Blasphemy as civic duty and moral obligation // Current TV

Blasphemy is not a crime; blasphemy is a civic duty. It is the moral obligation of clear thinking, reasonable people to stand up and speak out against religious superstition and ignorance.

Recent events in the Middle East have ignited a new push towards an international law criminalizing blasphemy. The consideration of any such draconian legislation or regulation should be of deep concern to all those who cherish free-speech, rational thought and civilized society.

Blasphemy is defined as the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for a religious deity, or showing irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things. Yet how else is an honest and reasonable person to treat religious ignorance and superstition?

A lack of reverence for religious nonsense is a sane and healthy response to the irrational. Belief in supernatural nonsense deserves scorn and contempt. While individuals who have fallen victim to religious delusion deserve pity and empathy, the nonsense that is religious belief deserves no such concern.

Indeed, reasonable people must recognize that religious belief constitutes a clear and present danger to the human species. Currently it is dangerous in many parts of the world to express the simple fact that there is no convincing evidence for God, or to even draw a picture of a certain holy figure. Such a state of affairs is an affront to humanity, and should be at once both intolerable and repugnant to all good people.

Some will argue that not all religious superstition is the same, and that Islam is more dangerous than competing superstitions such as Judaism and Christianity. And while it may be true that at this particular point in history the extremes of Islam prove more offensive than competing superstitions, there is no doubt that given the right set of circumstances extremists of the Christian or Jewish faith would be equally abusive and draconian in their attempts to subjugate a population.

A great man once said ?Religion poisons everything.? There is no more pressing or profound truth given the current global situation. Blasphemy is a legitimate and potent force in the fight against religious ignorance and superstition. Religious nonsense must be exposed to the light of day if we are to eliminate the toxin that threatens all of us.

Sunlight is the best disinfectant; and if shining a light on religious ignorance and superstition is blasphemy, than blasphemy is a civic duty, and a moral obligation.

http://www.examiner.com/article/blasphemy-as-civic-duty-and-moral-obligation

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