It is too busy a weekend with board members in town to post anything much, but I offer this comic withe a comment.
Is “the world” really getting less inclined to tolerate blasphemy? Is even the US? Or do some folks have a different view of the past, say the 1960-70s? Or maybe he is thinking of the ’80s? I don’t know. I think that most folks in the US still have a pretty generous view towards poking “sacred cows” although I remember in the ’80’s when all sorts of non-religious concepts became fairly sacred and “out of bounds” to debate. Still, I think Frazz is wrong, I don’t think anyone would have minded if kids had thrown pickle stickers at his painting of God on the roof of the cafetria.
3 thoughts on “Blasphemy”
If you listen to an “oldies” music station (the 1960’s and early 70’s, not medieval music) the lyrics are frequently overtly blasphemous. Simon and Garfunkel being some of the most overt, but the Beatles had “Imagine” and there was “American Pie” with its reference to the Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
My sense has mostly been that the 60’s and 70’s were the age of blasphemy, but now we are in the age of post-blasphemy! (I love that “post-” prefix.) The kids come into Sunday school exclaiming “Oh my God” at everything, but not having a clue what it means. Then there is the GLBT marriage movement which seems oblivious to the fact that marriage is a symbol of Christ and the Church. So where is the pathological blasphemer to go next?
What?! Please name ONE instance of blasphemy in the Simon and Garfunkel corpus.
Sincerely,
Esteban Vázquez
Head Honcho
S&G Anti-Defamation League
Yikes! It seems that I got banged on the head by my computer!
OK, maybe I need to be re-edutated on The Theology Of Blasphemy, but when two Jewish singers compose and sing “Jesus loves you more than you will know”, I take it to be a sarcastic reference. Sarcastic references to spirits are blasphemous per my understanding of scripture, even if the spirits are headed for some place unpleasant for eternity.
As an opposite example, I know a young assistant professor who kept hearing a Jewish full professor (of engineering) referring to Jesus all the time. The young professor impertinently suggested that the Jewish professor wasn’t blaspheming, but must certainly be a Christian because he was always talking about Jesus. Shortly afterward, the young prof was headed off to a new city with a new university with his family and belongings packed in the car.
Anyway, is there any proper way that I can humble myself and beg the forgiveness of the S&G Anti-Defamation League? Mrs. Robinson grates on my nerves, but some of their other songs are actually enjoyable.