Anyways, one of my tumblr peeps posted a picture of a piece of poop with a halo and tagged it #international blasphemy day. Curiosity piqued, I went and googled it. And I learned what International Blasphemy Day is all about. The end.
If you want to read about it for yourselves, go here. If you just like to have someone tell you what to think, then allow me to explain it in simple terms- INTERNATIONAL BLASPHEMY DAY IS TEH DEVUL!!!1!!!
It started as a protest over some Muslim fall-out over some anti-Muhammad cartoons published in a Danish newspaper. I didn't know that the Danish made newspapers- I thought they just made delicious fruit-filled pastries. Seriously, it actually sounds like a worthwhile cause. I actually have no problems with this the observation of this day- for 3 reasons:
1) I believe strongly in freedom of speech and freedom of religion
Whether you believe that we were created as free-willed moral agents or just monkeys that evolved higher consciousness, you should at least agree that each person should have the right to speak their mind and believe what they want to believe. And if not, then just get out. Leave. Right now.
Now obviously there is (I believe) a need for people to have educated opinions and beliefs- but that doesn't mean that I believe people should have conditional rights in these areas.
The International Blasphemy Day is "a day to support free speech, support the right to criticize and satirize religion, and to oppose any resolutions or laws, binding or otherwise, that discourage or inhibit free speech of any kind" (from that one site that I linked that you probably didn't read). Will some people will probably take it too far into the offensive realm? Sure. But I believe that there are other people that look from the outside in and are able to see the flaws in our religious belief systems that most of us are too close to see. When we censor the ability of people to do this, we will definitely cut out the annoying squeaky wheels of opposition. But we'll also eliminate the voices of those who can help us to develop a more meaningful faith system by causing us to take stock of what our faith system looks like.
2) Blasphemy is largely (in my opinion) a socially constructed issue.
In The Count of Monte Cristo, Colonel Villefort says this great line to his son when they learn of Napolean's escape from Alba- "Treason is all a matter of dates". I feel the same way about blasphemy. Things that some people in other countries find deathly offensive are run-of-the-mill jokes on our television channels. Things that get our blood boiling might cause endorphin release for someone else.
To me, blasphemy is strongly related to the idea of the God Card. Did you ever play Rock/Paper/Scissors- and have some snot nosed, brat-faced kid come up with The Nuke? So you have Paper covering Rock, Rock smashing Scissors, Scissors cutting Paper, and The Nuke just blowing everything to smithereens? How is that fair? You cheated! I hate this game, it sucks- leave me alone mom!!!!
And we're back.
That's the God Card. It's the card we play when we want to win an argument or make our actions above reproach in our minds. Quit a job? "God told me to do it". Get a divorce? "After our argument, Jon and Kate came on...it was a sign...". Blow up an abortion clinic? "God said 'Git 'er done". Wife who committed adultery? "Everybody must get stoned".
The problem, as I alluded to before, is that blasphemy is just a matter of dates. Because eventually someone comes along that successfully challenges the powers that be and changes the mold. They called Jesus a blasphemer. Said the same about Galileo and Martin Luther. And yet, these three men played significant roles in upsetting the preheld notions and causing social revolution. Because people eventually realized that they had valuable things to say, regardless of how much they had rocked the boat.
3) Blasphemy is more of an attitude of the heart than an act of the flesh.
I push the envelope. Or is it that I use envelopes? I can never remember.
Ask my wife or those who get close enough to get past my facade. I say things that might be considered to be risque'. Nothing too crazy, mind you- but things that would probably cause some people to turn their heads, raise their eyebrows, and shoot me with the hate rays.
I was talking to a friend last winter about this. We had just got done sharing a laugh about something outrageous and probably inappropriate. Looking back, I'm thankful that we weren't been struck by lightning. After our laughter subsided, a legitimate discussion was sparked and we came to the conclusion that blasphemy is much more of a heart condition than it is one of outward actions. I think that God understands that when I say things, I'm not saying them out of a spiteful rebellion. I think He knows that I love to find humor in situations where humor might not be apparent. I think He realizes that He created me this way, and I'm not an asset that He's ready to liquidate quite yet. I'm kind of banking on that, actually.
Look at how Jesus spoke to the pharisees- they did and said all the 'right' things, and yet Jesus treated them with the kind of contempt one might normally reserve for the New York Yankees. His disciples picked grain on the Sabbath and he was cool with that. This tells me that the Jesus Justice scale isn't calibrated to ours. Could it be that God looks at our hearts and not our outward actions? I feel like I've read that somewhere....
Oh wait. I have. It's in the Bible.
When it's all said and done, we need people in this world who are brave enough to confront the ideas and beliefs of the majority- no matter what those ideas might be. Challenge can bring discovery which can bring change which can lead to health, happiness, and hope. Obviously some people will blaspheme just to push buttons and to be idiots- but some religious people just try to push buttons and to be idiots. See? We aren't so different.
Let us never be so afraid to question that which we hold to be so infallibly true that we devalue the existence of those who do not feel the same way. We can hold our beliefs tightly without losing a grip on our shared humanity. And if we loosen up a little and look at things from a different window- well, we might see things in a new light that strengthens our faith and makes us better people. I call that:
PIC- Dogs- http://images.icanhascheezburger.com/completestore/2008/10/6/128677868549452426.jpg
Sheen- http://www.twisted-news.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/Charlie-Sheen-Winning.jpg
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