Blasphemy

It is upsetting to Christians to hear the amount of blasphemy uttered these days – on television programmes, in films and novels, and particularly in everyday conversation..  The ironic aspect is that the present godless generation, in invoking the name of God and Christ, are acknowledging him in spite of themselves.

One might well wonder why in a politically correct society, where we avoid sexist language for fear of offending women and take the crosses off Easter buns for fear of offending non-Christians, that nobody cares much about offending Christians by taking the name of Our Lord in vain.

Makes you wonder whether political correctness was invented by Satan to replace the Ten Commandments….

When I was young, most Catholic men belonged to the Holy Name Society, formed to respect the name of God.   The widely worn badge of the society was a tiny gold circular lapel button about 7mm in diameter.   It was also rather handy to unobtrusively identify us to each other as Catholics.

But do we have to stand for all the blasphemy we  hear today?   Most people would be blissfully unaware that they are offending Christians in this way.  Using Jesus or Christ as expletives is just part of their (limited) vocabulary.

A gentle and kindly reminder that these names are sacred to us, offered frequently enough and widely enough,  would be a real step to start the tide running against blasphemy.

On a stronger note, you might ask if they are Christians…
“Why?”
“Because you keep invoking the name of Christ.”

You might write to your local newspaper asking why it is politically correct to avoid sexist language to avoid offending women, but it’s OK to offend Christians by taking the name of their God in vain.  If other people have feelings to be respected, then so do Christians.

Let’s not just put up with it.   Next time we hear blasphemy, let’s – each of us – say how we feel!