I am thinking that OMG is an appropriate comment to be made on a Christian website. That doesn’t set a good example. Others opinions may vary, but as a Christian website, I think the standards should error on the side of conservatism, and I definitely think that using God’s name in vain would be pretty universally wrong under Christianity. Perhaps you didn’t know that stands for Oh, my G.. Thanks

I appreciate your comment, Andria. This is not a Christian website, however. Beliefnet welcomes all faiths as well as those who are seeking or questioning. My understanding of taking the Lord’s name in vain is using God’s name for false claims and promises and not for exclamations of astonishment or pleasure. I apologize for offending you and I hope you will understand that why I did not intend it to be offensive or consider it “universally wrong.”

OMG could also stand for “Oh, my goodness!” Many explatives have tame versions, such as “shoot,” “darn,” “heck,” “crud,” that are all equally well known as their four letter counterparts. The Name was not spelled out. Besides, not only Christians avoid taking The Name in vain. Anyway, G-d is not one of the names of the deity. English is not the language of the original scriptures. Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek are the languages of the Jewish and Christian scriptures. G-d isn’t found in any of them. It is merely a conceptual translation such as deity. However, for your sake, I changed the “o” to a “-” so as not to offend.

A wise comment, Cynthia, thank you. Yes, Orthodox Jews refrain from writing the word and use the hyphen, as you did, and when speaking refer to the deity as Hashem, which means “the Name.” I like the way in “Fantastic Mr. Fox” they substitute the word “cuss” for the usual explicatives. And I like your focus on the meaning of the words and the commandment rather than the form.

What do you do when confronted by a raucous sin against either the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit? More specifically, what actions do you take when someone uses the name of your Lord in vain?
7 Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.—Exodus 20
A lady and I were once discussing the trend of people using the Lord’s name in vain whenever they wanted to use a strong expletive. During the conversation, the woman related an experience that I shall never forget.
Some years ago, just as Hollywood became more brazen in using the Lord’s name in vain in movies, the woman, her husband and two daughters went to see a popular movie. The actors, when in need of an expletive to make the scene more forceful, would exclaim Jesus’ name in vain. After being confronted with a few of these, she was amazed to hear the Holy Spirit ask, “How long are you going to sit here and listen to them using your Lord’s name in vain?”
She left me hanging…
I asked her, “Well, what did you do?”
She boldly responded, “I stood up and told my husband, ‘You can sit there and listen to them use Jesus’ name in vain, but I’m leaving.” With that she walked briskly out of the theater. Within a couple of minutes, here came her sheepish husband and daughters. The tour de force of her testimony is summed up by her last four words concerning going out to a theater to watch a movie, “I never went back.”
Be cognizant of the fact that the Ten Commandments are listed in order of importance. The most important commandment is the First: “Thou shalt have none other gods before me.” The Second is, “Thou shalt not make thee any graven image…thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them…” The Third, “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain: for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.—Deut. 5:7-11 The remaining seven are:
Keep the sabbath day to sanctify it…
Honour thy father and thy mother…
Thou shalt not kill.
Neither shalt thou commit adultery.
Neither shalt thou steal.
Neither shalt thou bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Neither shalt thou desire thy neighbour’s wife, neither shalt thou covet…—Deut. 5:7-21
According to the order, one may be assured that the taking of the Lord’s name in vain is a greater evil than murder, adultery, stealing, bearing false witness, and coveting. Of course, when one breaks one commandment, he has broken all of them; hence, all of the commandments are important. Yet, the Third is more important in the eyes of God than the following seven.
The commandment is broken when the name of either God or Jesus is used out of the context of worship, prayer, praise, or Biblical teachings; for example, in expletives such as:
Oh, my G-d!
G-d almighty!
G-d d-mn!
Jesus!
Jesus Christ!
Oh, my Lord!
Oh, my Word! (Another name for Jesus.)
Or, On, my Word!
The LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
When you come into the knowledge of the truth and continue to break the Fourth Commandment, there awaits the judgment. Take the Lord at His word, He will not hold you guiltless if you take His name in vain. Moreover, he will not hold you guiltless if you watch programming that uses His name in vain. Be forewarned, that the chastening of the Lord will be forthcoming if you turn a deaf ear to the Lord’s command. Wherefore, come out from among those who use the Lord’s name in vain, resist the devil on every turn, and bless the Lord.

Thank you, David. I share your concern about the deterioration of language, respect, courtesy, and dignity and I encourage anyone who feels as you do to insist on better as the family you wrote about did. As noted above, my understanding of the commandment is that it refers to being impeccable in your promises, but I respect your interpretation.