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Summary
- Catholic, Orthodox and Reformed catechisms forbid careless use of God’s name, which the commandment calls taking it “in vain” (Exodus 20:7), and a Lutheran pastor applies the same rule to “O God!” said in excitement.
- The JPS Tanakh renders the commandment “You shall not swear falsely by the name of the LORD your God,” and the Talmud extends it to an unnecessary blessing (Berakhot 33a).
- Jews, the Orthodox, Anglicans, Baptists and Reformed Protestants count it the third commandment; Catholics and Lutherans, who do not number the ban on images separately, count it the second.
- Blasphemy in the strict sense is “any word of malediction, reproach, or contumely pronounced against God,” so a surprised “Oh my God” is not usually counted as blasphemy; the Catholic definition also includes “misusing God’s name,” and the Church weighs attention and intent in judging how grave a sin is.
- Jesus said “All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme,” and the one unforgivable blasphemy concerns the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:28-30), not an exclamation.
- Said to God as a prayer, the words are Scripture’s own: “O my God, I cry in the day time” (Psalm 22:2), and Jesus prayed “My God, my God” on the cross.
- OMG abbreviates the same phrase, “gosh” began as a “euphemistic alteration of God,” and “on God” is an oath, which Jesus answered with “Swear not at all.”
Bibliography (Click to show)
- The Holy Bible, King James Version: Exodus 20:2, 7; Leviticus 19:12; 24:11, 16; Psalm 22:1–2; 42:6; Matthew 5:34, 37; 6:9; 12:36; 27:46; Mark 3:28–30; James 5:12, via BibleGateway.
- Exodus 20:7 in Jewish translations: Tanakh: The Holy Scriptures (Jewish Publication Society, 1985) and Everett Fox, The Five Books of Moses (Schocken, 1995), on Sefaria.
- The Kehot Chumash (Chabad House Publications), Exodus 20:2–3, on Sefaria, and the Rashi Chumash translated by Rabbi Shraga Silverstein, Exodus 20:7, on Sefaria.
- Babylonian Talmud, Berakhot 33a, William Davidson Edition (Koren Noé Talmud, with commentary by Rabbi Adin Even-Israel Steinsaltz), Sefaria.
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2142–2167, “The Second Commandment,” vatican.va, and its table of contents for the First and Second Commandments; paragraphs 1857–1859, “The Gravity of Sin,” vatican.va.
- The Longer Catechism of the Orthodox, Catholic, Eastern Church (Catechism of St Philaret of Moscow, 1830), questions 532–535, “On the Third Commandment,” Pravoslavieto.com.
- Martin Luther, The Small Catechism, Part I, the Second Commandment, BookOfConcord.org.
- The Catechism, The Book of Common Prayer, Church of England.
- Benjamin Keach, The Baptist Catechism, question 59, The Reformed Reader.
- The Westminster Shorter Catechism, questions 53–56, Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
- The Westminster Larger Catechism, questions 111–114, Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
- The Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 22, “Of Lawful Oaths and Vows,” Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
- Joseph F. Delany, “Blasphemy,” The Catholic Encyclopedia, vol. 2 (New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907), New Advent.
- “Blasphemy,” Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com.
- Dictionary.com entries for blasphemy, OMG, gosh and gee, and its slang summary of ONG (“on God”).
- Mark Preus, “Q&A — Minced Oaths,” Steadfast Lutherans, 19 August 2012, steadfastlutherans.org.
- George H. Seville, “Minced Oaths,” reprinted in This Day in Presbyterian History, 18 March 2017, PCA Historical Center.
- Megan Cornwell, “Blasphemy: How to respond when God’s name is used as a swear word,” Premier Christianity, 10 December 2018, premierchristianity.com.
- Ipsos UK for Ofcom, Quick Reference Guide to offensive language, October 2026, ofcom.org.uk.
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