Deuteronomy 5 - Blasphemy

I have finally read Jude's study on blasphemy from January (sorry Jude!) and found it to be much better than I had originally expected. Unfortunately for me, the session opened with a Billy Connelly movie, so by the time we got to serious discussion I was seriously bored and disengaged, and failed to give proper attention to the material under discussion.

Now that I come back to it with a clear mind - nothing clearer than my mind today - completely blank...

Oh yes, blasphemy. Jude's point is that blasphemy is not just about saying the Name of God in a disrespectful way, but about misusing the authority of God that goes with the Name. Paul is very clear about this when he says "Not I, but the Lord" and conversely "Not the Lord, but I". he was avoiding blasphemy by being clear about when he had divine authority to speak and when he did not.

These days I more often hear the reverse: "Somewhere in the Bible it says you should do what I want" seems to be the common use. Proof-texting and taking verses out of context to support our arguments is distressingly more common than taking the Bible seriously, as a whole Word of God. Brian McLaren talks about "taking verses and using them as weapons to bash our brothers into submission" which is also more common than using the whole of the Bible as a critique and a mirror for our own lives, which to me seems the more obvious purpose of it.

Sloughing off personal responsibility would be the other use for the name of God - God told me to do it becomes as much of a "get out of jail free" card as the devil made me do it. Uncomfortable parallel there.

Finally, the truth that every Christian who has ever lived with a non-Christian knows instinctively, the aspect of being a living witness:

When our actions are selfish, judgmental, divisive, or devoid of love, compassion and integrity, God’s reputation is sullied. And if we compound our offences by trying to cover them up and refusing to apologise and make good, then God’s name is dragged through the mire.