Catholic Doctrine Regarding The Ten Commandments - Second Commandment

Second Commandment

The second commandment prohibits the use of God's name in vain. Many ancient cultures believed that names were sacred; some had prohibitions on when a person's name could be spoken. The Gospel of John relates an incident where a group of Jews attempted to stone Jesus after he spoke God's name. They interpreted his statement as a claim of divinity. Since they did not believe that he was God, they considered this blasphemy, which under Mosaic law carries a death penalty. Kreeft writes that all of the names by which God is known are holy, and thus all of those names are protected by the second commandment. The Catechism states, "Respect for his name is an expression of the respect owed to the mystery of God himself and to the whole sacred reality it evokes." The Catechism also requires respect for the names of people out of respect for the dignity of that person.

The sentiment behind this commandment is further codified in the Lord's Prayer, which begins, "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name". According to Pope Benedict XVI, when God revealed his name to Moses he established a relationship with mankind; Benedict states that the Incarnation was the culmination of a process that "had begun with the giving of the divine name." Benedict elaborates that this means the divine name could be misused and that Jesus' inclusion of "hallowed be thy name" is a plea for the sanctification of God's name, to "protect the wonderful mystery of his accessibility to us, and constantly assert his true identity as opposed to our distortion of it".

According to Catholic teaching, this commandment does not preclude the use of God's name in taking solemn oaths administered by legitimate authority. However, lying under oath, invoking God's name for magical purposes, or voicing words of hatred or defiance against God are considered sins of blasphemy.