How should Christians who work with fiction approach material which uses the Lord’s name in vain? Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD
will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
Exodus 20:7 (KJV)

As an example of a work of fiction pertaining to my question, I submit One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, the 1975 film adapted from the novel of the same name by Ken Kesey. Specifically, the character of Randle McMurphy as portrayed by Jack Nicholson, who doesn’t seem to go a single scene in this movie without using “God” or our Lord Jesus Christ’s name as an expletive.
On the one hand, I cringe. On the other hand, I see the characterization of sinners as a useful tool in a Christian writer/performer/director’s creative arsenal. As an aspiring screenwriter, I’m especially pressed to find an answer to this question.
For many years I misunderstood what &quot;taking God's name in vain&quot; actually meant. Using the name &quot;Jesus Christ&quot; (both or either), or &quot;God&quot; is an expletive or 'cuss' word was not actually the subject of one of the Ten Commandments.
Think about the phrase &quot;take the name&quot;, then add &quot;on&quot; to make it &quot;take on the name&quot;. Think about the traditional institution of Christian/Biblical marriage, and the practice of the bride &quot;taking on the name of&quot; her new husband as they wed.
&quot;Taking the Lord's name&quot; was really about the people advertising to the world that they were &quot;God's people who lived by God's law&quot;. To paraphrase, what God was saying is basically this: &quot;Do not take on my name [call yourselves God's children], then live like you belong to the Devil (or the world, or any of the other tribes or nations you see around you, who practice wickedness).&quot;
It was about living out their (your) profession. We call ourselves Christians...but to the world, do we live as Christians?
Sure, the speech/language the exits our lips is a sign of what's inside (&quot;out of the mouth the heart speaks&quot; - Matthew 12:34, Luke 6:45), but it was/is about behaviour and how that aligns with profession.
We could say that the colloquially term 'Nominal Christian' might refer to those who &quot;take God's name in vain&quot;.
I have certainly been guilty of this on many occasions...
Does that help?
For a more in depth understanding, study the act, and importance, of naming in the Old Testament. It was much more than a labeling mechanism, contrary to what our modern scientific world view would have us relegate it to.
Listen to the following podcast for a Scholar's take on this:
&quot;What is God's Name? Feat. Dr. Michael Heiser&quot;