one of the misunderstood of the Ten Commandments: Thou shalt not carry the name of the Lord thy G-d in vain."
It doesn't mean you don't yell "Goddamnit!" when you stub your toe.
It means you don't use G-d's name to justify doing something evil.
A priest who tells the altar boy G-d wants him to be molested? That's breaking this commandment in spades.
If you read the text carefully, it goes on to say that G-d will not hold anyone who breaks this commandment blameless.
You can repent for nearly all sins. Jews say by doing Teshuvah. Christians say by embracing Jesus. For all I know, that could be the same or similar method.
But not this one.
All the supposedly religious people who use G-d as an excuse for doing evil will get what's coming to them.
In Judaism there's the concept of "Chilul Hashem" which means a desecration of G-d's name. Which I think is the commandment here. This is when you do disgrace to G-d's name, like a Jew who behaves immorally while presenting himself as pious. (Which should be everyone, but isn't). Same thing would probably apply to Christians who proclaim themselves as loyal followers of Jesus, but do things that would make Jesus embarrassed.
The opposite is Kiddush Hashem -- sanctification of G-d's name. Which is bringing honor or respect to G-d.
There was a story I read from a survivor in a Concentration Camp during World War 2. I can't remember the exact details. I'm going to mess up this story. The survivor tells about a man who was not particularly religious, who was given a small amount of authority over the other prisoners by the Nazis. When the Nazis issued ham sandwiches for the prisoners to eat on Yom Kippur, this man said to them: "Are you sure? Non kosher food on Yom Kippur?" So the Nazis shot him. The observer was astounded that such a non-religious man actually ended up giving his life for Kiddush Hashem.
one of the misunderstood of the Ten Commandments: Thou shalt not carry the name of the Lord thy G-d in vain."
It doesn't mean you don't yell "Goddamnit!" when you stub your toe.
It means you don't use G-d's name to justify doing something evil.
A priest who tells the altar boy G-d wants him to be molested? That's breaking this commandment in spades.
If you read the text carefully, it goes on to say that G-d will not hold anyone who breaks this commandment blameless.
You can repent for nearly all sins. Jews say by doing Teshuvah. Christians say by embracing Jesus. For all I know, that could be the same or similar method.
But not this one.
All the supposedly religious people who use G-d as an excuse for doing evil will get what's coming to them.
That's a really great perspective that I hadn't heard before, and it makes a lot of sense. It seems obvious in hindsight.
Thank you!
In Judaism there's the concept of "Chilul Hashem" which means a desecration of G-d's name. Which I think is the commandment here. This is when you do disgrace to G-d's name, like a Jew who behaves immorally while presenting himself as pious. (Which should be everyone, but isn't). Same thing would probably apply to Christians who proclaim themselves as loyal followers of Jesus, but do things that would make Jesus embarrassed.
The opposite is Kiddush Hashem -- sanctification of G-d's name. Which is bringing honor or respect to G-d.
There was a story I read from a survivor in a Concentration Camp during World War 2. I can't remember the exact details. I'm going to mess up this story. The survivor tells about a man who was not particularly religious, who was given a small amount of authority over the other prisoners by the Nazis. When the Nazis issued ham sandwiches for the prisoners to eat on Yom Kippur, this man said to them: "Are you sure? Non kosher food on Yom Kippur?" So the Nazis shot him. The observer was astounded that such a non-religious man actually ended up giving his life for Kiddush Hashem.