Welcome To Ireland, circa 1081 A.D.

[filkertom]

Blasphemy is now illegal. I'm sure that won't cause any problems.

Goddamn morons.

How can they claim their god is all-powerful when He is so weak, pitiful, and defenseless that they have to outlaw saying potentially bad things about Him?

Gaaaaaaaaah.

(h/t Daily Kos)

Comments

[sethb]

I wonder if I can prefer charges against all Christian churches for their blasphemous violation of the First Commandment (and the Second in most cases).

[joshuwain.livejournal.com]

This is why people want to set up communes: it's not because they want little enclaves of "fandom" ... it's because they want to be free.

Damn it.

Why can't I just buy some distant patch of land? I really want to give a crack at disproving that old adage "No man is an island..."

[lariss.livejournal.com]

There's a guy living on the side of some Volcano out West in the USA. Buys nothing, owns nothing but what he makes with his bare hands...a true survivalist.

And if I thought I'd last 12 months, I'd go do the same thing...'cept I have a kid, and that'd be none too safe.

[rsmit212.livejournal.com]

Not defending or condemning the law, but it isn't God that is harmed via blasphemy, but the "weak, pitiful, and defenseless" humans listening to it that are potentially harmed. Personally, I think God doesn't give a crap about blasphemy past the sadness over the little minds that refuse to see beyond themselves. *shrug* Other's opinions vary.

[smallship1.livejournal.com]

Thank you. Saved me a comment.

Although I notice that the article said that under the new laws, the fine for blasphemy is cut from a hundred thousand Euros to twenty-five thousand, which kind of argues that the blasphemy law is (a) not new, and (b) being softened considerably. Are we sure we have all the information here?

[filkerdave.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

And I always wanted to go there, but, you know, that whole being Jewish thing versus that whole messiah thing...

[bayushisan.livejournal.com]

On that note I tend to find it rather amusing when certain groups talk about the whole "white, Christian" thing and I want to remind them that Jesus was Jewish ato see if their heads explode. ;)

[selenesue.livejournal.com]

Examining the text of the law carefully... it appears to be even handed, not Catholic-centric. And literary, artistic and political speech is defensible. However, the section on "seizure of blasphemous works" appears awfully draconian. Is this in line with other law in Eire?

So if you want to live with this law, be nice and don't be a dick. Say "I do not believe in God" not "God is an imaginary spirit in the sky and anybody who believes in god is an idiot" and you'll be OK.

Unfortunately

[capplor.livejournal.com]

that is one of those things easy to be "creative" with interpretation. Just saying "First ham was bad(Judaism), then it was good (Christianity) then it was bad (Islam), then it was good (Baha'i) -- why can't your god make up his mind already?" Or, staying entirely within my own sect of Christianity "First playing cards & dancing were bad, then they were good. Maybe the elders do NOT speak for God after all." Or "Icons were good, then they were bad, and what the heck is wrong with art, anyway"

Is THAT kind of speech blasphemy? Who decides?

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

Well, I guess I won't be visiting my distant cousins any time soon, since I left Christianity because all their hate-thy-neighbor prejudices got to me.

Thanks for the heads-up, Tom. I just e-mailed my mother and asked for my cousins' mailing address. I'd LOVE to hear how they feel about all this; they're one of the more prominent Protestant families in Ireland.

[smoooom.livejournal.com]

OK I'm not resisting any longer. Blasphemy has nothing to do with harming god. It has to do with respect. I've gotten used to half the universe using words out of context. Usually the four lettered ones. I think it's sad, but hey. And since nearly all my friends only resort to that kind of language in extremitus it doesn't really bother me. Using gods name in vain is another thing all together. God, and Jesus Christ are important figures in my life. I don't ask others to believe as I do, I don't think that it's to much to ask them to respect the central core of my belief. I try to respect theirs. I realise that for many people saying what ever comes to mind isn't a big deal because they don't beleive or have respect for them. I hope that makes sense. Two more things
1) A law banning blasphemy is stupid, even for Ireland
2) The worst language I hear both ways is in the local Catholic schools. From the students and teachers a like. It's another reason I can't work in the Catholic System any more. I had expected more from that system. More fool me.

[bayushisan.livejournal.com]

I have a number of my own issues with the Catholic Church and some of their dogmas. I agree that the law is a tad on the strange side.

Personally I am rather against blasphemy, though that really shouldn't surprise anyone since I'm a Christian. I try to extend respect, though I admit it's not always easy and I ask that other extend that same respect; but I don't need a law to enforce it.

[allandaros.livejournal.com]

While I agree 100% that blasphemy laws are horrendous (and, IMO, one of the few things to properly be called blasphemous!), you might not want to use Prison Planet as a backup website. These guys seem kiiiinda crazy themselves.

[kkatowll.livejournal.com]

Look, as an atheist I can tell you -- I can be as respectful as I want, but if I say anything that in ANY way indicates I believe no gods exist, believers gasp and say, "Blasphemy!"
Blasphemy is, by definition, denying an article of someone's faith. So saying Mohammed is not a prophet is blasphemy. Saying you don't believe in Zeus is blasphemy (though perhaps not enforceable under this law, which seems to imply that there must first be a large group of adherents so that they can be offended).
Saying you believe in Jesus your lord and savior is blasphemy too. (It's blasphemy to many Jews who specifically believe he was NOT the messiah.)
In fact I'd be hard-pressed to come up with any line in any typical religious service that is not blasphemy to someone else.
This law is absurd and I would guess it was designed to specifically stop some certain sort of blasphemy from occurring. Anybody know which bit?

[lariss.livejournal.com]

You have clarity and eloquence. Thanks for saying the thing I was having trouble formulating nicely.

[crysthewolf.livejournal.com]

Bi.zarre.

[shockwave77598.livejournal.com]

I personally will give props to the first person who uses this law to prosecute anyone who says anything negative about the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Seems to me that it's a blank check for folks to attack everyone not of their tribe. Can't say Jesus is the messiah - Jews say he isn't. Can't say Jesus isn't the messiah - Christians say he is. So it's the simplest law on the books now... nobody gets to offend anybody anymore, so everyone just hush up.

Two things people CAN'T do, is stop offending each other and hush up.

*sits down with a jumbo box of popcorn and watches the hillarity* Oh, this will be the blockbuster movie of the summer. I can't wait to see the scene where the Satanists blast the Catholics for talking smack about their boy! :)

[lemmozine.livejournal.com]

As a devout iconoclast and blasphemer, I am offended (or would like to pretend to be offended for the sake of argument) by anything that does NOT offend me. So eliminating blasphemy from speech is, itself, blasphemy in my religion, and I would like to see the idiots who passed this law be the first convicted and sentenced to hang.

[saganth.livejournal.com]

Well, there goes my dream of going back to see Ireland again someday. Goddamned idiotic prejudiced fucktards. And yes I do think it's going to be Christian-centric despite the law's language, because the country is mostly Christian, so more Christians are going to be offended than any other group.

Welcome to the fucking stone age. My heart weeps for Eire.

[r-caton.livejournal.com]

Eire is mostly Catholic .... hence the power of the prastes the social consequences of which are coming to light 30 - 40 years after... girls condemned to virtual slavery for having illegitamate children, paedophiles moved to another parish and their crimes covered to defend the dignity of their calling.....

God damn all fundies of whatever bloody stripe. Judgement will come, if not in this world then the next. Not that all "Christian" faiths acknowledge a next, some insist it will be here on Earth after some glorious Divine cleansing.

[baphnedia.livejournal.com]

It won't cause any problems at all! :P

[huskiebear.livejournal.com]

They could have just left religion out of it like they did in my town and make it illegal to be annoying...

[ldyerzsie.livejournal.com]

Oh, now that is just loverly. That would have stopped most of my problems during my divorce regarding himself harrassing both me and my friends.

[technoshaman.livejournal.com]

I have just one thing to say about that:

Jesus jumped-up Christ in a sidecar.

[dragon-avatar.livejournal.com]

But what about Jesus Christ on a pogo-stick?

[ladystarblade.livejournal.com]

Well, seeing as how this 'Irish-blooded-daughter-of-a-Druid-raised-Protestant-now-leans-Pagan-but-is-mostly-agnostic' is going to Ireland in less than 4 weeks, this should be interesting, indeed.

Aaaaand, just on a first glance, I get the impression that it's mostly modifying laws already on the books...it talks about reducing the fine for blasphemy...hmm. Needs to backtrack and see what the laws used to say.

And I don't find it surprising at all that Ireland's laws jink around with religion so much...haven't they always been one of the more religion-centric nations? People don't run around calling themselves 'Irish Catholic' for nothing...

[kkatowll.livejournal.com]

The reduction cited there is that in the original proposal, it would've been 100,000 euros, but after some debate, they agreed that the actual fine would be 25,000 euros. Or whatever that money-symbol means; I'm not sure if it's actually euros, but the point here is that the blasphemy law has never been passed before.

[alverant.livejournal.com]

So by this law, the Bible would be banned because it has the passage, "Only a fool says there's no God." And that statement is blasphemy to non-christians. Once someone actually uses this law to file a court case against a christian, this would go either go away or openly acknowledged to be a tool to persecute members of minority faiths and Atheists.

[smoooom.livejournal.com]

yeah ok, it's me again. No idea why I'm processing so slowly today. Reading comments it dawned on me, it's when christians blastpheme that it bothers me. Other people, not so much, or even at all. Still think the idea of a law about blastphemy is stupid. For a million reasons.

[kestrels-nest.livejournal.com]

If there's one thing I've learned over the years of reading news reports of legal matters, it's that they only give half the relevant information and get half of what they give wrong. The first thing that jumped out at me is that there's no real definition of blasphemy given. Considering the rest of it, that doesn't look like an oversight, it looks like an assumption that the definition is elsewhere. It also looks, as others have said, like an amendment of an existing statute, not like a whole new breed of fish thrown into the pond. So while this does leave me raising my eyebrows, I want to know a whole lot more before I jump to the conclusion that the T.D.s have lost their collective minds. It may be that it's been there in some form all along, and we just haven't had our attention drawn to it.

[purpleranger.livejournal.com]

So, you won't be making that trip to Ireland anytime soon?

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

I think the first application of this law needs to be a class action suite against every church in the country. They are preaching blasphemy since Jesus was a Jewish carpenter, NOT the Messiah who has not come yet. Also every bible with anything beyond the old testiment is blasphemous, that part was add 1500-2000 years after the original bible was written. As someone who is jewish, I want to see this new law enfored immediately.

[judifilksign.livejournal.com]

I guess the question becomes, how many people must be offended before an utterance is grossly abusive enough to be proscecuted as blasphemy? The law states "a majority."

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

That's been my question for a long time now.

[gardnerhill.livejournal.com]

See, the problem comes when someone says bad things about God/Jesus/FSM/the Pope -- and lightning doesn't hit them. Kids see that and think, "You mean Mum and Dad have been threatening me with Hell for [fill in the blank] and not [fill in the blank] -- and it's all a lot of make-believe? Hell with tithing and 6-kids-in-6-years, I'm thinking for myself!"

[rdmaughan.livejournal.com]

If you think this is bad, you might want to look up the laws on abortion in Eire.