Quote:
Originally Posted by aCultureWarrior
You do realize that you just contradicted yourself don't you Jr.?
When you say "private" do you mean someone hiding in their basement by themselves where no one else can see them praying to whichever god they choose to pray to, or can private also mean a church congregation?
Yeah, I mean like in the home. Their churches shouldn't be allowed to exist. But I don't think the government should be checking every time lots of people get together at a house to see whether its a religious gathering
So that we're on the same page:
Blasphemy:
great disrespect shown to God or to something holy
: something said or done that is disrespectful to God or to something holy
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/blasphemy
Would it not be "blasphemous" for Muslims to openly deny that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and was resurrected on the third day?
My question is:
How is it possible to have blasphemy laws while allowing other religions to voice their doctrine that "disrespects" the deity of Jesus Christ the Son of God/God in the flesh?
I see what you're getting at but I think there's a difference between disagreement and disrespect.
There's a difference between saying "you know, I really don't believe in the virgin birth or in Christ's resurrection" and saying "Christ was a bastard and his mother was a whore" (the latter line, I think was in some Orthodox Jews writings.)
I think the former could be expressed but the latter would be punishable even if it was an atheist or other non-Christian who did it. However, someone who
professed to be Christian but openly denied the resurrection or the virgin birth would be punishable even if he didn't blaspheme.
I hope that helps. I'm sure you could throw some gray areas at me that I'd have a harder time dealing with, and ultimately Christian judges will have to make decisions. But I think there's a difference between sincere unbelief (not necessarily punishable) and blasphemy (always punishable.)
Actually, in your case (being that you are so young), I am hoping you grow out of this ...
Don't worry, I've already thought this stuff through more than you're capable of.