4 ms·

I can hardly imagine an idea more ridiculous than "blasphemy". The G-d is not a psychologically immature human being easy to offend. Nothing a human might possi

I can hardly imagine an idea more ridiculous than "blasphemy". The G-d is not a psychologically immature human being easy to offend. Nothing a human might possibly say can change the state of G-d from perfect harmony to anything else.

mc32 4y ago
I don't think they are afraid of offending their god. I think they fear their human worshippers devolving into worshipping the person rather than following their religion. In other words they want to avoid the historical person superseding their god.
- timeon 4y ago
  This also implies some insecurity in their god.
DharmaPolice 4y ago
That doesn't match the Abrahamic conception of God though which is the point here. In fact, that God is almost the opposite of what you've described.
- qwerty456127 4y ago
  If G-d is eternal, omnipresent, and omnipotent. How can he logically be different from what I described? He has seen everything imaginable and unimaginable countless times, will see everthing, knows everything to happen in advance, in sub-atomic details. Also knows your whole life which made your character this way so you behave exactly like you do, also all the neurotransmitter fluctuations taking place in you and what causes them inevitably, understands you better than yourself or any psychologist ever could. Imagine a terribly disabled person, crippled physically and mentally, unable to carry a kilogram for a second or multiply 2x3, traumatised to the point of insanity, striuggling from dementia. Also imagine you are a world-famous olympic athlette with four doctorate degrees in diverse areas. What if the cripple would say an insult about you, would you feel anything but compassion? This is a rough approximation of the difference between any person and the G-d.
  - DharmaPolice 4y ago
    You're still approaching this from a human (and indeed personal) perspective - well, if I was eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent then I would feel a particular way. Who knows how a being might behave? With your example about being insulted by someone so wretched, I agree - I would feel compassion but that's an emotional response based on my current personality. You do sometimes see very successful people being riled up by minor criticisms from nobodies and you do think "Why on Earth do they care?". Some people are just petty minded and cruel, even when there is no need. I'm not a believer, but I must say the idea of a God capable of petty cruelties does at least seem to match how the world actually is vs a God who is both omnipotent and all loving.
    - qwerty456127 4y ago
      > You do sometimes see very successful people being riled up by minor criticisms from nobodies and you do think "Why on Earth do they care?". Some people are just petty minded That's possible because they are just humans. They have basically monkey brains on steroids and didn't have eternity to mature their wisdom. Any being, no matter how advanced, can happen to find necessary what we would consider evil or unfortunate. But getting insulted and angry is a primitive animal reflex meant to help animals protect their social status among similarly primitive creatures, obviously not an attribute of G-d. > I would feel compassion but that's an emotional response based on my current personality. Have you had a chance to observe how does your personality mature? The more you experience, know and understand, the harder it becomes to make you angry, insecure or disbalance you in any other emotional way, isn't it? Who the heck we are to think we can affect G-d?
_Algernon_ 4y ago
Why are you selfcensoring "God"?
- galleywest200 4y ago
  This is common in Judaism. I am not Jewish, so someone please correct me: I understand taking the name in vain or destroying the word once written are a no-go -- so if you never write it then there is not a big issue here.
  - _Algernon_ 4y ago
    Looks like you're right: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Judaism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Judaism >Judaism considers some names of God so holy that, once written, they should not be erased: YHWH, Adonai, El ("God"), Elohim ("God," a plural noun), Shaddai ("Almighty"), and Tzevaot ("[of] Hosts"); some also include Ehyeh ("I Will Be"). Early authorities considered other Hebrew names mere epithets or descriptions of God, and wrote that they and names in other languages may be written and erased freely. Some moderns advise special care even in these cases, and many Orthodox Jews have adopted the chumras of writing "G-d" instead of "God" in English
  - jliptzin 4y ago
    It is but certainly not the English word “God” - for Jews it would technically be יהוה (YHWH) but if you’re not even Jewish why would you care?
  - mrozbarry 4y ago
    Not Jewish, but that is indeed the Jewish tradition. The intention is respect/reverence.
    - LarryMullins 4y ago
      Writing 'God' is disrespectful vs drawing God is disrespectful... Both of these are absurd. The above comment criticizing one while deferring from the other is comically absurd.
welshwelsh 4y ago
That's very different from the god described in the bible or the quran. There was this one time where god got so mad, he flooded the whole earth, killing everyone. He was upset because people weren't worshipping him enough. So basically like Stalin, but worse.
roncesvalles 4y ago
>The G-d is not a psychologically immature human being easy to offend. Nothing a human might possibly say can change the state of G-d from perfect harmony to anything else. That's a very idealized and personal definition of God. I suspect that the God that most religious people believe in is closer to how North Koreans think about Kim Il Sung.
balozi 4y ago
"Blasphemy" as an excuse is no better or worse than its American cousins such as "election interference" and "sowing discord/disunity" as an excuse for quashing rights of expression.
jollyllama 4y ago
How do you feel about banning hate speech? Blasphemy can be viewed by a believer of any faith as hate speech against God. Likewise, hate speech can be viewed as blasphemy against the values of liberalism.
- RichardCA 4y ago
  That's not an example of blashpemy. Being an apoligist for hate speech would be more accurately described as a form of heresy.

mc32 4y ago

I don't think they are afraid of offending their god. I think they fear their human worshippers devolving into worshipping the person rather than following their religion. In other words they want to avoid the historical person superseding their god.

timeon 4y ago
This also implies some insecurity in their god.

DharmaPolice 4y ago

That doesn't match the Abrahamic conception of God though which is the point here. In fact, that God is almost the opposite of what you've described.

qwerty456127 4y ago
If G-d is eternal, omnipresent, and omnipotent. How can he logically be different from what I described? He has seen everything imaginable and unimaginable countless times, will see everthing, knows everything to happen in advance, in sub-atomic details. Also knows your whole life which made your character this way so you behave exactly like you do, also all the neurotransmitter fluctuations taking place in you and what causes them inevitably, understands you better than yourself or any psychologist ever could. Imagine a terribly disabled person, crippled physically and mentally, unable to carry a kilogram for a second or multiply 2x3, traumatised to the point of insanity, striuggling from dementia. Also imagine you are a world-famous olympic athlette with four doctorate degrees in diverse areas. What if the cripple would say an insult about you, would you feel anything but compassion? This is a rough approximation of the difference between any person and the G-d.
- DharmaPolice 4y ago
  You're still approaching this from a human (and indeed personal) perspective - well, if I was eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent then I would feel a particular way. Who knows how a being might behave? With your example about being insulted by someone so wretched, I agree - I would feel compassion but that's an emotional response based on my current personality. You do sometimes see very successful people being riled up by minor criticisms from nobodies and you do think "Why on Earth do they care?". Some people are just petty minded and cruel, even when there is no need. I'm not a believer, but I must say the idea of a God capable of petty cruelties does at least seem to match how the world actually is vs a God who is both omnipotent and all loving.
  - qwerty456127 4y ago
    > You do sometimes see very successful people being riled up by minor criticisms from nobodies and you do think "Why on Earth do they care?". Some people are just petty minded That's possible because they are just humans. They have basically monkey brains on steroids and didn't have eternity to mature their wisdom. Any being, no matter how advanced, can happen to find necessary what we would consider evil or unfortunate. But getting insulted and angry is a primitive animal reflex meant to help animals protect their social status among similarly primitive creatures, obviously not an attribute of G-d. > I would feel compassion but that's an emotional response based on my current personality. Have you had a chance to observe how does your personality mature? The more you experience, know and understand, the harder it becomes to make you angry, insecure or disbalance you in any other emotional way, isn't it? Who the heck we are to think we can affect G-d?

_Algernon_ 4y ago

Why are you selfcensoring "God"?

galleywest200 4y ago
This is common in Judaism. I am not Jewish, so someone please correct me: I understand taking the name in vain or destroying the word once written are a no-go -- so if you never write it then there is not a big issue here.
- _Algernon_ 4y ago
  Looks like you're right: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Judaism https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_God_in_Judaism >Judaism considers some names of God so holy that, once written, they should not be erased: YHWH, Adonai, El ("God"), Elohim ("God," a plural noun), Shaddai ("Almighty"), and Tzevaot ("[of] Hosts"); some also include Ehyeh ("I Will Be"). Early authorities considered other Hebrew names mere epithets or descriptions of God, and wrote that they and names in other languages may be written and erased freely. Some moderns advise special care even in these cases, and many Orthodox Jews have adopted the chumras of writing "G-d" instead of "God" in English
- jliptzin 4y ago
  It is but certainly not the English word “God” - for Jews it would technically be יהוה (YHWH) but if you’re not even Jewish why would you care?
- mrozbarry 4y ago
  Not Jewish, but that is indeed the Jewish tradition. The intention is respect/reverence.
  - LarryMullins 4y ago
    Writing 'God' is disrespectful vs drawing God is disrespectful... Both of these are absurd. The above comment criticizing one while deferring from the other is comically absurd.

welshwelsh 4y ago

That's very different from the god described in the bible or the quran. There was this one time where god got so mad, he flooded the whole earth, killing everyone. He was upset because people weren't worshipping him enough. So basically like Stalin, but worse.

roncesvalles 4y ago

>The G-d is not a psychologically immature human being easy to offend. Nothing a human might possibly say can change the state of G-d from perfect harmony to anything else. That's a very idealized and personal definition of God. I suspect that the God that most religious people believe in is closer to how North Koreans think about Kim Il Sung.

balozi 4y ago

"Blasphemy" as an excuse is no better or worse than its American cousins such as "election interference" and "sowing discord/disunity" as an excuse for quashing rights of expression.

jollyllama 4y ago

How do you feel about banning hate speech? Blasphemy can be viewed by a believer of any faith as hate speech against God. Likewise, hate speech can be viewed as blasphemy against the values of liberalism.

RichardCA 4y ago
That's not an example of blashpemy. Being an apoligist for hate speech would be more accurately described as a form of heresy.