Sacrilege and Blasphemy

What makes a thing “sacrilegious and blasphemous”? We’ve seen the terms connected to recent events. Much of the ensuing discussion expresses dismay at the actions of some and ridicule of this dismay on the part of others. I don’t want to get into the specifics of the incident here, we hope the controversy brought about by the controversy will ultimately produce light rather than the heat of yet another conflagration on the internet.

It might help, though, if we understand what sacrilege and blasphemy are.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines sacrilege as either “a technical and not necessarily intrinsically outrageous violation (as improper reception of a sacrament) of what is sacred because consecrated to God” or a “gross irreverence toward a hallowed person, place, or thing.”

The second definition refers to some deliberate act that grossly defiles something that is hallowed or sanctified. When Antiochus Epiphanes wanted to humiliate the Jews, he sacrificed pigs on the Great Altar in the Jewish Temple. (See here.)

However, the first definition refers to an act that is “not necessarily intrinsically outrageous.” That is, the act may seem somewhat bland in itself, but actually is a violation of something consecrated to God. A related word is “profane.” If you profane something that is holy, you make it common or ordinary. That is why taking the Lord’s name in vain is profane – you are making something holy, God’s name, into something common (or even worse, into a curse). Devout Christians react to casual use of God’s name in such phrases as, “Oh my God,” or even the texter’s “OMG” as profanity. It is a kind of sacrilege. God’s name is holy, and ought to be used reverently.

The Merriam-Webster definitions for blasphemy are these: “the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God” or “the act of claiming the attributes of deity” or “irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable.”

The first two definitions correspond to the “gross irreverence” definition of sacrilege above. They describe deliberate irreverence. The third definition is more general, and corresponds to the “not necessarily intrinsically outrageous” definition we just described. It is blasphemous to profane the name of God or Jesus. To make it common.

The Nelson’s Topical Bible Index¹ offers further help. It defines sacrilege as “profaning holy things,” saying that sacrilege is done by such activities as “defaming God’s name” as in 2 Kings 18.23-25, when the Rabshakeh (the Assyrian general) mocked God outside the walls of Jerusalem. Sacrilege is also done when someone “profanes the Sabbath” as in Nehemiah 13.15-21, when Nehemiah observed the returned exiles carrying on normal business on the Sabbath day. Another example is “debauching holy things” when the money-changers and merchants of sheep for sacrifice carried out their business in the temple precincts, John 2.14-16. These latter two examples are of activities that are not “intrinsically outrageous,” that is, the people were doing things that are inoffensive in the proper context. Nehemiah’s defilers of the sabbath did such things as treading out grapes in a wine press and bringing in sacks of grain to market. On any other day of the week, these activities would prompt no outrage. By performing them on the sabbath, the people of Israel made common or ordinary the holy day. They profaned it. It was sacrilege and blasphemy.

Likewise, the moneychangers and the sellers of sacrificial animals in the temple were providing a service for the worshippers of Jerusalem. They didn’t have to lead their sacrificial lambs all the way from Galilee to Jerusalem, they could simply buy one on site for their sacrifices. What could be better? Jesus thought that they defiled the Temple by this activity, made it common and profane. Do you think Jesus was right? (Of course he was!)

When it comes to art, over the years many people have used religious symbols in various kinds of artistic expression. Some pieces of art intentionally honour God. Others deliberately defame God. And still others fit somewhere in between. What makes art “sacrilegious and blasphemous”? Deliberate defamation surely does.

What about the artist who does something “not necessarily intrinsically outrageous”? In other words, what if the artist has no deliberate intent to profane God, yet by their art they offend the sensibilities of devout believers? Their action, rather than glorifying God, makes God common or profane in the eyes of the public.

For this reason, some Christians opted to have no depictions of Christ in their homes, lest they make Christ common or profane. Before you dismiss them as legalists, you should consider the reverence they have for the Lord. We need to tread carefully here.

Art that seems to upset the natural order of things (or better yet, God’s created order of things), displays or represents God in a common or ordinary way, at the very least runs the risk of sacrilege and blasphemy. Usually, such art tips over the line and Christian observers are rightly offended.

When such offenses occur under the aegis of professing Christians, the world takes little more notice than mild amusement, I suppose. Yet devout believers are rightly shocked. They are not legalists, they are loyal to their Lord. Christians ought to have the sense to realize that some subjects are too sacred for common treatment.

We know that we will not all agree on every instance of such things, but it should surprise no one when believers express their dismay and even outrage when other professing Christians go too far in their attempts at artistic expression.

Don Johnson is the pastor of Grace Baptist Church of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada.

Photo © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, licensed under Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike 4.0 International license.

1. Thomas Nelson Publishers. Nelson’s Quick Reference Topical Bible Index. Nelson’s Quick Reference. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1996. [↩]