Teens, God, and taking the Lord’s name in vain
by Marcia Segelstein for World Magazine
Every week, my local newspaper runs a small piece called “A Student’s View,” written, as you can probably guess, by a high school student on the topic of his or her choice.
In a recent one, titled “Oh my God,” a Jewish girl wrote protesting her parents’ insistence that she attend synagogue services for the High Holy Days. The author was clearly bright, and the piece was thoughtful and well-written. And having experienced teenage rebellion in various forms firsthand, I pass no judgment on her or her parents. (If anything, I admire them for insisting she attend.)
Making no excuses but raising a good point, she writes, “A majority of my classmates . . . say the Lord’s name in vain all the time. . . .” And it’s not just her classmates. All day, every day, on TV and in movies, in real life and in books, the phrase “Oh my God” is uttered. Hearing that relentlessly, what must young people think? How could it not diminish the meaning behind the name?
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
