Pick and Choose What's Sacred

 

After reading that Ireland passed a law against blasphemy, I had to go to the dictionary to find out what that included. The dictionary definitions were general enough that I didn't see how a law could encompass the general idea. One item it was clear on: blasphemy refers to GOD. Goddess worshipers would be in deep doo-doo. Judging from the number of bumper stickers that say, “Blessed Be” a full fledged witch hunt would be in order.

Being from the Land of Cafeteria Religion, one person's blasphemy is another person's article of faith. I was surprised to learn that some southern Christian sects don't consider Mormons to be Christian. That ruled out Mitt Romney's run for President in spite of a full-out campaign to sacred-fy Latter Day Saints. J. F. Kennedy had a similar problem when he ran for President because he was Roman Catholic.

One advantage of recognizing every religion as deserving respect is that it prevents any single religion from taking control. Even if the Catholics, Mormons, and Southern Baptists made a pact to not blaspheme each other, the Constitution stands between them and blaspheming other religions.

As I write this I noticed something. Although I avoid capitalizing 'god' I capitalize 'President' and 'Constitution' without a second thought. I believe that if Americans have any unifying belief, it is in our Constitution and The Bill of Rights.

Now that's what I call an enlightened belief system. Anyone who disagrees, blasphemes.

Nancy Sherer

 

 


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