International Blasphemy Day, Shame on Humans


I'm sure that to billions of humans, blasphemy is a real sin and those who practice is must be punished by government. There is even an international celebration to honor punishment those who commit blasphemy.

Countless times over years of blogging I have been accused of blasphemy. The first time someone said this I had to look up blasphemy to see just what it was all about.

There are many countries which have laws against blasphemy, sometimes punishable by death. Speaking ill of the local god is what generally we refer to when using the term, blasphemy. Different religious traditions lay out specific definitions.

In Christianity blasphemy is an "unforgivable sin." It is the ultimate sin. The original form of Christian blasphemy is to insult the "holy spirit." It is hard for me to insult the holy spirit when I have no idea what it is. Nevertheless, if I have done it I am guilty of blasphemy and have committed an unforgivable sin. Those who are celebrating anti blasphemy this week want me to worry about that.

When considering the consequences of making words unforgivable sins, or blasphemy, we should always remember the close ties between religions and politicians. Politicians often bring their public around to thinking that they, themselves, are gods. And, when they are gods speaking ill of politicians becomes blasphemy. It may be punishable by death. We should all keep in mind that it is a short distance from worshiping a god and worshiping a god-like politician.

Blasphemy goes with both.

Comments

  1. Matt NoahOctober 5, 2018 at 6:30 AM

    "There are many countries which have laws against blasphemy, sometimes punishable by death.", says Jon Lindgren.

    Which ones?

    According to the latest International Humanist and Ethical Union's Freedom of Thought report, 13 countries currently have laws on the books carrying a penalty of death for blasphemy or apostasy. Including Pakistan, the other 13 countries are Afghanistan, Iran, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, United Arab Emirates and Yemen. Each of these countries have adopted Islamic law as the ideological foundation of the government.

    ReplyDelete

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