Should Christians Watch Films that Use God's Name as a Cuss Word? Hollywood vs. God on Blasphemy

The sin of using the Holy Name of God as a curse word or profanity is known as the sin of blasphemy. It is a grave mortal sin.

The Catechism of the Council of Trent notes: "God Himself in His very Nature is holy, nor can any holiness be attributed Him which He has not possessed from all eternity; yet seeing that here below an honour far inferior to that which He deserves is rendered to Him, and that sometimes even He is dishonoured by cursing and blasphemy, we therefore desire and beg that His name may be exalted here on earth with praise, honour, and glory, after the example of that praise, honour and glory which are given Him in heaven."

Further, the Catechism notes: "More enormous is the guilt of those who, with impure and defiled lips, dare to curse or blaspheme the holy name of God­, that name which is to be blessed and praised above measure by all creatures, or even the names of the Saints who reign with Him in glory.' So atrocious and horrible is this crime."

The Baltimore Catechism teaches the following:

What do you mean by taking God's name in vain? By taking God's name in vain I mean taking it without reverence, as in cursing or using in a light and careless manner, as in exclamation.

What are we commanded by the second Commandment? We are commanded by the second Commandment to speak with reverence of God and of the saints, and of all holy things. 

Sacred Scripture explicitly forbids the mortal sin of blasphemy.

Exodus 20:7 You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.

Matthew 12:36-37 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.

Matthew 6:9 Pray then like this: “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name."

Psalm 139:20 Your enemies take your name in vain!

Ezekiel 39:7 And my holy name I will make known in the midst of my people Israel, and I will not let my holy name be profaned anymore.

Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue.

Colossians 3:8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.

Job 1:22 And in all these things Job did not sin, neither did he blaspheme against God.

Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

The Saints have also spoken on this topic, as well.

"Sacrilegious tongues blaspheme the God who preserves their existence. You should be damned forever and, instead of thanking Him for His goodness, you, at the very time that He bestows His favours upon you, you blaspheme His Holy Name!" St. Alphonsus Ligouri

"If God’s Name is blasphemed by bad Christians, it is praised and honoured, on the other hand by the good." St. Augustine

Our Lord revealed to Sr. Mary of St. Peter in the mid 19th century:

"All those who honor My Face in a spirit of reparation will by so doing perform the office of the pious Veronica. According to the care they take in making reparation to My Face, disfigured by blasphemers, so will I take care of their souls which have been disfigured by sin."

The whole purpose of Our Lord's apparitions to this pious nun were to ask her to make reparation for sins of blasphemy against His Holy Name and His Holy Face, sins that wounded Him gravely. He taught her this prayer, to make reparation and to bring consolation to His Heart:

"May the most holy, most sacred, most adorable, most incomprehensible and unutterable Name of God be always praised, blessed, loved, adored and glorified, in Heaven, on earth, and under the earth, by all the creatures of God, and by the Sacred Heart of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar. Amen."

Also around this same time, Our Lady appeared to two children in La Salette. Both remarked that she was in tears the whole time she spoke to them. She told them that she was no longer able to restrain the hand of her Son, because of people working on Sundays and because of widespread blasphemy.

Donal Foley comments, "Surely the message for our time from the events at La Salette and the warnings Our Lady gave there, is that sins of Sabbath breaking and blasphemy are very serious and merit grave punishment. These 19th century problems in localized areas have become epidemics in the 21st, as the greater part of modern society disregards the sanctity of Sundays and treats as a joke the idea that blasphemy is a sin."

When we are consecrated to Jesus and Mary, we give them “Our eyes, our ears, our lips, our hearts.” All these belong to them. When we give our eyes and our ears to something offensive and profane, we are choosing to say, in that moment, that they can not have either one.

In the Divine Praises of the Church, we pray, "Blessed be God. Blessed be His Holy Name... Blessed be the Name of Jesus."

All of these sources (the Magisterium, the Bible, the Saints, Apparitions, Liturgical Prayer) confirms the gravity of using God's Name as a vulgar profanity. And they all confirm the importance of the virtue of honoring His Holy Name.

When we hear of Hollywood films making use of graphic nudity, or modern music using suggestive lyrics, Christians of good will rightly deem such "entertainment" to be offensive and insulting to God. It is treated rightfully so as a grave moral evil. To support such things with our time or money is a remote cooperation in perpetuating such sins, where actors or musicians are being paid to commit mortal sins on screen or in audio.

If an actor was told that he had to literally kill someone in a scene for the film to progress, and the actor followed through with it, both the actor and the one making the request would be tried in a court of law for murder, not to mention that they would be in serious mortal sin.

God is not mocked and He takes sin very seriously. In these examples, the Christian of good will knows the obvious right from wrong in determining whether or not such ventures ought to be supported. However, when it comes to blasphemy, we turn a blind eye. And yet blasphemy is also a direct Commandment from God handed to Moses, right alongside sins of lust and the sin of murder.

An actor is being paid to commit a mortal sin. He is being tasked by a director, producer, and screenwriter to commit a mortal sin. A sin so serious that Our Lord and Our Lady both came down from Heaven to speak to us about it in the 19th century.

Fr. Ripperger notes, "People have to be very judicious about the movies they watch. Because if you volitionally turn on a movie knowing there is going to be blasphemy in the movie, you are guilty in the cooperation of the sin of the people who put that thing out. So be very careful about what you watch... If you really want to follow God, if you really want to remain sinless, this is one area in modern life where you are simply going to have to exercise almost heroic virtue. You will have to put the thing aside, be detached from it, and practice self denial. That is if you are going to save your soul and not offend God."

We often hear the argument that films are just trying to be realistic with their depictions. Imagine a film on the life of the Mafia made in 1955. Now contrast that to Goodfellas. What are some of the differences? We do not need to capture mortal sins on camera in order to convey realism.

Others argue that some films use blasphemy but that they have a good moral to them by the end. However, we know that the ends do not justify the means. And as Christians, we ought to already know the morals that God wishes us to exhibit in our lives of sanctification. Perhaps the movie can reach the lost, but we are not lost. We are found. We belong to Christ.

Let us be vigilant and take our holiness seriously. All things for God's greater glory and for the honor of Our Lady. May we frustrate the plans of the evil one, and live to serve God alone.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. We love you. Save souls. Amen.