LOL Ruth ...Yep! That's what my kids say it is.

'Course, I was always taught not to say gosh as it was a substitute for God, although I sometimes say "Gosh" as well. (Like Napoleon Dynamite --hee hee)

Does that make me an old fuddy-duddy at best or a legalist at worst?!

I also cringe at those makeover shows as people yell, "Oh my God" out, over and over and over.... ick!

LOL - Ruth, I don't know, I think this whole thing is probably in that tricky grey area of what one Christian may call okay, may stumble someone else. Paul talked about that in eating the meat offered to idols, etc.

But I think intent IS really the question... good point, Ruth!  (God knows the heart) and "in vain" is the phrase that must be parsed!

When I say "Oh Lord," I make it a prayer! (kind of like groaning) LOL

Goodness gracious, what a predicament! 

"My word, how absurd I thought the wing was on the bird! " <--------- said with an elaborate English accent!

Amy - I did not mean to ignore your comment. I have taught my kids the same things. I believe respect of God's name goes right along with the "fear of God" duty that we have. Indeed it is one of the Ten Commandments!

And good for your son. Excellent. You have obviously "trained up a child in the way he should go!"

And "Woman of Laughter" as well.... thanks for the vote of confidence... still wondering if I'm a fuddy-duddy though.... 

Hal, although I am not offended by OMGosh or OMGoodness, I try to avoid any expression, written or spoken, that was derived from something offensive, especially expressions like freakin'.  There are so many expressions we can use instead, and if not, it can be great fun to make one up (one that doesn't bear any resemblance to the offensive one)!  Our language is such an easy way we can set ourselves apart, and offensive language is so prevalent that people really do notice when we don't use it!  Confession:  I do occasionally say d a r n, but never g o s h  d a r n!    :)   

-- Thanks Grant, for the scholarly response (on both accounts). I agree that "swearing by" (Mt. 5:33-37) is blasphemy, and I am not sure that the majority of the younger generation consider what the phrase "swearing by" actually means. In our haste to throw out "hard-line" and "legalistic" stances in favor of "grace," I believe that we as Christians may have watered down the usage of God's name in mundane conversation.

 The third commandment spells out the mistake of assuming God's authority falsely. By (His Name) I will do this or that, etc. And, Numbers 30:2 says that if you invoke God's name as gaurantor of justice if the act is not carried out --you had better follow through.

Hence saying, "By God, I will break your neck" is falsely invoking God's name as a threat. (If you would actually break someone's neck puts you into the violating of the sixth commandment as well.)

Just using the name of God or God's Son (falsely) as an expletive is blasphemy!

And indeed, why yell That Name in anger, why not some other name? Is it that you are calling down vengeance on the hammer that just struck your thumb, with the most powerful name you can bring to mind?  Beware of thinking that invoking His name in such petty circumstances will not be judged as sin.

 Another usage of the third commandment is a warning to speak and teach truth in God's name, not falsehood:

All in all, God's name is NOT to be used lightly or falsely, but with reverence and purpose!

Wow is definitely in the camp of "let your yes be yes and your nos be nos" *nose be nose* LOL

Good one, Cathy!

Todd -- agreed and good point about Joshua.

Those were excellent blogs BTW. I've taken the liberty of linking your blogs here for those following this blog! Do not be shy about linking stuff. Mike Espey broke that barrier long ago, to our betterment!

Names of God by Brother Todd

Reverencing God by Brother Todd

Thanks, Lara, for the comment about specks and planks (mine is a prodigious beam indeed!) 

Oh, and see Grant's comment about the capitalization....

-- But, yes, I regularly change the capitalization in the scripture quote tool that MyChurch uses. It's an old habit. I started doing that long ago when I was making worship "slides" for  congregational singing. It made the songs make more sense (to my mind), when it refers to God, God the Son, the Holy Spirit and His attributes.

 Examples of My Church quotes without my "assistance":

Now, the NASB (New American Standard Bible) and the NKJV (New King James Version) capitalizes the pronouns pertaining to God, yet many of the translations do not (the NIV does not.)

I use the NASB because of its acknowledged closeness (and "stilted") to the original Greek. And because I'm an old fuddy-duddy!

Hal, like you I prefer the NASB or an interlinear for doctrinal accuracy. There is one thing the translators of the KJV/AV Bible did not take into account. That is, the NT Greek is Koiné or market place Greek as opposed to the classical Greek of scholars, and the OT Hebrew is mostly an agricultural, farmer's language. So, the KJV/AV scholars translated the language of the street and the farm into the hoity toity English of  poets and high society.

Don't get me wrong! The King James Authorized Version was THE Bible that served the English speaking world for centuries. However, today there are some wonderful translations like the NLT and the Message that take that principle of the "language of the street" and try to convey the same message, not word for word, but thought for thought, in the language of today. So, for just plain inspiration, I love both of those translations as well. Blessings!

Todd, I too wish the scripture tool gave us more choices (I love The Message for a new slant on "old" passages). That's why I have become intimately acquainted with the reference Bible sites:

"The Online Parallel Scriptures Bible" http://bible.cc/

Blue Letter Bible  http://www.blueletterbible.org/

Bible Gateway  http://www.biblegateway.com/

Deb, I totally believe and agree that His Name is holy.

When I was at the PK event in Washington DC, one of the speakers said the following (my paraphrase): "What would you do if the Lord God were to appear here on the Mall. What would you do? Some would say, 'I'd great Him as my loving Father, or I would praise Him for His help in my life, or I'd give Him a high-five and rejoice in His presence!'  --I'll tell you what I would do. I would flatten myself out in the nearest rut I could find to get as low as I could, in the presence of His Glory!" 

Grant - Thanks for more insight on the translations! Once people understand that each translation has a specific purpose for being made and history, it becomes easier to use them correctly.

DeeDee - Yes, I agree, we are not of this world. Our allegiance is to God's Kingdom and our stance as His soldiers should show a huge respect for our Lord Sabaoth!  

Hi Esther... we were just discussing what it means to most people. In videogames that had text only chat, the term OMG started out as "Oh My God." Here on MyChurch it apparently is understood by many as Oh My Goodness, Omigosh, etc.

But we are all wondering to a varying degree whether that is a good thing...

Indeed, Jesus is the friend that sticks closer than a brother! I believe all aspects of God that we are allowed to see here are true as well --Loving Father, Closest Friend, et al

He is my Savior, my Friend, my Lord, my King, my Creator - I join you in praise of His mighty name!

How we relate is worship, our response to God, to glorify Him! Love, praise, honor --all are aspects

--thanks for your comments Brother Todd!

Yep --Ezekiel 13:6-8 is a warning for that very thing!

I'm enjoying this discussion, Hal!  Interesting and important!

Cody - It's a catch phrase, really.  It's very in fashion. When done with a "valley girl" accent it used to bring gales of laughter. Now it's like Oh. My. G_d. (with        long    -  pauses    -   in   -   between    -     each   -      word, and again it is comical and in fashion to say... Acck!

Kathy - It's interesting to me, and it is important to me, but I'm really curious... how is it an important discussion?

Is this like baseball caps in church to the younger generation? Are the 10 commandments now to most so covered in grace that it doesn't matter anymore if some are bent or broken? 

Hal:  I thought the same thing about it that you did.  It still makes me think that.  Don't like it.

To Charlie: 
I believe that God does speak to certain people, and that it is not a situation in which the person is telling themselves what they want to hear.  I believe this is sacred, not to be made light of.  I do not believe this is taking the God's name in vain.  This is holy!

Thanks for your comment Joey! (Good seein' ya' 'round this here part of town, ma'am!)

And sacred is His name! Amen!

Hal, I think it's an important discussion, because it calls attention to one of the many ways we Christians are fading into the culture.  Not just OMG, but all questionable language.  It's something we should be discussing and thinking about, and we are!  Thanks! 

One of our favorite Christian answers to how we witness to others is "by my actions."  But if our language mimics that of non-Christians, how are we lighting the world?  I guess my concern is "has the salt lost its saltiness?"

god=something worshipped, an idol, a false religion or a 'god' of our own making (one that suits our needs)

God = Yahweh, I am who am, the God of the Bible. God the Father, etc.

That's my rule at least, unless I typo in a blog and don't catch it. :)

same goes for the pronouns too.

Kathy - "Christians are fading into the culture" --very well said. Yes, we seem to be losing our saltiness, and as one pastor said "salt in ancient times, when it lost it's flavor, it was thrown out into the street with the rest of the dirt.'" Which saint was it that said we were to be witnesses of Jesus, and sometimes we should even use words? By our actions they will know us. By our clean speech in mundane life I believe will be a witness as well! People used to apologise at my work for their profanity.. mostly because my speech was clean, I believe.

GIF - I agree. I usually capitalize using those same rules. I generally change even the verse widget's scripture quotes as well.

Andrea... perhaps I will. Some of the comments here have been pretty good on that subject as well. Like the comments Grant made (above)

Well, I'll swan......I do declare this is very interesting.....BTW, does anyone know what "Well,I'll swan" means?????? A little old lady in our church when I was growing up used to say that......instead of OMG..........wonder if it was a politically correct way of saying "Well, I swear" some 42 years ago?

"Stinking" must be a youth pastor thing now, LOLOL

Cindy Lou, Well, I swan .... "bless her heart!" Stink!, I'll bet you are right, I never thought of that. LOL -- I heard my Grandma --a southern Missouri hill-folk denizen, say that with a sly grin and I never once figured that out! That's funny!

BTW, according to some wag on one of Gaither's Homecoming tapes, you can say anything about someone as long as you say (slowly and with a southern accent)"bless his/her heart" after it. It makes it "Okay."

Example: "That poor little girl types OMG in her blogs a lot....bless her heart! "

Prudence (Prue?) Oh my Bob! Funny! AND a great blog on the subject! Check it out, folks!

Yeah, language is funny like that. Of course, that is why computer users began using "emoticons" to express emotions that could not be seen or heard as spoken. ; )

I guess I still can't get past a lack of reverence for God's name. If someone is moaning that phrase as a prayer --it makes sense. And, God knows the heart!  I just think that the fear of the Lord God our Creator must win out over irreverence.

Indeed, the law kills and grace has been given to us, but the consequences of addressing God in in such a manner within the company of unbelievers --which the Internet absolutely is --I think, needs to be considered. 

Your Grandma coulda' knowed my Grandmaw  --she and Grampaw fished on Bull Shoals Lake (after it was built) And my Maw caught crawdads in the creeks between Gainesville and Ava and rode horses and such. I used to visit there and did some of those samer things! 

Thanks, Restore!

Great point! Too lazy...I think some are too lazy to be respectful of GOD and use His name correctly. He is NOT a swear word.

What a great perspective. Many good points! Comforting words, indeed! And God does know the heart, so a legalistic way of looking at it is wrong these days. I realize I need to "leaven" my response to include how other folks are raised and what they really mean when they say such things.

I love the LOL interpretation... you oughta do a blog on that!