GOD IS NOT GREAT?

The title of this post is not a declaration of my religious apathy... it's an ode to blasphemy, a sin personified best by the great thinker Christopher Hutchens, author of a book sharing the title of this post.

If fornication is sex as sin, Blasphemy is breath... as sin... to be alive, one must blaspheme, or at least perform it's cousin vanity's bidding. Blasphemy is no more than the public, exhibitionist cousin to vanity. Once expressed outwardly, that tendency for some to understand themselves as being larger in relation to God than the Church intends, is blasphemy. Some say blasphemy is the use of the name of one or more gods, in a manner which is considered objectionable by a religious authority. This manner is typically any usage that belittles these grand gods in such a way that they lose relative greatness to Us (I blaspheme with my capitalization) as humans. It may include using sacred names as stress expletives without intention to pray or speak of sacred matters (Christ!, for instance). It is also sometimes defined as language expressing disapproved beliefs, or disbelief. (God is not great!, for instance) "Blasphemy" may be used by extension to describe any display of gross irreverence towards any person or thing deemed worthy of exalted esteem. (The King of England, despite his Divine Right, is not right at all. Didn't he screw the Boleyn girls?) Sometimes the word "blasphemy" is used loosely to mean any profane language, for example in "With much hammering and blasphemy, the locomotive's replacement spring was finally fitted."-- cause we all know how mechanics curse, don't we? With such a diverse group of definitions for this one term... and such grave consequences for its execution: Mat. 12:31 says, “Blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men..." it looks like we are all in trouble doesn't it? Cause blasphemy is just about any shocking public expression, from cursing to making any statement challenging those who are revered.

I honor blasphemy, as an idea, for the protection it provides Us from Us (I blaspheme again); from offending the great myths that we have made about our deaths, a stage that constitutes the vast and ever-growing majority of our futures... afterall, the Bible says that if we insult these myths in any way, they will magically cease to be our future realities... instead of myth, we will be given nightmare. I have also chosen to honor blasphemy in the same general, though more sound, way that some idiots in Springfield will one day honor a "great" coach like Larry Brown, who is capable of reining in a young and wild Allen Iverson... because the word blasphemy has come to symbolize our tendency, as humans, to be controlled by fear of the unknown yet inevitable... death. It is my belief that we cannot avoid blasphemy, at least not private blasphemy (although that adjective and noun might work together in oxymoronic opposition); we are all guilty, or blessed, with our questions...

And I do not honor blashphemy in any particularly blasphemous way... I do not honor it out of defiance to Him, nor out of hatred for life or Him. I honor blasphemy as that vain self-understanding, or search therefore, that makes real discussion, thought, and discovery possible. What shocks Us piques the attention of listeners and fosters educational environments.

Our ids require a me-centric approach to life which puts God second, places Him in our eternal vanity. He lives in our shadows... it is our fear of the darkness surrounding Him that incents us to exalt Him, praise Him, even capitalize HIM. Exalting Him, who we conveniently meet in our own personal armageddons (the only kind that me and Hutch believe in) brings light to the unknown darkness of death... and no more.

Just some dumbass thoughts... (Ellipsis)