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The [[Seven laws of Noah]] which Judaism sees as applicable to all of humankind prohibits blasphemy.
The [[Seven laws of Noah]] which Judaism sees as applicable to all of humankind prohibits blasphemy.


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==Blasphemy in Christianity==
[[File:Jesus graffito.jpg|upright|thumb|The satirical [[Alexamenos graffito]] is believed to be the earliest known [[representation of Jesus]].]]
[[Christian theology]] condemns blasphemy. It is spoken of in the [[Gospel of Mark|Mark]] [[s:Bible (World English)/Mark#3:29|3:29]], where blaspheming the [[Holy Spirit]] is spoken of as unforgivable - the [[eternal sin]]. However, there is dispute over what form this blasphemy may take and whether it qualifies as blasphemy in the conventional sense.

Blasphemy has been condemned as a serious, or even the most serious, sin by the major creeds and Church theologians.
*[[Thomas Aquinas]] says that “it is clear that blasphemy, which is a sin committed directly against God, is more grave than murder, which is a sin against one's neighbor. … it is called the most grievous sin, for as much as it makes every sin more grievous.”<ref>Thomas Aquinas: [http://www.newadvent.org/summa/3013.htm#article3 ''Summa Theologica''] 2:2, q. 13.</ref>
*The [[Book of Concord]] calls blasphemy “the greatest sin that can be outwardly committed”.<ref>[http://www.bookofconcord.org/lc-3-tencommandments.php ''The Book of Concord''] ''The Large Catechism,'' §55.</ref>
*The ''[[Baptist Confession of Faith]]'' says: “Therefore, to swear vainly or rashly by the glorious and awesome name of God…is sinful, and to be regarded with disgust and detestation. …For by rash, false, and vain oaths, the Lord is provoked and because of them this land mourns.”<ref>[http://www.spurgeon.org/~phil/creeds/bcof.htm#part23 The Baptist Confession of Faith] Ch. 23, §2-3.</ref>
*''The [[Heidelberg Catechism]]'' answers question 100 about blasphemy by stating that “no sin is greater or provokes God's wrath more than the blaspheming of His Name”.<ref>[http://www.wts.edu/resources/heidelberg.html The Heidelberg Catechism] Q. 100.</ref>
*The ''[[Westminster Confession of Faith|Westminster Larger Catechism]]'' explains that “The sins forbidden in the third commandment are, the abuse of it in an ignorant, vain, irreverent, profane...mentioning...by blasphemy...to profane jests, ...vain janglings, ...to charms or sinful lusts and practices.”<ref>[http://www.reformed.org/documents/wlc_w_proofs/WLC_091-150.html Westminster Larger Catechism] Q. 113.</ref>
*[[Jean Calvin|Calvin]] found it intolerable “when a person is accused of blasphemy, to lay the blame on the ebullition of passion, as if God were to endure the penalty whenever we are provoked.”<ref>Jean Calvin: ''[http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/calcom06.ii.xvii.html Harmony of the Law]'' vol. 4. Lev. 24:10.</ref>

The [[Catholic Encyclopedia]] has a more extensive article on [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02595a.htm blasphemy].

===Catholic prayers and reparations for blasphemy===
In the [[Catholic Church]], there are specific prayers and devotions as [[Acts of Reparation]] for blasphemy.<ref>[http://catholicism.about.com/od/prayers/qt/Reparation_HN.htm Act of Reparation for Blasphemies Uttered Against the Holy Name, Righting Wrongs Through Prayer] By Scott P. Richert, About.com</ref> For instance, [[The Golden Arrow Holy Face Devotion (Prayer)]] first introduced by Sister [[Marie of St Peter]] in 1844 is recited "''in a spirit of reparation for blasphemy''". This devotion (started by Sister Marie and then promoted by the Venerable [[Leo Dupont]]) was approved by Pope [[Leo XIII]] in 1885.<ref>* Dorothy Scallan. The Holy Man of Tours. (1990) ISBN 0895553902</ref> The [[Raccolta]] Catholic prayer book includes a number of such prayers.<ref>Joseph P. Christopher et al., 2003 ''The Raccolta'', St Athanasius Press ISBN 978-0970652669</ref> The [[Five First Saturdays]] devotions are done with the intention in the heart of making reparation to the Blessed Mother for blasphemies against her, her name and her holy initiatives.

The [[Holy See]] has specific "Pontifical organizations" for the purpose of the reparation of blasphemy through [[Acts of Reparation to Jesus Christ]], e.g. the ''Pontifical Congregation of the [[Benedictine Sisters of the Reparation of the Holy Face]].''<ref>[http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/letters/2000/documents/hf_jp-ii_let_20001021_riparatrici_en.html Letter for 50th anniversary of the Benedictine Sisters of Reparation of the Holy Face, 2000] Vatican archives</ref>
[[File:Salman-Rushdie-1.jpg|thumb|Writer [[Salman Rushdie]] was accused of blasphemy and subject of a ''[[fatwā]]'' issued by [[Ayatollah]] [[Ruhollah Khomeini]], the [[Supreme Leader of Iran]], in February 1989.]]

===Death sentence===
Historically, blasphemy against God had been a crime punishable by death in much of the Christian world.

In [[United Kingdom|Britain]]'s last blasphemy execution, 18-year-old [[Thomas Aikenhead]] was executed for the crime in 1697. He was prosecuted for denying the veracity of the Old Testament and the legitimacy of Christ's miracles. In recent years, George Rosie wrote in the newspaper ''[[The Scotsman]]'' that "The killing of Thomas Aikenhead, like the hounding of [[Salman Rushdie]] for the same 'offence,' was a disgrace…a prime example of a God-fixated state killing a man in an attempt to stop the spread of an idea."<ref name=truth>[http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/thomasaikenhead.html Thomas Aikenhead]</ref>


==Blasphemy in Islam==
==Blasphemy in Islam==

Revision as of 17:32, 25 April 2011

For other uses, see Blasphemy (disambiguation).

Blasphemy is irreverence[1] toward holy personages, religious artifacts, customs, and beliefs. The Abrahamic religions condemn blasphemy vehemently. Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy,[2] while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy. Those laws may discourage blasphemy as a matter of blasphemous libel,[3] vilification of religion,[4][5] religious insult,[6] or hate speech.[7]

History

The word "blasphemy" came via Middle English blasfemen and Old French blasfemer and Late Latin blasphemare from Greek βλασφημέω, from βλάπτω = "I injure" and φήμη = "reputation". From blasphemare also came Old French blasmer, from which English "blame" came.

Blasphemy laws

Main article: Blasphemy law

Countries may use blasphemy laws to victimize non-members of, and dissident members of, the ruling sect or cult. Countries with a state religion are the most punitive users of blasphemy laws.[8][9][9][10][11][12][13][14]

Blasphemy in Judaism

In the third book of the Torah, Leviticus 24:16 states that those who speak blasphemy "shall surely be put to death". See also List of capital crimes in the Torah. The Seven laws of Noah which Judaism sees as applicable to all of humankind prohibits blasphemy.

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Blasphemy in Islam

Main article: Islam and blasphemy

According to Pakistani religious scholar, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi, there is nothing in Islam which supports blasphemy law.[15]

Blasphemy and the United Nations

Main article: Blasphemy and the United Nations

In the early 21st century, blasphemy became an issue for the United Nations. The General Assembly passed several resolutions which called upon the world to take action against the "defamation of religions."[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23]

Colloquial usage

Blasphemy has been used to mean "irreverence" in a non-religious context. Sir Francis Bacon uses "blasphemy" in this way in Advancement of Learning, where he speaks of "blasphemy against teaching".

"Blasphemy" may be used as a substitute for "profanity" or "cursing" as it is used in this sentence: "With much hammering and blasphemy, the locomotive's replacement spring was finally fitted."

In contemporary language, the notion of blasphemy is often used hyperbolically. This usage has garnered some interest among linguists recently, and the word 'blasphemy' is a common case used for illustrative purposes.[24][25]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blasphemy.

References

  1. ^ http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/blasphemy
  2. ^ See Blasphemy law.
  3. ^ Kerr, ine (9 July 2009). "Libel and blasphemy bill passed by the Dail". Independent.ie. Retrieved 17 November 2009.
  4. ^ http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/qld/consol_act/aa1991204/s124a.html
  5. ^ http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?document_id=23370
  6. ^ European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission), Report on the relationship between freedom of expression and freedom of religion: the issue of regulation and prosecution of blasphemy, religious insult and incitement to religious hatred, 17-18 October 2008, Doc. No. CDL-AD(2008)026
  7. ^ See Blasphemy law and Hate speech.
  8. ^ http://www.religiouswatch.com/rwworld.htm
  9. ^ a b http://www.christianpost.com/article/20091113/100-groups-oppose-u-n-defamation-of-religions-proposals/index.html
  10. ^ http://www.iheu.org/united-nations-will-violate-human-rights-says-new-report-religious-freedoms
  11. ^ "Muslim scholar says Scrap blasphemy laws which bring shame on Islam and Pakistan". Herald Malaysia Online. 11 August 2009. Retrieved 3 September 2009. [dead link]
  12. ^ http://www.uscirf.gov/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1414&Itemid=1 Annual Report of the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom May 2009 (Pakistan, etc.).
  13. ^ http://www.unhchr.ch/Huridocda/Huridoca.nsf/TestFrame/af783bb51170854380256739004faac4?Opendocument A call upon states to work toward abolishing the juvenile death penalty
  14. ^ http://report2009.amnesty.org/en/regions/asia-pacific/indonesia
  15. ^ Islamic scholar attacks Pakistan's blasphemy laws Guardian 20 January 2010. Retrieved 23 January 2010
  16. ^ http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/RES/60/150&Lang=E A/RES/60/150
  17. ^ http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/60/PV.64&Lang=E Vote on 16 December 2005 (A/60/PV.64)
  18. ^ http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/RES/61/164&Lang=E A/RES/61/164
  19. ^ http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/61/PV.81&Lang=E Vote on 19 December 2006
  20. ^ http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/RES/62/154&Lang=E A/RES/62/154
  21. ^ http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/62/PV.76&Lang=E Vote on 18 December 2007
  22. ^ http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/RES/63/171&Lang=E A/RES/63/171
  23. ^ http://daccess-ods.un.org/access.nsf/Get?Open&DS=A/63/PV.70&Lang=E Vote on 18 December 2008
  24. ^ Recanati 1995; Carston 1997, 1999, 2000; Sperber & Wilson 1998; Glucksberg 2001; Wilson & Sperber 2002.
  25. ^ "Relevance and Lexical Pragmatics" (PDF). UCL Dept of Phonetics and Linguistics. Retrieved 2011-01-04.

Further reading

External links

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