Oh my Gosh? or Oh my God?
A colloquial mistake.
Amazingly enough to me, an international student with no religion but plenty of knowledge on the subject, some people feel offended if you happen to use the expression: "Oh my God" . The reason? Well, according to them is most simple and sacred: "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord your God in vain".
However, "God" is NOT the Lord's name.
God and Lord come to denote the same meaning: a way of referring to God without using His name.
In the Bible it is stated that God's name is YHWH, an unpronounceable sacred name that no one must disrespect.
"Most modern denominations of Judaism teach that the four-letter name of God, YHWH, is forbidden to be uttered except by the High Priest in the Temple. Since the Temple in Jerusalem no longer exists, this name is never said in religious rituals by Jews, and the correct pronunciation is disputed. Orthodox and Conservative Jews never pronounce it for any reason. Some religious non-Orthodox Jews are willing to pronounce it, but for educational purposes only, and never in casual conversation or in prayer. Instead of pronouncing YHWH during prayer, Jews say Adonai."
As seen here, in order never to pronounce the name of God, other words have been used to refer to him such as Adonai, Jehova, Elohim, Shaddai, etc.
This names
are not the name of God, they are only denominations to avoid the sin of pronouncing his name, so next time someone looks at you with disdain for saying "Oh my God", give them a little lesson in theology and don't be ashamed!
It is truly sad how words are no longer, popular usage of them takes meaning away...no one seems to care about the importance of words anymore...