What does ‘taking God’s name in vain’ really mean?
I’ve come around to believing it means something more — and more serious — that blurting out one of His names as an interjection and includes but is broader than literally asking God to damn someone. It covers things like Pat Robertson’s and Jerry Falwell’s ‘God is pro-war’ support of Mr Bush’s handlers ordering troops to murder Iraqis. No different really from the Gott mit uns (God is with us, or God is on our side) motto of the Wehrmacht during World War II. Taking God’s name in vain is the blasphemy of trying to turn Him into the instrument or at least the cheering mascot of your will, rather than the other way round. (Liberals trying to bend scripture and the rest of tradition to support their pet causes like gay church weddings are guilty of the same thing.)