• planettop92
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    7 months ago

    is it? I checked the dictionary and it doesn’t seem like they’re doing anything in vain. https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vain

    1. having or showing undue or excessive pride in one’s appearance or achievements : conceited

    it’s literally the opposite of pride. they’re using his name to hide something they’re ashamed of

    1. marked by futility or ineffectualness : unsuccessful, useless vain efforts to escape

    also the opposite, they’re trying to use his name in an effective manner to solve a problem

    1. having no real value : idle, worthless vain pretensions

    same as the previous, it would have a worth to them

    1. archaic : foolish, silly

    again, they’re using it for schoolwork, which is educated, not foolish

    • HiddenLayer5@lemmy.ml
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      7 months ago

      Not religious nor an expert on this, but as far as I know:

      “Taking the Lord’s Name in Vain” is the technical term in Christianity for using words that refer to God/Jesus in any context that isn’t directly referring to them, which is considered a form of blasphemy. The majority of Christians, Catholics especially, believe that even expressions like “oh my god!” or exclaiming “Jesus!” when surprised constitute taking the Lord’s name in vain, or as is what is happening here, where you use Jesus for something unrelated to him. And the bible does make it very clear that blasphemy is worse than literally any other sin.

      • rufus@discuss.tchncs.de
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        6 months ago

        I think there are more rules, too. I think you’re not allowed to swear (wherever that comes from). And there are restrictions/superstitions(?) put on other names. I don’t think christians speak out Satan / Beelzebub. Probably because calling their name conjures a deamon or people said names have some power to them.