Theos-Talk Archives (April 1996 Message tl00438)

Chuck:

[writing to Liesel]

>Blasphemy is good for both the giver and the receiver.  The giver
>gets to deal with some religious stuff that is probably hanging
>around from childhood and never got properly exorcised and the
receiver gets to practice patience and tolerance.

This is one of those times when I go back to the dictionary.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines it as:

AHD> 1.a. A contemptuous or profane act, utterance, or writing
AHD> concerning God or a sacred entity; b. The act of claiming
AHD> for oneself the attributes and rights of God. 2. An
AHD> irreverent or impious act, attitude, or utterance in regard
AHD> to something considered inviolable or sacrosanct.

With the first definition, I'd say that expressions of
contempt for the sacred would certainly be offensive to
those that respect it. We may want to make fun of the
funny ideas that people sometimes hold regarding the deeper
side of life, but should respect the actual feeling of the
sacred that those people feel with the ideas. Our intent
may be to get them to review and upgrade their thinking;
it certainly would not be to get people to stop their
appreciation of the sacred, simple because we don't like
the words that they use to describe it.

The second definition is a problem which people can fall
into when the approach the spiritual. They presume to speak
for God and Gods and end up profaning the very things that
they identify with.

The third definition has to do with actual acts of disrespect
for the sacred. Someone may be reading a spiritual book and
it is obvious that they are involved in something that is
sacred for them. Another person comes along, mocking them,
going "har, har, har" and manages to provoke their anger,
taking them out of their deep feelings. This would be an
example of the final definition, although better examples
could easily be given.

What would I conclude from this? That we should (never mind
the word "should", just listen to what I'm saying) respect
the sense of the sacred in others, regardless of their words
and practices. We should try to lead them into higher forms of
thinking and behavior in a way that doesn't disrupt them and
cause them to lose their sense of the sacred. In our excitement
over what we consider our higher words and forms of expression,
we shouldn't forget that we're dealing with other living
human beings, and forget to look at them and see the effect
our words and actions have on them.

-- Eldon