Oh My God!

Dear Victorious,

We frequently hear people saying, "Oh my God!" Isn't this blasphemy? (After all, it is taking the name of the Lord in vain.)

Marcy E. - Hammondsville, IN

Dear Marcy,

Yes, I've heard it too. I'm not so much troubled by the actual words as I am the attitude toward God that they seem to reveal. I hear it on TV a lot, especially on reality shows, game shows and commercials. Anything that's surprising, especially pleasantly so, seems to warrant such an exclamation. I'm sure that the comment itself is innocent enough. But I notice that the maturest Christians I know don't use that expression. You have to wonder why!

Blasphemy is defined as the act of showing contempt for God, showing irreverence toward God, claiming the attributes of God or denying the deity of God. So when someone says, with regular casualness, "Oh my God!" I suspect they are - in most cases - simply guilty of irreverence toward God. But my guess is that most of them are ignorant about that fact. The only question I'd have is whether it would matter to them if they knew.