Nomine

"If God did not exist, it would be necessary to invent Him." Voltaire

In the religious sense, the names of God are not human inventions, but have divine origin and are based on divine revelation. Veneration of the name of God goes back to the Old Testament, and as in (Exodus 20:7), the third of the Ten Commandments state:

"You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain."

The attitude as to the transmission of the name in many cultures was surrounded by secrecy. In Judaism, the pronunciation of the name of God has always been guarded with great care. It is believed that, in ancient times, the sages communicated the pronunciation only once every seven years; this system was challenged by more recent movements.

The nature of a holy name can be described as either personal or attributive. In many cultures it is often difficult to distinguish between the personal and the attributive names of God, the two divisions necessarily shading into each other.

There are various names of God, many of which enumerate the various qualities of a Supreme Being. The English word "God" (and its equivalent in other languages) is used by multiple religions as a noun or name to refer to different deities, or specifically to the 'Supreme Being', as denoted in English by the capitalized and uncapitalized terms "God" and "god".

Ancient cognate equivalents for the Biblical Hebrew 'Elohim', one of the most common names of God in the Bible, include proto-Semitic El, biblical Aramaic Elah, and Arabic 'Ilah. The personal or proper name for God in many of these languages may either be distinguished from such attributes, or homonymic.

The more God’s people came to know him, the more names they gave him. In the Old Testament times, a name was not only identification, but an identity as well. Many times a special meaning was attached to the name. Throughout Scripture God reveals Himself to mankind through His names. When we study these names that He reveals to us in the Bible, we will better understand who God really is. The meanings behind God’s names reveal the central personality and nature of the One who bears them.

We Shouldn't Take God's Name in Vain. But What Is It?

• Rabbinic Judaism considers 7 names of God in Judaism so holy that, once written, they should not be erased.
• In Christian theology the word must be a personal and a proper name of God; hence it cannot be dismissed as mere metaphor.
• In Islam, God (Allah) is believed to have 99 names. They are also called 99 Attributes of Allah. The meaning of the names differs among interpretations.

The next question we should be asking about this verse is what does in vain mean?

The Hebrew a word we translate as vain carries a meaning of empty, hollow, nothing, worthless, or to no good purpose. This doesn’t mean that we should avoid saying God’s name, as some do. Rather that we should be careful how we use His name.

We tend to downplay the importance of names in our cultures, but that wasn’t always the case. In ancient cultures, your name meant something, it had value, it told others who you were. And the same is true with the name of God. His name has meaning and power. It’s holy. Therefore, we shouldn’t use it as if it’s empty, hollow, worthless, or in vain.

That’s what this commandment is getting at. We are forbidden from taking the name of God (representing Him) in a manner that is wicked, worthless, or for our own gain.

Unfortunately, our society, including well intentioned believers, misuses the name of God daily. One of the ways God's name is misused is through profanity. Another way God's name is misused is through intimidation.

Still another way God's name is misused, oddly enough, is to impress. Sadly, some people use His name to impress how spiritual they are. They become spiritual showoffs by employing spiritual sounding phrases and words while their heart is not in it. Every sentence is punctuated with the words, "Praise the Lord," "Hallelujah," "Amen," "God knows," "for God's sake," "God willing (inshallah)," and "God bless you." For many, these expressions have been used with no more thought or sincerity than the popular but empty "God Dammit."

Food for thought!