unless you are Jesus". This last speculation is more to be provocative to my Christian readers. May God speed you along the way of understanding -- I say that in all humility, without assuming His name.


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