Executing Blasphemers

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edarlitrix

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The Catholic Catechism says, “2148 Blasphemy . . . consists in uttering against God - inwardly or outwardly - words of hatred, reproach, or defiance; in speaking ill of God; in failing in respect toward him in one’s speech; in misusing God’s name.”

The consequences for blasphemy were in the Mosaic Law as follows: “'And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death” (Lev. 24:15-16).

My question has to do with the definition of blasphemy. The catechism says that “defiance” of God counts as blasphemy; would incorrect doctrine or belief, which could be classed as “defying” God’s truth, count as blasphemy? If so, then in the Mosaic Law, dissenters from orthodoxy and unbelievers would be killed. False doctrine doesn’t seem to be included in the definition of blasphemy since many sojourners passed to and fro Israel (some of whom wouldn’t be Jewish) and yet they weren’t killed, or interrogated to see whether they believed Judaism. I’m not sure, though, and would like to know if blasphemy really extends to unorthodox belief because an atheist friend of mine made the guess (he admitted to guessing) that “because having such opinions [as dissenting from orthodoxy] got you killed [also a guess], such opinions were never seriously addressed, intellectually speaking.” Is his guess correct? Or is he going too far?
 
I would have to say he is incorrect, especially as Judaism moved into the first and second centuries AD. There was such a diversity of cult and opinion, among both the Jews and the gentiles who lived among, and later conquered, the Jews that they were certainly exposed to unorthodox religious ideas.
 
Thanks OxygenMan. That is a sound response, and I agree with it (plus there were Jewish philosophers). I just am not sure that applies to Judaism (though it wasn’t called that at first) in its infancy. Would your response apply at the inception of the Mosaic Law? This statement by Rabbi Louis Jacobs might help: “In Christian Europe the Church . . . extended the law of blasphemy to . . . cover any denial of God” (myjewishlearning.com/beliefs/Theology/God/About_God/Speaking_about_God/Blasphemy.shtml). A denial of God would include atheism (a form of dissent/unorthodoxy). Does the Church still hold to this definition of blasphemy today, or is Rabbi Jacobs incorrect?
 
edarlitrix said:
The Catholic Catechism says, “2148 Blasphemy . . . consists in uttering against God - inwardly or outwardly - words of hatred, reproach, or defiance; in speaking ill of God; in failing in respect toward him in one’s speech; in misusing God’s name.”

The consequences for blasphemy were in the Mosaic Law as follows: “'And speak to the people of Israel, saying, Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. Whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the congregation shall stone him. The sojourner as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death” (Lev. 24:15-16).

My question has to do with the definition of blasphemy. The catechism says that “defiance” of God counts as blasphemy; would incorrect doctrine or belief, which could be classed as “defying” God’s truth, count as blasphemy? If so, then in the Mosaic Law, dissenters from orthodoxy and unbelievers would be killed. False doctrine doesn’t seem to be included in the definition of blasphemy since many sojourners passed to and fro Israel (some of whom wouldn’t be Jewish) and yet they weren’t killed, or interrogated to see whether they believed Judaism. I’m not sure, though, and would like to know if blasphemy really extends to unorthodox belief because an atheist friend of mine made the guess (he admitted to guessing) that “because having such opinions [as dissenting from orthodoxy] got you killed [also a guess], such opinions were never seriously addressed, intellectually speaking.” Is his guess correct? Or is he going too far?
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No it does not. The Catechism does not say that defiance of God is blasphemy, but that ***words ***of defiance against God is blasphemy.

Christ tells us to love our enemies and to pray for them, to preach the Gospel first with our lives and then with our words, and if people don’t believe us then we are to shake the dust off our feet and move on.

-Tim-
 
Thanks Tim; I didn’t catch the distinction between defiance and words of defiance. Your reference to Jesus’ response about how to deal with unbelievers/dissenters clarifies a lot for me. I was at first impressed to see I missed the distinction, but I’m also wondering if it’s a distinction without a difference. What exactly would the difference between defiance and “words” of defiance be?
 
edarlitrix said:
Thanks Tim; I didn’t catch the distinction between defiance and words of defiance. Your reference to Jesus’ response about how to deal with unbelievers/dissenters clarifies a lot for me. I was at first impressed to see I missed the distinction, but I’m also wondering if it’s a distinction without a difference. What exactly would the difference between defiance and “words” of defiance be?
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Defiance in action can stem from a great variety of reasons. Although it is not excused by them, it can be the difficulty of a situation, a moment of weakness, momentary lapse in judgement, etc.

Defiance in words, actually speaking out against God, usually comes from a hardness of heart that has grown so bad that there is little chance that the speaker cares for God any longer. There is little hope that, in their current state, they will feel any regret for their actions or a need for repentance.
 
Alright, thanks everybody. My question has been clarified for now. It would seem the answer is that disagreement with orthodoxy (presuming this means Catholicism) is not inherently blasphemous unless it is accompanied by the defiance in words as described by OxygenMan. If anybody disagrees with that answer, don’t be afraid to make your opinion known.
 
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