Although every misuse of God's name is a serious sin, not every instance of blasphemy merits the same consequences. Just as the law distinguishes between first-degree murder and murder caused by carelessness (manslaughter), prescribing different punishments (Num. 35:9–34), it shows that certain forms of blasphemy are worse than others. Cursing the name of the Lord is a particularly brazen violation of the third commandment. This was particularly true when the son of Shelomith cursed God in the Israelite camp. In other words, he blasphemed in the very midst of the community among whom the Creator chose to dwell. He cursed God in a location close to the Most Holy Place (Lev. 24:10–12). Such audacity reflected a profound hardness of heart. After all, it is serious enough to curse God outside of His church, but how much more serious is it to spit on His name in His church, that is, among His holy people?
I have often been asked about what Jesus declares is the “unpardonable sin” – blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31-32, Mark 3:28-30, and Luke 12:10). Specifically, people wonder why this particular sin is “unpardonable” as opposed to others – for example, murder or heinous abuse – what it is, whether it can be committed today, and if a person is in danger of committing it. While there are good resources available on the topic (for example, by Andrew NasellIi), the fact that there are still so many questions led to me to study the topic anew and to think it could be a good blog post to capture some of my thoughts.
Now, in the gospel of Mark, we can see that similar things occurred. Pharisees accused Jesus of delivering others by the power of demons. They claimed that he stated that Jesus had a Beelzebub – which means he had demons. Jesus responds by saying that the devil is not having a civil war. The devil is organized and the only reason why demons are cast out is because, the Holy Spirit is manifesting the kingdom of God. Therefore, Jesus goes on to claim that it is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. In fact, Mark points out that Jesus did warn about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
Islam's Prophet Mohammad is often the source of blasphemy. His image, according to Islamic law, is not to be printed. Yet, many cartoonists and others around the world have been considered blasphemous for doing so. In 2006, faced serious backlash and threats of retribution from Islamic nations for printing cartoons that featured Prophet Mohammad. While the act of printing the cartoons, themselves, would have been considered blasphemy unto itself, the cartoons also featured the Prophet in poses that were considered "unflattering," particularly one in which the Prophet's image was made to look like a terrorist.
The biblical concept is very different. There is no Hebrew word equivalent to the English “blasphemy,” and the Greek root blasphem- [blasfhmevw], which is used fifty-five times in the New Testament, has a wide meaning. In both Testaments the idea of blasphemy as something that offends the religious sensibilities of others is completely absent.
