Religion and Blasphemy Ideology - 2155 Words

Chapter 9 Question 2 Trace the origin of the law of blasphemy and explain the relevance or otherwise of this law Introduction Blasphemy is the act of insulting or showing open disrespect of God through display of inappropriate behavior towards holy personages, religious artifacts, customs and beliefs. The word blasphemy came via Middle English blasfemen, from which the English term blame came into existence (Wikipedia.com n.d). Blasphemy is regarded as an offense against the community to varying degrees, depending on the extent of the identification of a religion with the society at large or the government. Blasphemy has been a crime in many religions and cultures, wherever there is something sacred to protect. The†¦show more content†¦In New Testament times, it was this Old Testament law against blasphemy that the Scribes, Pharisees, Chief Priests and rulers of the people used in order to condemn anyone who spoke out against the corruption of their religious order (Truth in history, n.d). There was one such case in Australia back in 1871 when William Lorando Jones was prosecuted for claiming that the Bible was the most immoral book that ever has been published and not a fit book for any female to read, and that the children of Israel murdered the Egyptians, and that Elisha murdered a number of priests of Baal by his Gods authority and that Moses saved 40,000 Midianitish women to make them prostitute to his soldiers (Arnold, 2008). Mr. Jones had been reading the Old Testament and in retrospect his claims echo comments made by biblical scholars since at least the 1850s. Jones was preaching blasphemous verse to the local masses in suburban Parramatta, Sydney and was convicted with a  £100 fine. The case of The Queen against William Lorando Jones proved the churches fear of Blasphemy among the common people due to its potential to orientate the lesser educated community against the state. From a media sociological perspective, the church feared that the communit y would become an active audience in making choices about whatShow MoreRelatedThe Salman Rushdie Case: An Islamic View1839 Words   |  7 Pagesbelieves that Islam provides a remedy for this plague by preaching an ideology of a pluralistic society that espouses of peace, harmony and egalitarianism. His article, â€Å"The Salman Rushdie Case: An Islamic View† was posted on his official website in July 2007 and is aimed at addressing the resentment against Salman Rushdie’s controversial book â€Å"The Satanic Verses† in the Muslim community. Muslims accused Rushdie of apostasy and blasphemy against their prophet and demanded his immediate execution. 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