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Blasphemy
#1
Blasphemy
In my opinion, laws against blasphemy are utter ridiculous.

Firstly, religions have differing conceptions of what is blasphemous. For Muslims, to say that a man, Jesus, could be God is blasphemous. For Christians, to claim that Jesus was only a prophet is blasphemous. For Jews, to claim that God is not One, that there can be any trinity, is blasphemous.

So any laws against blasphemy are reduced to legislation, not by moral virtue, but by might.

Secondly, what constitutes as blasphemy can vary and is not in any way straightforward. If blasphemy is judged based on what is interpreted as blasphemous, we are at the mercy of the most paranoid member.

Thirdly, I reject the notion that anything should be beyond critique. Insofar as critique may be taken as blasphemous, that is all the more reason to reject laws against blasphemy.

Yet, when we get down to the core of the issue, the existence of gods aside, blasphemy can at times be inflamatory. It cannot be denied that verbal provocations have as much power as physical.

We have laws against such things as grave desecration even though the former person surely is not bothered overly much by it. Rather such laws only serve to pacify the feelings of the living.

So if there are laws at all which aim to protect the 'feelings' of a person, does any extend towards a person's religious beliefs? Or converse to a person's desire to be free of religious interjections?
"People need heroes. They don't need to know how he died clawing his eyes out, screaming for mercy. The real story would just hurt sales, and dampen the spirits of our customers." - Mythology for Profit
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#2
RE: Blasphemy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Defamation_...ed_Nations

"We came from the sea originally, now we're going back in it. Don't go in it, unless you're in a boat."
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#3
RE: Blasphemy
Just not worth worrying about...it upsets YOU...suck it up princess and build a bridge!! Angry
"The Universe is run by the complex interweaving of three elements: energy, matter, and enlightened self-interest." G'Kar-B5
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#4
RE: Blasphemy
Blasphemy laws are beyond ludicrous. Who is the victim? It offends the sensibilities of the believer? Too damn bad! No one has a right NOT to be offended.

And if the believer thinks their deity will punish you for blasphemy after you're dead, why do you need to be punished in this world right now? Won't the deity handle that on his own?

Religious twits... punishing you for non-existent "crimes" since the first century!
Science flies us to the moon and stars. Religion flies us into buildings.

God allowed 200,000 people to die in an earthquake. So what makes you think he cares about YOUR problems?
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#5
RE: Blasphemy
I'm curious to see where this group falls on the banning smoking in public debate.
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post

always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
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#6
RE: Blasphemy
(January 25, 2011 at 2:45 am)tackattack Wrote: I'm curious to see where this group falls on the banning smoking in public debate.


Not sure what you mean tacky

Do you mean smoking during a debate or a debate about smoking in public places?

A non event here.Smoking is already banned in virtually all indoor public places in this state and some outdoor places such as outdoor cafes. Our city council wants to ban smoking in the major city mall.


Here it's also an offence here to drive a vehicle whilst smoking if there is a child present.

I support such bans on the basis of avoiding irritating odours and fug while I'm eating. As far as I can see,the main reason for banning smoking anywhere is pragmatic IE public liability insurance due to fear of successful passive smoking compensation claims.
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#7
RE: Blasphemy
(January 18, 2011 at 2:07 am)FadingW Wrote: In my opinion, laws against blasphemy are utter ridiculous.

Firstly, religions have differing conceptions of what is blasphemous. For Muslims, to say that a man, Jesus, could be God is blasphemous. For Christians, to claim that Jesus was only a prophet is blasphemous. For Jews, to claim that God is not One, that there can be any trinity, is blasphemous.

So any laws against blasphemy are reduced to legislation, not by moral virtue, but by might.

Secondly, what constitutes as blasphemy can vary and is not in any way straightforward. If blasphemy is judged based on what is interpreted as blasphemous, we are at the mercy of the most paranoid member.

Thirdly, I reject the notion that anything should be beyond critique. Insofar as critique may be taken as blasphemous, that is all the more reason to reject laws against blasphemy.

Yet, when we get down to the core of the issue, the existence of gods aside, blasphemy can at times be inflamatory. It cannot be denied that verbal provocations have as much power as physical.

We have laws against such things as grave desecration even though the former person surely is not bothered overly much by it. Rather such laws only serve to pacify the feelings of the living.

So if there are laws at all which aim to protect the 'feelings' of a person, does any extend towards a person's religious beliefs? Or converse to a person's desire to be free of religious interjections?

I fully agree all you have said here. I just find it amazing that people's religious beliefs are given the kind of respect, their taste in music or which football team they support do not.
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#8
RE: Blasphemy
I imagine the argument can be made that some people would be just as offended by blasphemy around them as I would by someone lighting up around me in an enclosed space...but I've never heard of anyone's asthma being triggered by blasphemy either.

They recently banned smoking in restaurants and bars here in NC. If you want to allow smoking inside your venue, you must pay a fine. It's not fair to private business owners, who should be allowed to make the decision of whether or not they want to lose smoker business...or the business of people like me. I can't pretend it wasn't a relief that places in both Virginia (where my mother lives) and NC were enacting the rule purely for my own selfish health reasons - if I'm not in an area that gets constant air flow as someone is smoking around me, fairly soon I begin to cough and hack like a smoker myself, eventually leading to wheezing if I don't or can't move. Not to mention the stink that sinks into your clothes and hair. But I understand the need to consider the rights of business owners too, and most people go to a bar so they can drink and smoke and cut loose. I guess we whine just a little less in NC because it's rarely so cold that people mind taking it outside for five minutes.

I think that's the one reason I'd say people should blow it out their ass when it comes to blasphemy laws. People have heard things in public and private that are highly offensive, and maybe it hurts them to hear someone else saying this or that about their god...but again, no one's had to worry about blasphemy exacerbating their child's breathing conditions or it making them leave work smelling disgusting with eyes gritty and hair feeling greasy and throat scratchy.
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#9
RE: Blasphemy
(January 25, 2011 at 2:45 am)tackattack Wrote: I'm curious to see where this group falls on the banning smoking in public debate.

How does this relate to blasphemy laws? Second hand smoke is unpleasant at best and asthma-inducing at worst. Blasphemy laws proscribe a "crime" that harms no one. Not to mention the punishment is far out of proportion to the "crime". Violate a smoking law and you might have to pay a small fine. Violate a blasphemy law and the godtards will kill you.
Science flies us to the moon and stars. Religion flies us into buildings.

God allowed 200,000 people to die in an earthquake. So what makes you think he cares about YOUR problems?
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#10
RE: Blasphemy
Let me start by saying that any kind of blasphemy law is stupid and injust.

But there are laws about offending people. Calling a black person "n***er" is offensive to them, because it is insultive towards a part of who they are. Same goes for religion. Believe it or not, the religious hold their beliefs as important, and insulting them is offensive to them. Of course there shouldn't be any laws against blasphemy but saying they have no right to be offended is simply false. Insults don't actually "harm" anyone in a physical manner, but they do "moral" harm.

If someone said that atheists were amoral monsters who should not be considered citizens, then atheists would be offended. Why is insulting the religious any different ?

To me, insulting theists, saying they are blinded idiots who want to stay in the bronze age, is petty and childish, and in no way favorizes any kind of discussion. What they see instead, is condescension and arrogance from atheists who seem to think they are superior human beings becomes of their rejection of religion. And as such, these atheists appear as intolerant bigots. Of course their intention may be otherwise, but that IS the end result.

Insulting religion is fine, but insulting the religious is not. Have you ever been convinced of anything because someone says you are a moron for believing it ?
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