Some Actions in the "Name of God " Really Take His Name in Vain

The past couple of weeks, I've been thinking about how we take God's name in vain. It can be a simple as showing disrespect, whether inadvertently as many Catholics had been doing with songs like "You are Near," which have a popular mispronunciation of God's name, to actions that we do in the name of God that are not Godly at all.

What a coincidence that this article should appear in the AP last week. Here's an excerpt:

In Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community, where the rule of law takes a back seat to the rule of God, religious zealots are on a crusade to stamp out unchaste behavior. They hurl stones at women for "sins" as trivial as wearing a red blouse, and attack stores that sell devices that can access the Internet. In recent weeks, modesty enforcers have been accused of breaking into the apartment of a Jerusalem woman and beating her because they suspected she consorted with men. They also torched a store that sells MP4 players, fearing devout Jews would use them to download pornography.

I don't know a lot about Orthodox Judaism, but it does seem to me these vigilantes are more interested in giving reign to their own desires for violence than they are to upholding the Word of God.

I have a friend who is an atheist. He said he came to his decision because so much violence has been done for God. Sadly, this kind of nastiness is exactly what would fuel his fire.

The problem is, they aren't doing this because of God. They are simply using God's name as an excuse.