I have been pondering much the various expressions that we utter when we want to express our surprise or shock at something and i wonder, is it a sin to say, "Oh my word!"
or "Oh My Word"! ?? Where DID this expression come from in the first place? Is it referring to The Word (our Lord Jesus Christ)?? Where and when did it originate?

Other expressions, as you know, are "Oh my gosh", "Oh my goodness", and of course, "Oh my G**". There is also "Holy Cow!" and any number of others. Perhaps an argument could even be made that saying "Holy Cow!" is a sin, as it references the Hindu belief that cows are holy and sacred.
What are your thoughts on this matter?

Trekker: As I was growing up, I was taught that to use an expression like golly or gee was paramount to cursing and swearing using the big four letter words. So as a result, I never got in the habit of using these types of expressions. But the same people who taught against the use of these expressions then used the expression, "My word", or, "My goodness", and seemed to not think twice about it.

But there is what I think is a much more important issue in considering this and similar questions. What happens when we begin to analyze behavior and try to make determinations on whether this behavior crosses the line and is sin or that behavior does not quite cross the line and therefore is not sin. The Pharisees and Jewish teachers did just this in the Talmud. They examined behaviors in light of the law and wrote volumes on how the law was to be interpreted, what was sin, and what was not sin. The results, if not so sad, might be comical.

For example, work on the Sabbath is defined as "carrying in or carrying out", but nothing is said about carrying up or carrying down. So if you have a four story house, you can carry your couch up and down the stairs all day long and have not violated the Sabbath. But if you carry the couch out the front door you have committed sin by doing work on the Sabbath.

Jesus dealt with just this issue in Matthew 7 when his disciples were called down by the Pharisees for eating with unwashed hands. The tradition they refer to was based on their interpretation of the law, and to them the disciples had just committed sin. But Jesus told them that they were teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

I have seen men who were mightily used of God who had as part of their language some of the expressions you list. I have seen people who were lost in sin who never used these expressions, nor any that were worse.

I guess what I am saying is that I do not believe it very fruitful to spend a lot of time trying to determine which of these expressions might cross a line. How much more fruitful to seek with your whole heart to draw near to God and be obedient as He deals with you about these things.

_________________
Travis

Thank you twayneb. So you're saying that i can disregard the whole OT Law, including the Ten Commandements and in particular the one which says, Do not take the Name of the Lord thy God in vain, for God will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain?

You make a very good point there about the carrying in and carrying out, etc.Yet the question is, what parts of the Law then are we still to follow? Are we to just pick and choose, as at a buffet? Like, if i want to murder someone, that would be ok now because that was under OLD testament law, same as adultery,covetousness,breaking the sabbath, etc? I agree with you about legalism, but it becomes rather confusing on these tougher issues (language,etc)as to what qualifies as legalism and what does not.

Trekker: There is another thread going dealing with legalism that might be good to check out. What qualifies as legalism is looking to your own ability to keep laws as the means by which you are accepted and made righteous, or the means by which you obtain anything from God. It takes you out of the realm of grace and into the realm of law. Legalism puts you back under the old covenant with its bondage.

_________________
Travis