I'll put the quiet down to the general sanity of the people who post to the
list ... it was the labor day weekend ....
Tom Holz wrote:
>My idea was this: <do not take the Lord's name in vain> is a very
powerful
>defensive meme for <Christianity>. First, it tries to ensure that
>Christians will not replicate sterile, results-oriented, memetic mimicry.
I disagree ...
>Second, it is a meme relatively unique to <Christianity>, so it's
>presence/absence can be used to decide if other people share the
>Christian's memeset (and are thus worth investing energy in or avoiding,
>ala genetic relateness).
This is a very good point. When I have to hang with Xtians I start to get
sensitive about my God Damn's and my Jesus Christs.
I think the beauty of not using God's name in vain is that it subconciously
affirms your belief in God's power. From an old testament point of view
you don't want to be God damning the hammer you just hit your thumb with
because its really your fault. If God takes time out of his busy day to
damn your hammer then he might not be so willing to help you when the
Philistines come to enslave you and your family. From a new testament
point of view invoking God to damn anyone or anything isn't very beatific
...
I'm not sure what it means "To take the lord's name in vain" ... is it just
oath oriented or is there a vanity aspect to what you're allowed to pray
for? It seems that asking God for money, sunny days, and passing grades on
tests doesn't really jibe with judaic custom. On the other hand it
certainly is one of the legs that televangelism stands on. From a memetic
virus p.o.v. it might be fun to ask Xtians exactly what it means to take
God's name in vain ... and then begin calling them on it.