blasphemy, it is also sacrilege, is characteristic of both church and worldly life of the past and our generation. Although its meaning in these two cases is somewhat different, one thing remains constant: this is a negative phenomenon, contrary to the laws of morality.
blasphemy - what is it? Etymology and history of the term
In the classical sense of the word, blasphemy is a desecration of a sacred object or person. It also means harm, humiliation of honor, dignity or memory of something. It can manifest itself in the form of disrespect for sacred persons, places and things. When the crime committed is verbal, it is called blasphemy, and when it is physical, it is often called desecration. In a looser sense, any transgression against religious postulates would be blasphemy.
The very word "blasphemy" comes from the Latin sacer (sacred), and legere (to read). The word "blasphemy" is often used as a synonym for it. It has been leading its history since ancient Roman times, when barbarians robbed sacred temples and graves. By the time of Cicero, sacrilege had become morebroad meaning, including verbal crimes against religion and humiliation of the dignity of religious objects.
In most ancient religions there is a concept similar to blasphemy: there it is often considered as a kind of taboo. The basic idea is that sacred objects should not be perceived in the same way as others.
Christian blasphemy
With the advent of Christianity as the official religion of the Roman state, Emperor Theodosius introduced sacrilege in an even more expansive sense, in the form of heresy, schism and crimes against the emperor, including tax evasion. In the Middle Ages, the concept of "sacrilege" again implies physical actions directed against sacred objects, and this forms the basis of all subsequent Catholic teachings on this issue.
Most of today's nations have repealed laws against blasphemy out of respect for freedom of expression, except in cases of injury to persons or property. One of the brightest episodes in this regard is the following: in the United States, the US Supreme Court in the cinematic case of Burstyn v. Wilson overturned the sacrilege statute due to the sensational film Miracle (1952) at the time.
Despite their decriminalization, blasphemous acts are still sometimes viewed with strong disapproval by the public, including even people who are not adherents of the offended religion, especially when these acts are perceived as manifestationshatred towards a particular sect or religion.
Personal sacrilege
When the rights of God's servants are violated, we are used to hearing the word "blasphemy". What is sacrilege against a minister of the church, if not a desecration not only of his worldview, but also of his personality?
Personal sacrilege means disrespectful attitude towards a clergyman, causing him harm or defilement that humiliates his honor. This blasphemy can be committed in three main ways:
- Raising a hand against a clergyman or religious figure.
- Violation of existing ecclesiastical immunity. Priests have long been en titled to exemption from the jurisdiction of the general tribunals. The meaning, therefore, is that whoever, despite this, appeals to a civil court, otherwise than provided by the canons, is declared guilty of blasphemy and excommunicated.
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Any act against the vow or chastity is already a sin.
blasphemy against nature
Irreligious blasphemy, or Why do people want to fight?
"War is one of the greatest blasphemy" - this was said by the famous Russian poet Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin back in the 19th century. He understood this even then: after the Napoleonic invasion, the country lost a lot of soldiers and civilians, although compared to the events of the Great Patriotic War, this was only a prehistory. Military operations are terrible not only in terms of millionsdeaths of innocent, young, full of life and energy people. They also take away the most important thing in psychological terms: happiness, faith, love, hope and peace, and instill fear, horror and fear of tomorrow.
Even today, in the developed pluralistic world, war takes place on all continents in dozens of countries: Egypt, Israel, Ukraine, Iran… And this is an incomplete list of states in which armed conflicts occur. What makes people fight among themselves, destroy not only natural resources, but also someone's life? Often it is politics, religion, or mineral deposits. Only one thing is obvious: people die and the city goes into oblivion, and the war in this world is eternal.
War is blasphemy against nature, or How to protect the world around us from destruction?
Probably the least of all during hostilities a person thinks about what a tremendous negative impact he has on the environment. These are billions of cut down trees, trampled meadows and bloody, polluted rivers, these are tons of garbage, unsanitary conditions, disrespect for nature, disregard for endangered species of plants and animals. This is real blasphemy. What is one or more felled trees or a clogged pond compared to how many lives are wasted and never returned?
However, this is temporary, because then, after years and even decades, comes the realization that the forest has gradually died out, and new people who have not seen war want to breathe fresh air, pick mushrooms, swim inclean river. But war is a terrible force that does not respect the rules of etiquette, and even sometimes the most amazing monuments of nature die under its terrible hand. Therefore, many world organizations (for example, UNESCO and many others) establish special programs for the preservation of cultural and natural monuments in the war zone.
War is blasphemy against man
There is no need to talk about how many deaths such an uninvited phenomenon brings. This was clearly shown to us by the Second World War: millions of dead from almost all countries of the world, as many wounded and hundreds of thousands missing. Poems, poems, stories and even multi-volume novels were written about them, but no one has yet been able to return loved ones and loved ones. Blasphemy is seen in all manifestations. What is human life during a war? A grain of sand in a vast desert, unprotected and alone, subject to a swift hurricane and frequent storms.
