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blasphemous |
grossly
irreverent toward what is held to be sacred;
"blasphemous rites of a witches' Sabbath"; "profane
utterances against the Church"; |
See
More of http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=blasphemous
The International Standard
Bible Encyclopedia
Against
Jesus Christ:
Against
God
(i) uttering impious words (Revelation
13:1,5,6; 16:9,11,21;
17:3); (ii)
unworthy conduct of Jews (Romans 2:24) and
Christians (1 Timothy
6:1; Titus 2:5,
and perhaps 1 Timothy
1:20); (iii) of Jesus Christ, alleged to be usurping the authority of God (Matthew 9:3 = Mark 2:7 = Luke 5:21),
claiming to be the Messiah, the son of God (Matthew 26:65 = Mark 14:64), or
making Himself God (John 10:33,36).
Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit:--The Unpardonable Sin:
"Every
sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men; but the blasphemy against the Spirit
shall not be forgiven. And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man,
it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever shall speak against the Holy of Spirit,
it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, nor in that which is to
come" (Matthew
12:31,32 = Mark
3:28,29; Luke
12:10). As in the Old Testament "to sin with a high hand" and to
blaspheme the name of God incurred the death penalty, so the blasphemy against
the Holy Spirit remains the one unpardonable sin. These passages at least imply
beyond cavil the personality of the Holy Spirit, for sin and blasphemy can only
be committed against persons. In Mt and Mr
a particular case of this blasphemy is the allegation of the Pharisees that
Jesus Christ casts out devils by Beelzebub. The general idea is that to
attribute to an evil source acts which are clearly those of the Holy Spirit, to
call good evil, is blasphemy against the Spirit, and sin that will not be
pardoned. "A distinction is made between Christ's other acts and those
which manifestly reveal the Holy Spirit in Him, and between slander directed
against Him personally as He appears in His ordinary acts, and that which is
aimed at those acts in which the Spirit is manifest" (Gould, Mark at the
place). Luke does not refer to any particular instance, and seems to connect it
with the denial of Christ, although he, too, gives the saying that "who
shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven." But
which of Christ's acts are not acts the Holy Spirit, and how therefore is a
word spoken against Him not also blasphemy against the Holy Spirit? John
identifies the Holy Spirit with the exalted Christ (John
14:16-18,26,28). The
solution generally offered of this most difficult problem is concisely put by
Plummer (Luke ad loc.):
"Constant
and consummate opposition to the influence of the Holy Spirit, because of a
deliberate preference of darkness to light, render repentance and therefore
forgiveness morally impossible." A similar idea is taught in Hebrews 6:4-6,
and 1 John
5:16: "A sin unto death." But the natural meaning of Christ's words
implies an inability or unwillingness to forgive on the Divine side rather than
inability to repent in man. Anyhow the abandonment of man to eternal
condemnation involves the inability and defeat of God. The only alternative
seems to be to call the kenotic theory into service, and to put this idea among
the human limitations which Christ assumed when He became flesh. It is less
difficult to ascribe a limit to Jesus Christ's knowledge than to God's saving
grace (Mark 13:32;
compare John
16:12,13). It is also
noteworthy that in other respects, at least, Christ acquiesced in the view of
the Holy Spirit which He found among His contemporaries.
See HOLY SPIRIT.
The International Standard
Bible Encyclopedia
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BLASPHEMY
blas'-fe-mi (blasphemia): In classical
Greek meant primarily "defamation" or "evil-speaking" in
general; "a word of evil omen," hence, "impious, and
irreverent speech against God."
the town clerk of |
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BLASPHEMY
This is the
anglicized form of the Greek word bla·sphe·mi´a.
The Greek term basically means injurious, defamatory, or abusive speech and was
used with reference to such speech whether directed against God or against
humans. (Compare Re 16:11; Mt 27:39.) The English word “blasphemy,” however, is
usually restricted to irreverent or abusive speech against God and sacred
things. It is thus the antithesis of words of worship directed to the Divine
Being.—See ABUSIVE SPEECH.
In view of
the name Di·a´bo·los
(meaning “Devil” or “Slanderer”) given to him, it is evident that the first one
guilty of blasphemy was God’s original adversary. Though his speech to Eve in
The “calling
on the name of Jehovah” that started in the time of Enosh during the pre-Flood period must not have been
of an upright and proper nature, for Abel long before that had undoubtedly been
directing himself to God by the divine name. (Ge 4:26; Heb 11:4) If, as some scholars hold, this calling
on God’s name was in the sense of misusing it and improperly applying Jehovah’s
name to humans or to idolatrous objects, then this would constitute a
blasphemous act.—See ENOSH, ENOS.
Faithful Job
was concerned lest his children had at some time “cursed God in their heart” by
sinful thoughts; and, when made to undergo great adversity, Job himself “did
not sin or ascribe anything improper to God” in spite of the Adversary’s
blasphemous attempts to cause him to ‘curse God to his very face.’ (Job 1:5, 11,
20-22; 2:5-10) Job’s three companions, either wittingly or unwittingly,
misrepresented God and ‘pronounced God wicked,’ while insinuating that Job had
spoken and acted blasphemously.—Job 15:6, 25; 32:3; 42:7, 8.
Blasphemy Under the Law Covenant. The
first three commandments of the “Ten Words,” or Ten Commandments, set forth
Jehovah God’s unique position as Universal Sovereign and his exclusive right to
worship, warning also: “You must not take up the name of Jehovah your God in a
worthless way, for Jehovah will not leave the one unpunished who takes up his
name in a worthless way.” (Ex 34:28; 20:1-7) Calling down evil upon God and
cursing a chieftain were condemned. (Ex
Soon
afterward the great majority of Israelites became guilty of disrespectful
murmuring against Jehovah. As a result, they were sentenced to wander 40 years
in the wilderness, and those from 20 years old upward were sentenced to die
there. (Nu 14:1-4, 11, 23, 29; De 1:27, 28,
34-39) Their blasphemous attitude brought them to the point of talking of
stoning God’s faithful servants. (Nu 14:10) While the
abusive speech of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram was actually directed against God’s
representatives, Moses and Aaron, yet, prior to God’s execution of these men
and those of their households before their tents, Moses told those observing:
“You will then know for certain that these men have treated Jehovah
disrespectfully,” by disdaining his theocratic appointments.—Nu 16:1-3, 30-35.
Even where
there were no spoken expressions against God, one’s actions against the laws of
God’s covenant evidently could amount to “speaking abusively of Jehovah” or a
blaspheming of him. Thus, while merciful consideration was given to the
unintentional violator of God’s law, the individual committing deliberate,
willful offenses, whether native Israelite or alien resident, was to be put to death
as having spoken abusively of Jehovah and as having despised his word and
commandment.—Nu 15:27-31; compare De 31:20; Ne 9:18, 26.
Other acts
of blasphemy recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures were those of priest Eli’s sons
(1Sa
In time
rabbinic teaching fostered the erroneous view that Leviticus 24:10-23
prohibited as blasphemous the very pronunciation of the name Jehovah. Talmudic
tradition also prescribed that when the religious judges heard testimony
setting forth blasphemous words supposedly used by the accused, they were to
rend their garments, following the example at 2 Kings 18:37; 19:1-4.—The
Jewish Encyclopedia, 1976, Vol.
“Blasphemy” in the
Greek Scriptures. The apostle Paul showed the basic meaning of bla·sphe·mi´a by using the
related Greek verb bla·sphe·me´o
at Romans
Blasphemy includes
the act of claiming the attributes or prerogatives of God, or ascribing these
to another person or thing. (Compare Ac 12:21, 22.) The Jewish religious
leaders accused Christ Jesus of blasphemy because he said that the sins of
certain persons were forgiven (Mt 9:2, 3; Mr 2:5-7; Lu
Since Jesus
was God’s Son and direct representative, the things spoken against him may also
properly be defined as blasphemy. (Lu 22:65) So, too, since the holy spirit or active force
emanates from God and is intimately connected with God’s person, Jesus could
speak of “blasphemy against the spirit.” This is stated to be the unforgivable
sin. (Mt 12:31;
Like Jesus, Stephen was martyred on
a charge of blasphemy. (Ac 6:11-13;
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