Timothy Larsen
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199287871
- eISBN:
- 9780191713422
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199287871.003.0002
- Subject:
- Religion, Theology
This chapter explores the life of William Hone. It pays particular attention to his thought as a freethinker, parodist, and alleged blasphemer that led to his famous trials. His atheist phase was ...
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This chapter explores the life of William Hone. It pays particular attention to his thought as a freethinker, parodist, and alleged blasphemer that led to his famous trials. His atheist phase was influenced by Baron d’Holbach’s System of Nature. It then goes on to explore the contours of his reconversion and his later Christian thought.Less
This chapter explores the life of William Hone. It pays particular attention to his thought as a freethinker, parodist, and alleged blasphemer that led to his famous trials. His atheist phase was influenced by Baron d’Holbach’s System of Nature. It then goes on to explore the contours of his reconversion and his later Christian thought.
Terryl C. Givens
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780195167115
- eISBN:
- 9780199785599
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195167115.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Religion and Society
Mormons believe God was once a man, and humans may become gods (theosis). God is embodied, sexuality is divinized, and the mundane, the quotidian, the earthly, is made celestial. Sacred distance ...
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Mormons believe God was once a man, and humans may become gods (theosis). God is embodied, sexuality is divinized, and the mundane, the quotidian, the earthly, is made celestial. Sacred distance collapses, and all things are spiritual. The result is a tension bordering on blasphemy or heresy.Less
Mormons believe God was once a man, and humans may become gods (theosis). God is embodied, sexuality is divinized, and the mundane, the quotidian, the earthly, is made celestial. Sacred distance collapses, and all things are spiritual. The result is a tension bordering on blasphemy or heresy.
Jonathan Kvanvig (ed.)
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- January 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199656417
- eISBN:
- 9780191742163
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199656417.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This book is an annual volume offering a regular snapshot of state-of-the-art work in this longstanding area of philosophy that has seen an explosive growth of interest over the past half century. ...
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This book is an annual volume offering a regular snapshot of state-of-the-art work in this longstanding area of philosophy that has seen an explosive growth of interest over the past half century. Under the guidance of a distinguished editorial board, it publishes work in any area of philosophy of religion. Topics covered include secular belief, theories of analogical predication, nominalism and divine aseity, meticulous providence and gratuitous evil, many-one identity and how it relates to the Trinity, atheism and theistic belief, the Epistemology of the Agape struggle, Wittgensteinian Quasi-Fideism, the semantics for blasphemy, and grounding and omniscience.Less
This book is an annual volume offering a regular snapshot of state-of-the-art work in this longstanding area of philosophy that has seen an explosive growth of interest over the past half century. Under the guidance of a distinguished editorial board, it publishes work in any area of philosophy of religion. Topics covered include secular belief, theories of analogical predication, nominalism and divine aseity, meticulous providence and gratuitous evil, many-one identity and how it relates to the Trinity, atheism and theistic belief, the Epistemology of the Agape struggle, Wittgensteinian Quasi-Fideism, the semantics for blasphemy, and grounding and omniscience.
Steven K. Green
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195399677
- eISBN:
- 9780199777150
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195399677.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Religion and Society
This begins a three-chapter discussion of legal disestablishment, of the development and decline of the maxim that Christianity formed part of the common law. It traces the origins of the maxim in ...
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This begins a three-chapter discussion of legal disestablishment, of the development and decline of the maxim that Christianity formed part of the common law. It traces the origins of the maxim in higher-law notions, British common law, and Puritan legal codes. It discusses the influence of jurists William Blackstone, Joseph Story, and James Kent and the maxim’s early application in blasphemy and Sunday law cases. The chapter argues that the maxim influenced early legal attitudes toward understandings of disestablishment.Less
This begins a three-chapter discussion of legal disestablishment, of the development and decline of the maxim that Christianity formed part of the common law. It traces the origins of the maxim in higher-law notions, British common law, and Puritan legal codes. It discusses the influence of jurists William Blackstone, Joseph Story, and James Kent and the maxim’s early application in blasphemy and Sunday law cases. The chapter argues that the maxim influenced early legal attitudes toward understandings of disestablishment.
Steven K. Green
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- May 2010
- ISBN:
- 9780195399677
- eISBN:
- 9780199777150
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195399677.003.0006
- Subject:
- Religion, History of Christianity, Religion and Society
This chapter examines the Christian-nation maxim’s antebellum application in three areas—blasphemy laws (the trial of Abner Kneeland), oath requirements, and Sunday laws—and how those uses affected ...
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This chapter examines the Christian-nation maxim’s antebellum application in three areas—blasphemy laws (the trial of Abner Kneeland), oath requirements, and Sunday laws—and how those uses affected legal attitudes toward disestablishment. The chapter also discusses Justice Story’s evolving view of America’s Christian nationhood, including his dispute with Jefferson, and how he understood the relation between the maxim and disestablishment as evinced in his decisions and Commentaries. Less
This chapter examines the Christian-nation maxim’s antebellum application in three areas—blasphemy laws (the trial of Abner Kneeland), oath requirements, and Sunday laws—and how those uses affected legal attitudes toward disestablishment. The chapter also discusses Justice Story’s evolving view of America’s Christian nationhood, including his dispute with Jefferson, and how he understood the relation between the maxim and disestablishment as evinced in his decisions and Commentaries.
Ivan Hare
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199548781
- eISBN:
- 9780191720673
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199548781.003.0016
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter begins by setting out the historical justifications for laws of blasphemy. It explains how increasing secularization and diversity of religious belief have progressively undermined the ...
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This chapter begins by setting out the historical justifications for laws of blasphemy. It explains how increasing secularization and diversity of religious belief have progressively undermined the justification for protecting religion at all or only the established church from attack. It then analyses how blasphemy came to be abolished in a number of jurisdictions, most recently in England, and how laws on incitement to religious hatred have been introduced in parallel. The chapter concludes that there is no justification for either laws on blasphemy or incitement to religious hatred in a state which is committed to freedom of political expression.Less
This chapter begins by setting out the historical justifications for laws of blasphemy. It explains how increasing secularization and diversity of religious belief have progressively undermined the justification for protecting religion at all or only the established church from attack. It then analyses how blasphemy came to be abolished in a number of jurisdictions, most recently in England, and how laws on incitement to religious hatred have been introduced in parallel. The chapter concludes that there is no justification for either laws on blasphemy or incitement to religious hatred in a state which is committed to freedom of political expression.
Jerome Neu
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195314311
- eISBN:
- 9780199871780
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195314311.001.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
The schoolyard wisdom about “sticks and stones” does not take one very far: insults do not take the form only of words, in truth even words have effects, and in the end the popular as well as the ...
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The schoolyard wisdom about “sticks and stones” does not take one very far: insults do not take the form only of words, in truth even words have effects, and in the end the popular as well as the standard legal distinctions between speech and conduct are at least as problematic as they are helpful. To think clearly about how much we should put up with those who would put us down, it is necessary to explore the nature and place of insult in our lives. What kind of injury is an insult? Is its infliction determined by the insulter or the insulted? What does it reveal of the character of each and of the character of society and its conventions? What is its role in social and legal life (from play to jokes to ritual to war and from blasphemy to defamation to hate speech)? Philosophical, anthropological, psychoanalytic, and legal approaches to the questions are emphasized. Whether intentional or unintentional, the assertions and assumptions of dominance in insults make them a serious and essential form of power play. Is to understand all to forgive all?Less
The schoolyard wisdom about “sticks and stones” does not take one very far: insults do not take the form only of words, in truth even words have effects, and in the end the popular as well as the standard legal distinctions between speech and conduct are at least as problematic as they are helpful. To think clearly about how much we should put up with those who would put us down, it is necessary to explore the nature and place of insult in our lives. What kind of injury is an insult? Is its infliction determined by the insulter or the insulted? What does it reveal of the character of each and of the character of society and its conventions? What is its role in social and legal life (from play to jokes to ritual to war and from blasphemy to defamation to hate speech)? Philosophical, anthropological, psychoanalytic, and legal approaches to the questions are emphasized. Whether intentional or unintentional, the assertions and assumptions of dominance in insults make them a serious and essential form of power play. Is to understand all to forgive all?
Bernard Schweizer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199751389
- eISBN:
- 9780199894864
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199751389.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
The trajectory of Elie Wiesel’s evolving religious views is the inverse of Rebecca West’s. While West started and ended her life as a misotheist, experiencing a more conventional phase of piety in ...
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The trajectory of Elie Wiesel’s evolving religious views is the inverse of Rebecca West’s. While West started and ended her life as a misotheist, experiencing a more conventional phase of piety in mid-life, Wiesel was a misotheist only during the middle part of his life. Starting out a devout Hasidic Jew, he lost his affirmative faith during the Holocaust. In his memoir, Night, he dramatized the protest against God in searing words: “I was the accuser, God the accused.” His accusations against God then moved into his novels, which are informed by an existentialist conception of a careless God. Wiesel’s case against God is most clearly stated in The Trial of God: “God is merciless…. He will not prevent me from letting my anger explode.” Wiesel eventually retreated from such radical positions and began to argue instead that God deserves man’s pity not his anger.Less
The trajectory of Elie Wiesel’s evolving religious views is the inverse of Rebecca West’s. While West started and ended her life as a misotheist, experiencing a more conventional phase of piety in mid-life, Wiesel was a misotheist only during the middle part of his life. Starting out a devout Hasidic Jew, he lost his affirmative faith during the Holocaust. In his memoir, Night, he dramatized the protest against God in searing words: “I was the accuser, God the accused.” His accusations against God then moved into his novels, which are informed by an existentialist conception of a careless God. Wiesel’s case against God is most clearly stated in The Trial of God: “God is merciless…. He will not prevent me from letting my anger explode.” Wiesel eventually retreated from such radical positions and began to argue instead that God deserves man’s pity not his anger.
Bernard Schweizer
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199751389
- eISBN:
- 9780199894864
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199751389.003.0008
- Subject:
- Religion, Philosophy of Religion
The conclusion shows once again how crucial an awareness about the history and the meaning of misotheism is because in the absence of such knowledge, misotheistically inclined people grope in the ...
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The conclusion shows once again how crucial an awareness about the history and the meaning of misotheism is because in the absence of such knowledge, misotheistically inclined people grope in the dark, trying to handle their hostility to God without proper conceptual or historical footholds. The author places his own project in relationship to protest theology, arguing that this strand of unorthodox theology fails to provide clarity about man’s hostile relationship to the divine. The author further documents the spread of the term misotheism in the last few years, and he comments on the role of the internet in this proliferation. The conclusion ends by looking back over the territory covered in this book and by briefly recapitulating the way in which the six case studies have clarified the depth and breadth of misotheism.Less
The conclusion shows once again how crucial an awareness about the history and the meaning of misotheism is because in the absence of such knowledge, misotheistically inclined people grope in the dark, trying to handle their hostility to God without proper conceptual or historical footholds. The author places his own project in relationship to protest theology, arguing that this strand of unorthodox theology fails to provide clarity about man’s hostile relationship to the divine. The author further documents the spread of the term misotheism in the last few years, and he comments on the role of the internet in this proliferation. The conclusion ends by looking back over the territory covered in this book and by briefly recapitulating the way in which the six case studies have clarified the depth and breadth of misotheism.
John McManners
- Published in print:
- 1999
- Published Online:
- November 2003
- ISBN:
- 9780198270034
- eISBN:
- 9780191600685
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0198270038.003.0004
- Subject:
- Religion, Church History
The balance of advantage in cooperation between church and state was shifting inexorably towards the secular power. The Gallican devotion to the monarchy ensured that clergy worked for the state ...
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The balance of advantage in cooperation between church and state was shifting inexorably towards the secular power. The Gallican devotion to the monarchy ensured that clergy worked for the state while being supported financially by the Church. So clerics worked as diplomats, as conseillers‐clercs in the Parlements and as chaplains to government and municipal institutions, as well as to the army and navy. The secular authorities asserted greater control over the keeping of marriage and baptismal registers. Religious conformity was imposed by the police authorities, if often in a lax manner, and the church was used for the public reading of legal decisions and monitoires, though these could be ignored, and the interweaving of ecclesiastical and secular authority was increasingly criticized by anticlericals.Less
The balance of advantage in cooperation between church and state was shifting inexorably towards the secular power. The Gallican devotion to the monarchy ensured that clergy worked for the state while being supported financially by the Church. So clerics worked as diplomats, as conseillers‐clercs in the Parlements and as chaplains to government and municipal institutions, as well as to the army and navy. The secular authorities asserted greater control over the keeping of marriage and baptismal registers. Religious conformity was imposed by the police authorities, if often in a lax manner, and the church was used for the public reading of legal decisions and monitoires, though these could be ignored, and the interweaving of ecclesiastical and secular authority was increasingly criticized by anticlericals.
Jerome Neu
- Published in print:
- 2007
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195314311
- eISBN:
- 9780199871780
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195314311.003.0008
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Language
The Danish Muhammad cartoons enflamed much of the Muslim world. What does respect for another religion require? Must non‐believers follow all of its dictates? Which? Why? Heresy by fellow believers ...
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The Danish Muhammad cartoons enflamed much of the Muslim world. What does respect for another religion require? Must non‐believers follow all of its dictates? Which? Why? Heresy by fellow believers depends on the content of the beliefs. Is it the manner or matter of disagreement and/or disregard that makes for the disrespect in blasphemy? Some of the history of blasphemy law in England and the United States is considered.Less
The Danish Muhammad cartoons enflamed much of the Muslim world. What does respect for another religion require? Must non‐believers follow all of its dictates? Which? Why? Heresy by fellow believers depends on the content of the beliefs. Is it the manner or matter of disagreement and/or disregard that makes for the disrespect in blasphemy? Some of the history of blasphemy law in England and the United States is considered.
Christopher Bryan
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- July 2005
- ISBN:
- 9780195183344
- eISBN:
- 9780199835584
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/0195183347.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Early Christian Studies
Jesus suffered crucifixion by the Romans. Is this because he was a rebel against Rome? Not according to the evangelists, who claim that the Sanhedrin under Caiaphas initially arraigned Jesus on a ...
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Jesus suffered crucifixion by the Romans. Is this because he was a rebel against Rome? Not according to the evangelists, who claim that the Sanhedrin under Caiaphas initially arraigned Jesus on a capital charge of blasphemy. References to Jesus’ death in Jewish sources (notably Josephus and the Talmud) also claim primary responsibility for the Jerusalem authorities. Having condemned Jesus, the Sanhedrin referred the case to Pilate, as would be necessary, given Rome’s normal practice of reserving the death penalty to itself. For Pilate’s benefit, the charge was restated in terms of maiestas laesa—high treason. The gospels describe Pilate as initially unconvinced and prepared to deal with Jesus of Nazareth as Albinus would later deal with Jesus ben Hananiah. Then, perhaps because he fears a riot, Pilate is persuaded to apply the death penalty. There is no good reason to doubt the essential truth of this record.Less
Jesus suffered crucifixion by the Romans. Is this because he was a rebel against Rome? Not according to the evangelists, who claim that the Sanhedrin under Caiaphas initially arraigned Jesus on a capital charge of blasphemy. References to Jesus’ death in Jewish sources (notably Josephus and the Talmud) also claim primary responsibility for the Jerusalem authorities. Having condemned Jesus, the Sanhedrin referred the case to Pilate, as would be necessary, given Rome’s normal practice of reserving the death penalty to itself. For Pilate’s benefit, the charge was restated in terms of maiestas laesa—high treason. The gospels describe Pilate as initially unconvinced and prepared to deal with Jesus of Nazareth as Albinus would later deal with Jesus ben Hananiah. Then, perhaps because he fears a riot, Pilate is persuaded to apply the death penalty. There is no good reason to doubt the essential truth of this record.
Bernard Capp
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- September 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199641789
- eISBN:
- 9780191744228
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199641789.003.0005
- Subject:
- History, British and Irish Early Modern History
This chapter uses court records and other evidence to examine campaigns to curb blasphemy, casual oaths, and profanation of the Sabbath, offences puritans regarded as even more sinful than sexual ...
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This chapter uses court records and other evidence to examine campaigns to curb blasphemy, casual oaths, and profanation of the Sabbath, offences puritans regarded as even more sinful than sexual immorality or drunkenness. It explores the prosecution of Socinians, Quakers, and numerous little-known alleged blasphemers, some deluded, others deliberately provocative. It surveys too the role of the courts and individual magistrates in suppressing profane swearing and the casual oaths common in everyday speech. The chapter then examines campaigns to enforce tight Sabbath restrictions. It explores efforts to suppress all forms of commercial activity, travel, drinking, and sports, and offers an assessment of how much was achieved on each of these fronts.Less
This chapter uses court records and other evidence to examine campaigns to curb blasphemy, casual oaths, and profanation of the Sabbath, offences puritans regarded as even more sinful than sexual immorality or drunkenness. It explores the prosecution of Socinians, Quakers, and numerous little-known alleged blasphemers, some deluded, others deliberately provocative. It surveys too the role of the courts and individual magistrates in suppressing profane swearing and the casual oaths common in everyday speech. The chapter then examines campaigns to enforce tight Sabbath restrictions. It explores efforts to suppress all forms of commercial activity, travel, drinking, and sports, and offers an assessment of how much was achieved on each of these fronts.
Paul Marshall and Nina Shea
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199812264
- eISBN:
- 9780199919383
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199812264.001.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Silenced describes the dire effects of blasphemy and apostasy restrictions in contemporary Muslim-majority countries, and the promotion of such restrictions internationally, and in the West. In the ...
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Silenced describes the dire effects of blasphemy and apostasy restrictions in contemporary Muslim-majority countries, and the promotion of such restrictions internationally, and in the West. In the Muslim world, religious minorities and Muslim reformers are subject to state persecution and targeted by widespread societal violence aimed at silencing any expression that does not conform to the prevailing religious and political ideology. Internationally, for two decades the Organization of the Islamic Conference has been trying within the United Nations to subject Western law and international human rights standards to their own blasphemy and apostasy restrictions. In the West, those accused of insulting Islam can be subject to new quasi blasphemy laws and extralegal threats and violence. Victims include politician, writers, cartoonists, scholars and Muslim reformers. These curbs on perceived anti-Islamic speech – whether called blasphemy, defamation of Islam, insulting Islam, or hate speech – are incompatible with democracy and individual human rights. Blasphemy restrictions forcibly silence criticism of dominant religious ideas, especially when those ideas support, and are supported by, political power. When politics and religion are intertwined, there can be no free political debate if there is no free religious debate. As Silenced’s three Muslim contributors make clear, blasphemy rules are bitterly contested within the Muslim world, and "confine the world's Muslim population to a bleak, colorless prison of socio-cultural and political conformity." Without a vigorous defense of individual freedoms of speech and religion, much of the West is heading toward a similar fate.Less
Silenced describes the dire effects of blasphemy and apostasy restrictions in contemporary Muslim-majority countries, and the promotion of such restrictions internationally, and in the West. In the Muslim world, religious minorities and Muslim reformers are subject to state persecution and targeted by widespread societal violence aimed at silencing any expression that does not conform to the prevailing religious and political ideology. Internationally, for two decades the Organization of the Islamic Conference has been trying within the United Nations to subject Western law and international human rights standards to their own blasphemy and apostasy restrictions. In the West, those accused of insulting Islam can be subject to new quasi blasphemy laws and extralegal threats and violence. Victims include politician, writers, cartoonists, scholars and Muslim reformers. These curbs on perceived anti-Islamic speech – whether called blasphemy, defamation of Islam, insulting Islam, or hate speech – are incompatible with democracy and individual human rights. Blasphemy restrictions forcibly silence criticism of dominant religious ideas, especially when those ideas support, and are supported by, political power. When politics and religion are intertwined, there can be no free political debate if there is no free religious debate. As Silenced’s three Muslim contributors make clear, blasphemy rules are bitterly contested within the Muslim world, and "confine the world's Muslim population to a bleak, colorless prison of socio-cultural and political conformity." Without a vigorous defense of individual freedoms of speech and religion, much of the West is heading toward a similar fate.
Sir David Williams QC
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780199548781
- eISBN:
- 9780191720673
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199548781.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Human Rights and Immigration
This chapter aims to outline briefly the emergence of statutory offences of incitement against the background of sedition and blasphemy at common law. The emphasis is on the law of England and Wales ...
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This chapter aims to outline briefly the emergence of statutory offences of incitement against the background of sedition and blasphemy at common law. The emphasis is on the law of England and Wales and, in particular, on the emergence of the offences of incitement to racial hatred and of incitement to religious hatred. There is reference also to issues of freedom of speech.Less
This chapter aims to outline briefly the emergence of statutory offences of incitement against the background of sedition and blasphemy at common law. The emphasis is on the law of England and Wales and, in particular, on the emergence of the offences of incitement to racial hatred and of incitement to religious hatred. There is reference also to issues of freedom of speech.
Jonathan Burnside
- Published in print:
- 2010
- Published Online:
- January 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780199759217
- eISBN:
- 9780199827084
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199759217.003.0013
- Subject:
- Law, Public International Law
This chapter shows how particular biblical laws such as blasphemy, false prophecy, and false teaching were understood at the time of the New Testament, and how they interfaced with other legal ...
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This chapter shows how particular biblical laws such as blasphemy, false prophecy, and false teaching were understood at the time of the New Testament, and how they interfaced with other legal traditions, such as Roman law and custom. It shows how each of the main charges in the Jewish and Roman proceedings is introduced and developed in advance of Jesus' trials. They included charges of false prophecy, false teaching, leading Israel astray, blasphemy, forbidding payment of taxes, and threatening to destroy the Temple. The charges against Jesus were suitable because of their salience both for the religious establishment and for the Romans. The chapter shows that there are hitherto-unnoticed structural parallels between the proceedings before Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate, as well as parallels between the trials of Jesus and modern miscarriages of justice.Less
This chapter shows how particular biblical laws such as blasphemy, false prophecy, and false teaching were understood at the time of the New Testament, and how they interfaced with other legal traditions, such as Roman law and custom. It shows how each of the main charges in the Jewish and Roman proceedings is introduced and developed in advance of Jesus' trials. They included charges of false prophecy, false teaching, leading Israel astray, blasphemy, forbidding payment of taxes, and threatening to destroy the Temple. The charges against Jesus were suitable because of their salience both for the religious establishment and for the Romans. The chapter shows that there are hitherto-unnoticed structural parallels between the proceedings before Caiaphas and Pontius Pilate, as well as parallels between the trials of Jesus and modern miscarriages of justice.
Jason P. Rosenblatt
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- September 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199286133
- eISBN:
- 9780191713859
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199286133.003.0009
- Subject:
- Literature, Poetry
A mishnah in tractate Sanhedrin shapes Selden’s understanding of the trial of Jesus and reflects authoritative legal opinions that predate the New Testament. What interests Selden is not the divinity ...
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A mishnah in tractate Sanhedrin shapes Selden’s understanding of the trial of Jesus and reflects authoritative legal opinions that predate the New Testament. What interests Selden is not the divinity or humanity of Christ, but rather the way both he and his interlocutors behaved according to the systematized legal precepts of halakha, the Jewish legal code that expands and clarifies the gospel’s account of the proceedings. Although Selden considers in De Jure whether Jesus was guilty of blasphemy as legally defined, and in De Synedriis whether the Sanhedrin was empowered at the time to pronounce a death sentence, he approaches an emotionally fraught topic — the passion of the Christ — with a rare degree of scholarly impartiality. By citing as many opposed points of view as he does, he shakes one’s confidence in the perfect followability of the events. Selden’s reading of the passion narrative influenced Henry Stubbe’s An Essay in Defence of the Good Old Cause.Less
A mishnah in tractate Sanhedrin shapes Selden’s understanding of the trial of Jesus and reflects authoritative legal opinions that predate the New Testament. What interests Selden is not the divinity or humanity of Christ, but rather the way both he and his interlocutors behaved according to the systematized legal precepts of halakha, the Jewish legal code that expands and clarifies the gospel’s account of the proceedings. Although Selden considers in De Jure whether Jesus was guilty of blasphemy as legally defined, and in De Synedriis whether the Sanhedrin was empowered at the time to pronounce a death sentence, he approaches an emotionally fraught topic — the passion of the Christ — with a rare degree of scholarly impartiality. By citing as many opposed points of view as he does, he shakes one’s confidence in the perfect followability of the events. Selden’s reading of the passion narrative influenced Henry Stubbe’s An Essay in Defence of the Good Old Cause.
Paul Marshall and Nina Shea
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199812264
- eISBN:
- 9780199919383
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199812264.003.0001
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
In this survey we cover three things. First, we provide an overview of the actual practice and the consequent dire effects of current blasphemy and apostasy restrictions in some major contemporary ...
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In this survey we cover three things. First, we provide an overview of the actual practice and the consequent dire effects of current blasphemy and apostasy restrictions in some major contemporary Muslim countries. We then outline ongoing attempts over the last two decades, within the United Nations system, to conform international human rights standards to blasphemy and apostasy restrictions. Finally, we give an overview of the growth of increasing anti-blasphemy demands in the West, by force of law and by extralegal threats and violence, imposed on those suspected of insulting Islam. We also examine the consequent chilling of debate and the self-imposed silence taking place within the broader community.Less
In this survey we cover three things. First, we provide an overview of the actual practice and the consequent dire effects of current blasphemy and apostasy restrictions in some major contemporary Muslim countries. We then outline ongoing attempts over the last two decades, within the United Nations system, to conform international human rights standards to blasphemy and apostasy restrictions. Finally, we give an overview of the growth of increasing anti-blasphemy demands in the West, by force of law and by extralegal threats and violence, imposed on those suspected of insulting Islam. We also examine the consequent chilling of debate and the self-imposed silence taking place within the broader community.
Paul Marshall and Nina Shea
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199812264
- eISBN:
- 9780199919383
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199812264.003.0005
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Pakistan has codified some of the world's most draconian anti-blasphemy laws, which can carry a life sentence or the death penalty. While there have been no official executions for blasphemy, ...
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Pakistan has codified some of the world's most draconian anti-blasphemy laws, which can carry a life sentence or the death penalty. While there have been no official executions for blasphemy, extremists have frequently murdered the accused before, during, or after adjudication, even after an acquittal. A vastly disproportionate number of cases involve the Ahmadi and Christian minorities, who are particularly vulnerable since, in blasphemy cases, their testimonies count for less than that of Muslims. Mobs, whipped into hysteria by blasphemy accusations broadcast from mosques, have assaulted, typically with impunity, the accused, their families, and their coreligionists. attacking houses of worship, homes, and businesses, and destroying entire villages. In Punjab in 2009, after an unsubstantiated accusation that a Qur’an had been desecrated, at least seven Christians were burned alive and over 50 houses torched. Credible reports indicated that extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda were involved. Muslim reformers are also targeted and silenced. Author Younus Shaikh was sentenced to life in prison for “deviating from the teachings of the Quran” by criticizing rajam – stoning for adultery. While officials, such as Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, have called for rescinding the blasphemy laws, public opinion and entrenched extremists prevent them from acting.Less
Pakistan has codified some of the world's most draconian anti-blasphemy laws, which can carry a life sentence or the death penalty. While there have been no official executions for blasphemy, extremists have frequently murdered the accused before, during, or after adjudication, even after an acquittal. A vastly disproportionate number of cases involve the Ahmadi and Christian minorities, who are particularly vulnerable since, in blasphemy cases, their testimonies count for less than that of Muslims. Mobs, whipped into hysteria by blasphemy accusations broadcast from mosques, have assaulted, typically with impunity, the accused, their families, and their coreligionists. attacking houses of worship, homes, and businesses, and destroying entire villages. In Punjab in 2009, after an unsubstantiated accusation that a Qur’an had been desecrated, at least seven Christians were burned alive and over 50 houses torched. Credible reports indicated that extremist groups linked to Al-Qaeda were involved. Muslim reformers are also targeted and silenced. Author Younus Shaikh was sentenced to life in prison for “deviating from the teachings of the Quran” by criticizing rajam – stoning for adultery. While officials, such as Minorities Minister Shahbaz Bhatti, have called for rescinding the blasphemy laws, public opinion and entrenched extremists prevent them from acting.
Paul Marshall and Nina Shea
- Published in print:
- 2011
- Published Online:
- January 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780199812264
- eISBN:
- 9780199919383
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199812264.003.0012
- Subject:
- Religion, Islam
Many Western countries are creating and amending laws to limit what may be said about religious beliefs. These range from blasphemy bans, originally intended to protect Christianity, to recent hate ...
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Many Western countries are creating and amending laws to limit what may be said about religious beliefs. These range from blasphemy bans, originally intended to protect Christianity, to recent hate speech prohibitions, devised primarily as anti-racism measures, but now increasingly applied to religion. While largely anachronistic, blasphemy laws are used to prosecute offenses against Islam; in Finland in 2009, a city politician was convicted of “violating the sanctity of religion” for deriding the Muslim prophet and Islamic child marriage. Most European Union countries, as well as the EU itself, affirm that restrictions on speech should protect individuals rather than religions, but the conflation of insults to the religion with insults to the individual by Muslim complainants is widespread. Those prosecuted include actress Brigitte Bardot in France, writer Mark Steyn in Canada, two Christian pastors in Australia, and others, and involved complaints arising from speech critical of Islam and not personal insults. Hate speech laws have a more widespread chilling effect, and a growing number of publishers, journalists, filmmakers, and artists are acknowledging that they are shying away from Islamic subjects in their work. Religious hate speech laws, which are just as arbitrary and vague as Muslim blasphemy regimes.Less
Many Western countries are creating and amending laws to limit what may be said about religious beliefs. These range from blasphemy bans, originally intended to protect Christianity, to recent hate speech prohibitions, devised primarily as anti-racism measures, but now increasingly applied to religion. While largely anachronistic, blasphemy laws are used to prosecute offenses against Islam; in Finland in 2009, a city politician was convicted of “violating the sanctity of religion” for deriding the Muslim prophet and Islamic child marriage. Most European Union countries, as well as the EU itself, affirm that restrictions on speech should protect individuals rather than religions, but the conflation of insults to the religion with insults to the individual by Muslim complainants is widespread. Those prosecuted include actress Brigitte Bardot in France, writer Mark Steyn in Canada, two Christian pastors in Australia, and others, and involved complaints arising from speech critical of Islam and not personal insults. Hate speech laws have a more widespread chilling effect, and a growing number of publishers, journalists, filmmakers, and artists are acknowledging that they are shying away from Islamic subjects in their work. Religious hate speech laws, which are just as arbitrary and vague as Muslim blasphemy regimes.
