Another part of a video series from Wordonfire.org. Bishop Barron will be commenting on subjects from modern day culture. For more visit www.wordonfire.org/
"...Blasphemy hurts us. Now here's why: We owe God highest thanks and praise. In that act of thanking God, we rightly order ourselves. In making God the highest priority, the rest of our interests and preoccupations fall into right ranking, into right order." All I can say is, listening to this man makes me want to me a better person.
How anyone can watch that interview and conclude that Dylan sold his soul to the devil is just beyond me. It's perfectly obvious that he's talking about God.
Father I completely agree with what you say. I will pray for you, and all priest we live in such a secular world. Let all of us Catholics pray, stay close support our priests, and Church times are tough.
ella hope nothing wrong with living in a secular world. You should be grateful that’s a moderating influence which prevents to some degree other religious views being imposed on you.
To speak of the divine "offense" is not to signal that God is somehow hurt by our bad actions. It is a metaphorical way of designating God's passion to set things right.
Bishop Barron, you need to put these videos on regular air free TV. Just have someone put them togehter in half hour segments and get them on TV. These are awesome. Please do it now. We need this spread. You need to be on TV!!!
Father, you and your channel are a gift from Heaven. God bless you. Yes, we only hurt ourselves and society when we blaspheme. And yes, we owe God reverence. Hallowed be His Name!
@Stipoon Well, listen to the video! When we don't praise what is in fact the highest good, we lose our way. We give ourselves utterly to something that is not worthy of that surrender.
@MrElyBlack Well friend, there is only so much I can do in a six minute video! I was just trying to draw attention to the danger of blasphemy in our culture. Of course there are all sorts of reasons for the problem, many of which I've addressed in other videos.
another insightful video. i had never thought of Blasphemy as a sin against justice but now that you explained it, it is very clear. i had always thought of it as a sin of pride... I supose pride is a contributor to all sin.
Oh my, you're a very inspirational and intelligent orator. Many of the topics you discuss in these videos and the 'conclusions' you draw in them I too have come to, but all inside my mind. You're putting complex thoughts beautifully into practical and understandable words. Keep it up!
@MrElyBlack I agree with Aquinas that not all bad things should be illegal. Prohibition comes readily to mind as proof of the truth of this. Anti-blasphemy laws, like prohibition, would cause more harm than good. I would just like people to have the good sense and decency not to engage in blasphemy.
@MrElyBlack You know, I've smiled as I've re-read your comment, for your image is exactly right. I do feel like someone returning a hundred ping-pong balls at once, often dozens a day. So I really am sorry if I didn't sufficiently attend to the complexity of the point you were making.
@MrElyBlack I'm sorry if I offended you. What I gathered from your comment was that you were advocating a sort of moral relativism. I mean, I know there are differing views on religious matters, but that doesn't imply that everyone is equally right.
@thefhaja Well friend, this particular video was not meant for you. I might suggest you look at my videos on God's existence. Those are meant for non-believers.
Yes really! God doesn't have emotions the way we do. As Thomas Aquinas clearly taught, God doesn't change. Thus, he can't pass from one emotional state to another. The burning of the sacred heart, the divine anger, etc. are symbolic expressions of God's deep desire to set things right. God cannot be "hurt" by sin; but he hates it, because it makes us less than fully alive.
@Mrmentalmadness123 But that can't be right, on logical grounds. Physical matter is essentially potential, that is to say, capable of change. Therefore the question always remains, "why is matter in this state rather than that?" This means that we have to seek an extrinsic cause. Why, for example, does your matter exist in the particular configuration that it does? We have to look for causes for that. Thus simply to appeal to "matter as such" as the non-congingent ground just won't do.
I've watched the 60 Minutes interview many times! He says not a word about the devil. He says that he has made a bond with the commander of this world and the world you cannot see. How you can conclude that he is referring to anyone but God here--especially given the numerous references to God in his songs--is just a mystery to me.
I would really like to see a video on your comments on tattoos especially tattoos that depict religious iconography. thanks ps I really do love and admire your work. God bless and keep you today and forever.
@Mrmentalmadness123 I've offered the argument from contingency many times on these forums. It is a rational demonstration that requires no faith. I would invite you to engage me on that.
@MrElyBlack Rights are not absolute. I don't have a right to put your life in danger or to impugn your character. Why should people have a right to denigrate another person's religion?
@Mrmentalmadness123 I'm not appealing to faith or the Scripture at all. I've formulated an argument, the conclusion of which is that there must, finally, be a non-contingent source of existence, if we are to avoid the irrational option of an infinite regress of contingent causes. Show me where the logic of this argument fails.
@chesster423 Heck friend, I don't know any human being "fully." So I certainly can't claim to know the source of existence fully. But on the basis of the argument from contingency, I can know that God exists and by making a number of rational moves that follow from that argument, I can know something of God's nature and attributes. Take a look at the first thirteen questions of Aquinas's Summa theologiae to see how this kind of theologizing is done.
Blasphemy is the worst sin, it is the sin of disconnecting, and ultimately it is the sin against yourself the turning of your eye, your soul goes from bleak to bleackest. It is the sin that says everything is fimilear to me, and so I am free to curse the at what I know with the demand for something new . And although the things that are fimilear to me is our wicked pattern of brother killing brother, Cain killing Abel have all been done, in some variation I have played them out in my being, Gollieth abuse David for only so long before he picks up the stones that spells doom for overshadow. But I don't know everything, I have yet to see and taste from such a place free. And so what is mundane to me will take the backseat, as I will learn from what is foreign to me.
@Mike96727 Friend, Origen in the second century, Augustine in the fourth century, Anselm in the 12th century, Aquinas in the 13th century all held to God's radical incomprehesibility and immateriality. "Science" hardly forced theologians to this conclusion. And the evidence for God's existence is the argument from contingency.
@Mike96727 Well, engage the argument from contingency. In this last posting, you're just trading in prejudices and abstractions. Show me where I'm wrong in saying that a radically contingent universe requires, finally, a non-contingent ground.
@Mike96727 Well, I gave you an at least partial answer already: the God who is the Creator of heaven and earth, the one whose name is "I am," the non-contingent ground of contingency. All of these claims can be substantiated through "evidence, reason, and logic," and this God doesn't bear even the slightest resemblance to "an invisible sky wizard." So if you want to continue the conversation, please drop the sneers and let's get serious.
@Mike96727 You should make the creator God the center of your life. You should give yourself to the one whose very nature is to be. This is the God that the Abrahamic traditions recognize as "I am who I am." And of course, secular humanism, in the measure that it denies the relevance of God, is blasphemous. Why should you find that surprising?
@Nemesis000000 Blasphemy laws existed (and exist still) in non-Catholic and non-Christian countries as well. Free speech is important, but offending people with malicious intentions is not free speech. There is a big difference between criticizing something and mocking or offending it.
I haven't seen that add yet here in Aust, but to me it shows just how äggressive" the attacks on our church are becoming. How do we best shine our light in this "darkness"? I'd like to hear your thoughts on that if you can Father. Love your work. keep it up.
When Dante wrote the Divine Comedy, why did he place thieves and flatterers in lower circles of Hell than blasphemers? Is it simply because the latter are fraudulent whereas blasphemers are open about their sins?
@Evidentz07 Blasphemy doesn't necessarily have to be an "attack" - it can simply be treating lightly or irreverently something which is sacred and worthy of respect. How would you react if you heard someone talking in crude terms about your father, mother, sister, brother, child or friend?
@MrElyBlack Singing Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, while carrying in a soccer ball in a monstrance does not strike you as indecent? Depicting a man kneeling in the attitude of a communicant and receiving a slice of pizza doesn't strike you as disrespectful of Catholics? Come on, man!
@wordonfirevideo "I can know that God exists" -You know that God exists. How? Why can't I? If the answer is I lack of faith, then no. Give my regards to Fr. Barron, he sounds very realistic. His words are astounding even though it is only according to his belief.
It should not exist such a word as blasphemy. It is just a weapon created in order to try to oppress, arrest, kill and get the goods of other innocent people.
@@GaoDaHoi I wouldn't go as far to put him on the same level with the fundamentalists. But at least, those guys are honest. They speak up their mind and they require death or long term imprisonment for the so called blasphemers. This guy is just dripping poison on youtube.
@StuChannel3 You know, man, you might try dropping the sneering attitude... God has no need of our worship, for he is utterly perfect apart from the world. But worshipping God benefits us, for it aligns us to the infinite good. And take a good look at John 3:16; it would clear up a lot of your confusion about God's motives.
@ReadLearnandBecome You're psychologizing things too much. I'm not "offended" by the Hyundai ad; I think it represents something that is objectively wrong.
Your excellency, I know what you mean. Just the other day. One of my friends at work deliberately said Jesus’s name in a disrespectful way. How did I feel? I was deeply appalled and disturbed. I was going to say something but instead I kept quiet.
@Mrmentalmadness123 What I know from the argument from contingency is that the ultimate cause of the universe must be radically non-contingent and hence cannot possibly be simply "nature" or "matter" or "evolution," all of which are obviously changeable and contingent. I don't hate evidence; I've offered you evidence in the form of a metaphysical demonstration. But it does seem clear to me that you hate the word "God." Don't use it then. Speak of a non-contingent cause.
@Evidentz07 I think you are right about how Christians ought to be able to take offenses with a bit of a "turn the other cheek" attitude. I will also say that a Catholic or other Christian who believes in the Real Presence would view the Hyundai ad in particular to be a real blow against Christ Himself, and we ought to cry out against that. Of course, I understand that you do come from a different kind of Christian tradition than I, a Catholic, do, so I can't and won't fault your point of view.
@sensengine That's too neat. Your principle would allow people to do and say absolutely anything against religion. And if religious people object, they have "hang-ups" or their faith is weak. Come on. If someone is burning an American flag, I should be permitted to object and not be accused of having a fragile patriotism.
@Guy1b Concerning anti-blasphemy laws. I heard somewhere that the Pope urged NOT to set up such laws. His argument was that those laws could turn into justification for more (and increased intensity of...) violence (especially in Muslim nations).
Many people saying "Oh my God." is Using the Lord's name in vain. But I would argue that "God is not God's name". For example, a a Jehovah's witness criticized how the rest of Christendom impersonally refers to the almighty as "God." I replied by pointing out how she wouldn't call her mother or father by their first name, and how much more that WOULD be the case for our heavenly father.
In spite of all the criticism against Christianity and those jerks who defend Muslims, what you just mentioned shows that we are the civilised and tolerant not the Muslims, who get so much sympathy nowadays.
Father you said humans cannot injure God but I recall that in many private revelations there are it is often said that God is very offended by man and so it is not without importance what we do. Christ suffers through people rejecting Him and those ofending Him. It is human emotion and Jesus being also human has the same emotions like we do. This injustice demands punishment. I am also sorry for other people make fun or sneer from God.I dont know how to approach it so that my conscience is pure
No - Dylan did not mention it on your segment - He was on the show 60 Minutes and in his interview he said he sold his soul to the devil. View his interview on You Tube - I agree with your stance on the abuse of blasphemy that it has been out of control and needs to be addressed by the religious community.
I think that type of humor has also been aimed at our Presidents and government. It's tearing apart the respect for the Office or Position not just the person.
@littlemary86 As Father Barron points out in the video, there probably isn't much mere mortals can do to hurt God, at least I wouldn't think there would be. But there is a lot that mortals can do to hurt each other. I would think it would be more important to worry about crimes according to the severity that they hurt the victim. Therefore I would think we should all worry more about things we do to each other than about things people do or say of God. That's just my wild speculation, though.
@misterzonker2584 "the very idea of blaspemy doesn't allow for [dissent]" That's like saying that the rudeness doesn't allow for the idea of speaking. You're free to speak, but if you do, don't be surprised if sometimes people tell you that you're being rude.
@Nemesis000000, no blasphemy is an attempt to denigrate God. At most, church members improperly labeled acts or speech as blasphemy or improperly punished actual blasphemous deeds. You owe God a certain amount of respect.
Can say that I found myself in a blasphemous period (roughly three years) when I absolutely should have known better. Did I do harm to My God...no doubt!!! Have been to confession where priests absolved my sins but I did experience their struggle!!! Never heard the claim that blasphemy is worse than murder!!! Ugh!!!!
Your excellency, I know what you’re saying about blasphemy. It’s outrageous, hurtful and horrible. This past May, I was working with a work employee and she was having a bad day and said Jesus’s name in a bad and disrespectful way. How did I feel? I was deeply appalled 😦 and upset. I was going to say something to her, “Annette, I’m very appalled by what you just said. Saying Jesus’s name in a bad way and it offends me a lot.” But I didn’t really. Because if I really said that, she would’ve been angry with me. Obviously some people have no moral decency or respect for God.
Bob Dylan is now not a simple adhering sheep 1997: " Here's the thing with me and the religious thing. This is the flat-out truth: I find the religiosity and philosophy in the music. I don't find it anywhere else. Songs like "Let Me Rest on a Peaceful Mountain" or "I Saw the Light"-that's my religion. I don't adhere to rabbis, preachers, evangelists, all of that. I've learned more from the songs than I've learned from any of this kind of entity. The songs are my lexicon. I believe the songs."
@theclarinet1234 Sigh... More scientism. Friend, I think the world of the sciences, but they are not in a desperate zero-sum game with religion. That's the modernist myth that I'm urging you to leave behind. "God" is the answer to a question that the sciences simply can't ask. As I've tried to explain over and again, God in principle could not be one cause among many, who simply fills in a gap in an inadequate scientific account.
The Word of God gives good example of Blasphemy Matthew 9:2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. Matthew 9:3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This [man] blasphemeth Jesus has power to forgive sin. No man can forgive Sin
@MrElyBlack Yes and people have the right to protest and point out why Huynday's commercial is offensive to them. Hyunday had the sensibility to pull the commercial afterwards. It's a matter of respect of others. You are complicating the matter beyond the need. Also just because a discrmination is accepted (like against catholics) it does not mean it is correct,
@Nemesis000000 I'm sure the term has been used to stifle dissent at times, but you appear to apply that this is what it has always been used for, which I would say is unfair. Sometimes it has been used to describe, well, blasphemy. You only have to look to the years before the Church had any real earthly power (both NT and writings for the first couple of centuries) to show that e.g. 1 Timothy 1:13, 20; 2 Peter 2:12, Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, ...
John Cali there are some things that while morally are wrong and violate the natural law, however would cause civil unrest. st Thomas Aquinas writes about it very clearly
On the week of January 16th of this year and during August of last year there were very loud trumpet and groaning sounds heard around the world in the early morning. Many believe this is the trumpet sounds from the angels signifying a warning that the end of the world is near. Do you want to comment on what happened from a biblical standpoint? You Tube Trumpet Sounds From Around The Earth.
Free speech is most important. Blasphemy is an old fashioned label designed to stifle dissent in a time when the Church was an authoritarian political power.
I sometimes hear people curse God even though from their perspective of their understanding of God they might not be aware of the injury they inflict. I prefer to believe they don't intentionally do it and that there is still hope for their salvation. My reaction to hearing blasphemy is that I immediately feel injured myself. If I hear it on TV Radio or internet I immediately must turn it off even if I was interested in what was being discussed. If it is something a loved one spews out unintentionally I usually correct them and ask God's mercy for them.If it's a conversation I am not involved in and or I hear it out of reach I just say a quick Lord have mercy on us to myself.As part of the Church when one of us blasphemes , we are all responsible for reparation. ,
@Entropy3ko You've caught me. I knew you would once I said that. I guess the difference is 1) my revulsion is rational and based on moral philosophy accepted by all rational human beings, not dictated by an archaic barbaric philosophy of hate, and 2) I wouldn't wish anyone to kill the person, just punch them out. But I cannot escape the conundrum you've put me in entirely. Nothing in life is cut and dry though, so I can live with it.
Fr. Barron, Im a little confused. You expressed in this video how God cannot possibly be hurt, or offended by us in any way. I agree with this. But contemplating on things such as St. Faustina's diary, where she distinctly conveys Gods ache and offense as a result of our sinfulness, distrust, ect..I am trying to understand by comparison and contrast the union of these two statements. Can you maybe please help me out by clarifying the distinction?
Слава Ісусу Христу! Glory to Jesus Christ! Hello there, I just heard the part with "God can't be injured by creatures". Now I've got a question, how could he die on the cross, then?
@iamericwhite Why can't an atheist and a Christian have a beer together? One of my favorite Christian apologists (C.S. Lewis) was known for "no holds barred" debates about the faith with a specific atheist (the name escapes me right now). Afterwards, both of them were seen having a pint together and laughing up a storm. They were the bet of friends outside of those debates. As for FB's thought. Anyone who is that insightful can apply it to other things, not just the faith.
One reason why I DVR everything & don't watch ads - they have been offensive for years, highly suggestive of se/x etc. I don't think a non Christian can commit blasphemy in the true sense but the ad is offensive & dispectful... what you didn't say is what to do about this. Maybe not anti blasphemy laws but laws protecting the dignity of all religions & drawing a line here. Or maybe Catholics boycotting shows using such ads (Catholic league does this).
I'm amazed how often this Genetic Fallacy gets repeated by Clarinet below. Citing the possible origins of religious belief no more disproves than proves the existence of God. One could make the equally fallacious argument that because the capacitiy for religious belief is so hard-wired into the earliest human conditions, God therefore must exist, having assured our capacity to believe the supernatural in order to survive. Repeating this fallacy will never make it more valid.
"...Blasphemy hurts us. Now here's why: We owe God highest thanks and praise. In that act of thanking God, we rightly order ourselves. In making God the highest priority, the rest of our interests and preoccupations fall into right ranking, into right order." All I can say is, listening to this man makes me want to me a better person.
G ccc x
How anyone can watch that interview and conclude that Dylan sold his soul to the devil is just beyond me. It's perfectly obvious that he's talking about God.
Father I completely agree with what you say. I will pray for you, and all priest we live in such a secular world. Let all of us Catholics pray, stay close support our priests, and Church times are tough.
ella hope nothing wrong with living in a secular world. You should be grateful that’s a moderating influence which prevents to some degree other religious views being imposed on you.
To speak of the divine "offense" is not to signal that God is somehow hurt by our bad actions. It is a metaphorical way of designating God's passion to set things right.
Just prioritising Earth over angels first...
@Stipoon Well, the creator of the universe can't be "offended." But blaspheming him is indeed bad for the blasphemer.
@MrElyBlack Well, it's really rather elementary: God is infinitely worthy of thanks and praise, since he has given us everything we have.
Bishop Barron, you need to put these videos on regular air free TV. Just have someone put them togehter in half hour segments and get them on TV. These are awesome. Please do it now. We need this spread. You need to be on TV!!!
Bless you and your team Bishop Robert.
Father, you and your channel are a gift from Heaven. God bless you. Yes, we only hurt ourselves and society when we blaspheme. And yes, we owe God reverence. Hallowed be His Name!
@Stipoon Well, listen to the video! When we don't praise what is in fact the highest good, we lose our way. We give ourselves utterly to something that is not worthy of that surrender.
@MrElyBlack Well friend, there is only so much I can do in a six minute video! I was just trying to draw attention to the danger of blasphemy in our culture. Of course there are all sorts of reasons for the problem, many of which I've addressed in other videos.
another insightful video. i had never thought of Blasphemy as a sin against justice but now that you explained it, it is very clear. i had always thought of it as a sin of pride... I supose pride is a contributor to all sin.
I think G.K. Chesterton said that Pride is the worst of all the sins, and I, for one, would be much inclined to agree with him. It destroys everything
Stephen Andersen f
Oh my, you're a very inspirational and intelligent orator. Many of the topics you discuss in these videos and the 'conclusions' you draw in them I too have come to, but all inside my mind. You're putting complex thoughts beautifully into practical and understandable words. Keep it up!
@MrElyBlack I agree with Aquinas that not all bad things should be illegal. Prohibition comes readily to mind as proof of the truth of this. Anti-blasphemy laws, like prohibition, would cause more harm than good. I would just like people to have the good sense and decency not to engage in blasphemy.
@Mrmentalmadness123 God doesn't change! Perhaps our perceptions (or mis-perceptions) of him change. But he himself remains absolute.
Wise words, Father. Thanks a lot for sharing!
@MrElyBlack You know, I've smiled as I've re-read your comment, for your image is exactly right. I do feel like someone returning a hundred ping-pong balls at once, often dozens a day. So I really am sorry if I didn't sufficiently attend to the complexity of the point you were making.
@MrElyBlack I'm sorry if I offended you. What I gathered from your comment was that you were advocating a sort of moral relativism. I mean, I know there are differing views on religious matters, but that doesn't imply that everyone is equally right.
@thefhaja Well friend, this particular video was not meant for you. I might suggest you look at my videos on God's existence. Those are meant for non-believers.
Yes really! God doesn't have emotions the way we do. As Thomas Aquinas clearly taught, God doesn't change. Thus, he can't pass from one emotional state to another. The burning of the sacred heart, the divine anger, etc. are symbolic expressions of God's deep desire to set things right. God cannot be "hurt" by sin; but he hates it, because it makes us less than fully alive.
@Mrmentalmadness123 But that can't be right, on logical grounds. Physical matter is essentially potential, that is to say, capable of change. Therefore the question always remains, "why is matter in this state rather than that?" This means that we have to seek an extrinsic cause. Why, for example, does your matter exist in the particular configuration that it does? We have to look for causes for that. Thus simply to appeal to "matter as such" as the non-congingent ground just won't do.
I've watched the 60 Minutes interview many times! He says not a word about the devil. He says that he has made a bond with the commander of this world and the world you cannot see. How you can conclude that he is referring to anyone but God here--especially given the numerous references to God in his songs--is just a mystery to me.
Ha ha...knocked it out of the park, Father! You Rock
I would really like to see a video on your comments on tattoos especially tattoos that depict religious iconography. thanks
ps I really do love and admire your work. God bless and keep you today and forever.
Honor God and rejoice!
@Mrmentalmadness123 I've offered the argument from contingency many times on these forums. It is a rational demonstration that requires no faith. I would invite you to engage me on that.
THANK YOU LAURA
@MrElyBlack Rights are not absolute. I don't have a right to put your life in danger or to impugn your character. Why should people have a right to denigrate another person's religion?
@Mrmentalmadness123 I'm not appealing to faith or the Scripture at all. I've formulated an argument, the conclusion of which is that there must, finally, be a non-contingent source of existence, if we are to avoid the irrational option of an infinite regress of contingent causes. Show me where the logic of this argument fails.
I hope you will explore more deeply the relation between honoring God and social justice in society.
@chesster423 Heck friend, I don't know any human being "fully." So I certainly can't claim to know the source of existence fully. But on the basis of the argument from contingency, I can know that God exists and by making a number of rational moves that follow from that argument, I can know something of God's nature and attributes. Take a look at the first thirteen questions of Aquinas's Summa theologiae to see how this kind of theologizing is done.
Blasphemy is the worst sin, it is the sin of disconnecting, and ultimately it is the sin against yourself the turning of your eye, your soul goes from bleak to bleackest. It is the sin that says everything is fimilear to me, and so I am free to curse the at what I know with the demand for something new . And although the things that are fimilear to me is our wicked pattern of brother killing brother, Cain killing Abel have all been done, in some variation I have played them out in my being, Gollieth abuse David for only so long before he picks up the stones that spells doom for overshadow. But I don't know everything, I have yet to see and taste from such a place free. And so what is mundane to me will take the backseat, as I will learn from what is foreign to me.
@Mike96727 Friend, Origen in the second century, Augustine in the fourth century, Anselm in the 12th century, Aquinas in the 13th century all held to God's radical incomprehesibility and immateriality. "Science" hardly forced theologians to this conclusion. And the evidence for God's existence is the argument from contingency.
@badpanda84 Why would you think it's a good idea to burn a victim at the stake?!
Beautiful
@Mike96727 Well, engage the argument from contingency. In this last posting, you're just trading in prejudices and abstractions. Show me where I'm wrong in saying that a radically contingent universe requires, finally, a non-contingent ground.
@Mike96727 Well, I gave you an at least partial answer already: the God who is the Creator of heaven and earth, the one whose name is "I am," the non-contingent ground of contingency. All of these claims can be substantiated through "evidence, reason, and logic," and this God doesn't bear even the slightest resemblance to "an invisible sky wizard." So if you want to continue the conversation, please drop the sneers and let's get serious.
@Tippetarius2B Well, God isn't the victim of it, but the blasphemer is victimized by his blasphemy.
@Mike96727 You should make the creator God the center of your life. You should give yourself to the one whose very nature is to be. This is the God that the Abrahamic traditions recognize as "I am who I am." And of course, secular humanism, in the measure that it denies the relevance of God, is blasphemous. Why should you find that surprising?
@Nemesis000000
Blasphemy laws existed (and exist still) in non-Catholic and non-Christian countries as well.
Free speech is important, but offending people with malicious intentions is not free speech. There is a big difference between criticizing something and mocking or offending it.
I haven't seen that add yet here in Aust, but to me it shows just how äggressive" the attacks on our church are becoming. How do we best shine our light in this "darkness"? I'd like to hear your thoughts on that if you can Father. Love your work. keep it up.
When Dante wrote the Divine Comedy, why did he place thieves and flatterers in lower circles of Hell than blasphemers? Is it simply because the latter are fraudulent whereas blasphemers are open about their sins?
@Evidentz07 Blasphemy doesn't necessarily have to be an "attack" - it can simply be treating lightly or irreverently something which is sacred and worthy of respect.
How would you react if you heard someone talking in crude terms about your father, mother, sister, brother, child or friend?
@MrElyBlack Singing Agnus Dei qui tollis peccata mundi, while carrying in a soccer ball in a monstrance does not strike you as indecent? Depicting a man kneeling in the attitude of a communicant and receiving a slice of pizza doesn't strike you as disrespectful of Catholics? Come on, man!
@wordonfirevideo
"I can know that God exists"
-You know that God exists. How? Why can't I? If the answer is I lack of faith, then no.
Give my regards to Fr. Barron, he sounds very realistic. His words are astounding even though it is only according to his belief.
It should not exist such a word as blasphemy. It is just a weapon created in order to try to oppress, arrest, kill and get the goods of other innocent people.
@@GaoDaHoi I wouldn't go as far to put him on the same level with the fundamentalists. But at least, those guys are honest. They speak up their mind and they require death or long term imprisonment for the so called blasphemers. This guy is just dripping poison on youtube.
@StuChannel3 You know, man, you might try dropping the sneering attitude... God has no need of our worship, for he is utterly perfect apart from the world. But worshipping God benefits us, for it aligns us to the infinite good. And take a good look at John 3:16; it would clear up a lot of your confusion about God's motives.
@ReadLearnandBecome You're psychologizing things too much. I'm not "offended" by the Hyundai ad; I think it represents something that is objectively wrong.
Your excellency,
I know what you mean. Just the other day. One of my friends at work deliberately said Jesus’s name in a disrespectful way. How did I feel? I was deeply appalled and disturbed. I was going to say something but instead I kept quiet.
I meant to say "BE a better person." Because he does.
@Mrmentalmadness123 What I know from the argument from contingency is that the ultimate cause of the universe must be radically non-contingent and hence cannot possibly be simply "nature" or "matter" or "evolution," all of which are obviously changeable and contingent. I don't hate evidence; I've offered you evidence in the form of a metaphysical demonstration. But it does seem clear to me that you hate the word "God." Don't use it then. Speak of a non-contingent cause.
@Evidentz07 I think you are right about how Christians ought to be able to take offenses with a bit of a "turn the other cheek" attitude. I will also say that a Catholic or other Christian who believes in the Real Presence would view the Hyundai ad in particular to be a real blow against Christ Himself, and we ought to cry out against that. Of course, I understand that you do come from a different kind of Christian tradition than I, a Catholic, do, so I can't and won't fault your point of view.
@sensengine That's too neat. Your principle would allow people to do and say absolutely anything against religion. And if religious people object, they have "hang-ups" or their faith is weak. Come on. If someone is burning an American flag, I should be permitted to object and not be accused of having a fragile patriotism.
@WayOfTheMaster454 The love of Christ just resonates from you.
@Guy1b Concerning anti-blasphemy laws. I heard somewhere that the Pope urged NOT to set up such laws. His argument was that those laws could turn into justification for more (and increased intensity of...) violence (especially in Muslim nations).
@SwordsmanOfFaith Remember the next line was "He can't be made less" by these attacks. It's a fine line.
You're the best.
Many people saying "Oh my God." is Using the Lord's name in vain.
But I would argue that "God is not God's name".
For example, a a Jehovah's witness criticized how the rest of Christendom impersonally refers to the almighty as "God."
I replied by pointing out how she wouldn't call her mother or father by their first name, and how much more that WOULD be the case for our heavenly father.
In spite of all the criticism against Christianity and those jerks who defend Muslims, what you just mentioned shows that we are the civilised and tolerant not the Muslims, who get so much sympathy nowadays.
Father you said humans cannot injure God but I recall that in many private revelations there are it is often said that God is very offended by man and so it is not without importance what we do. Christ suffers through people rejecting Him and those ofending Him. It is human emotion and Jesus being also human has the same emotions like we do. This injustice demands punishment. I am also sorry for other people make fun or sneer from God.I dont know how to approach it so that my conscience is pure
No - Dylan did not mention it on your segment - He was on the show 60 Minutes
and in his interview he said he sold his soul to the devil. View his interview on You Tube - I agree with your stance on the abuse of blasphemy that it has been out of control and needs to be addressed by the religious community.
I think that type of humor has also been aimed at our Presidents and government. It's tearing apart the respect for the Office or Position not just the person.
@littlemary86 As Father Barron points out in the video, there probably isn't much mere mortals can do to hurt God, at least I wouldn't think there would be. But there is a lot that mortals can do to hurt each other. I would think it would be more important to worry about crimes according to the severity that they hurt the victim. Therefore I would think we should all worry more about things we do to each other than about things people do or say of God. That's just my wild speculation, though.
@AgainstZombies No way! The blasphemer is a victim.
How can we injure an all-powerful god?
@misterzonker2584 "the very idea of blaspemy doesn't allow for [dissent]"
That's like saying that the rudeness doesn't allow for the idea of speaking. You're free to speak, but if you do, don't be surprised if sometimes people tell you that you're being rude.
"We owe 'God' highest thanks and praise." Why?
As Creator, God has created all that we have and most especially because He sent His Son to suffer and die for us to save us from sin and death.
@Nemesis000000, no blasphemy is an attempt to denigrate God. At most, church members improperly labeled acts or speech as blasphemy or improperly punished actual blasphemous deeds.
You owe God a certain amount of respect.
Can say that I found myself in a blasphemous period (roughly three years) when I absolutely should have known better. Did I do harm to My God...no doubt!!! Have been to confession where priests absolved my sins but I did experience their struggle!!! Never heard the claim that blasphemy is worse than murder!!! Ugh!!!!
@misterzonker2584 So unless something is enforced by law you regard it as only academic?
I agree with Aquinas though, it doesn't make logical sense if God is injured by what we do in the sense the way humans themselves are injured.
@9921yourwong Depends. It could be an attack on both.
Your excellency,
I know what you’re saying about blasphemy. It’s outrageous, hurtful and horrible. This past May, I was working with a work employee and she was having a bad day and said Jesus’s name in a bad and disrespectful way. How did I feel? I was deeply appalled 😦 and upset. I was going to say something to her,
“Annette,
I’m very appalled by what you just said. Saying Jesus’s name in a bad way and it offends me a lot.” But I didn’t really. Because if I really said that, she would’ve been angry with me. Obviously some people have no moral decency or respect for God.
Jesus was not man alone. That is the point of that bit in Scripture.
Bob Dylan is now not a simple adhering sheep 1997: " Here's the thing with me and the religious thing. This is the flat-out truth: I find the religiosity and philosophy in the music. I don't find it anywhere else. Songs like "Let Me Rest on a Peaceful Mountain" or "I Saw the Light"-that's my religion. I don't adhere to rabbis, preachers, evangelists, all of that. I've learned more from the songs than I've learned from any of this kind of entity. The songs are my lexicon. I believe the songs."
@theclarinet1234 Sigh... More scientism. Friend, I think the world of the sciences, but they are not in a desperate zero-sum game with religion. That's the modernist myth that I'm urging you to leave behind. "God" is the answer to a question that the sciences simply can't ask. As I've tried to explain over and again, God in principle could not be one cause among many, who simply fills in a gap in an inadequate scientific account.
The Word of God gives good example of Blasphemy
Matthew 9:2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.
Matthew 9:3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This [man] blasphemeth
Jesus has power to forgive sin. No man can forgive Sin
But the opposite of love is not hate, it is neutrality, indifference.
@MrElyBlack
Yes and people have the right to protest and point out why Huynday's commercial is offensive to them.
Hyunday had the sensibility to pull the commercial afterwards.
It's a matter of respect of others. You are complicating the matter beyond the need.
Also just because a discrmination is accepted (like against catholics) it does not mean it is correct,
@Nemesis000000 I'm sure the term has been used to stifle dissent at times, but you appear to apply that this is what it has always been used for, which I would say is unfair. Sometimes it has been used to describe, well, blasphemy.
You only have to look to the years before the Church had any real earthly power (both NT and writings for the first couple of centuries) to show that e.g. 1 Timothy 1:13, 20; 2 Peter 2:12, Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, ...
I really enjoy your videos.
I am curious... Why would you, as a Bishop, frown on anti-blasphemy laws?
John Cali there are some things that while morally are wrong and violate the natural law, however would cause civil unrest. st Thomas Aquinas writes about it very clearly
@jax668 Perhaps you could at least learn to spell is name right.
On the week of January 16th of this year and during August of last year there were very loud trumpet and groaning sounds heard around the world in the early morning. Many believe this is the trumpet sounds from the angels signifying a warning that the end of the world is near. Do you want to comment on what happened from a biblical standpoint? You Tube Trumpet Sounds From Around The Earth.
@VerlTheSkeptic What about God being the victim of blasphemy?
Free speech is most important. Blasphemy is an old fashioned label designed to stifle dissent in a time when the Church was an authoritarian political power.
I sometimes hear people curse God even though from their perspective of their understanding of God they might not be aware of the injury they inflict. I prefer to believe they don't intentionally do it and that there is still hope for their salvation. My reaction to hearing blasphemy is that I immediately feel injured myself. If I hear it on TV Radio or internet I immediately must turn it off even if I was interested in what was being discussed. If it is something a loved one spews out unintentionally I usually correct them and ask God's mercy for them.If it's a conversation I am not involved in and or I hear it out of reach I just say a quick Lord have mercy on us to myself.As part of the Church when one of us blasphemes , we are all responsible for reparation. ,
Depends on subjectivity of suffering, or other hearing others suffer?
Patrick Foley I
@Entropy3ko You've caught me. I knew you would once I said that. I guess the difference is 1) my revulsion is rational and based on moral philosophy accepted by all rational human beings, not dictated by an archaic barbaric philosophy of hate, and 2) I wouldn't wish anyone to kill the person, just punch them out.
But I cannot escape the conundrum you've put me in entirely. Nothing in life is cut and dry though, so I can live with it.
The only denigration that takes place is that of the belief that is being attacked not the society as a whole.
Fr. Barron, Im a little confused. You expressed in this video how God cannot possibly be hurt, or offended by us in any way. I agree with this. But contemplating on things such as St. Faustina's diary, where she distinctly conveys Gods ache and offense as a result of our sinfulness, distrust, ect..I am trying to understand by comparison and contrast the union of these two statements. Can you maybe please help me out by clarifying the distinction?
@Stitchman3875 Agreed. I've heard OGjimbos "arguments" from dozens of other atheists. It must be all coming from the "new atheist's" playbook.
Слава Ісусу Христу! Glory to Jesus Christ!
Hello there, I just heard the part with "God can't be injured by creatures". Now I've got a question, how could he die on the cross, then?
@iamericwhite Why can't an atheist and a Christian have a beer together? One of my favorite Christian apologists (C.S. Lewis) was known for "no holds barred" debates about the faith with a specific atheist (the name escapes me right now). Afterwards, both of them were seen having a pint together and laughing up a storm. They were the bet of friends outside of those debates.
As for FB's thought. Anyone who is that insightful can apply it to other things, not just the faith.
@onethrown Yes, but i think this cannot be a good excuse to blaspheme God anyway. We must remember that hurting our neighbour is an offese to God too.
Perhaps the difference between a joke and blasphemy is similar to the difference between a question and an accusation?
One reason why I DVR everything & don't watch ads - they have been offensive for years, highly suggestive of se/x etc. I don't think a non Christian can commit blasphemy in the true sense but the ad is offensive & dispectful... what you didn't say is what to do about this. Maybe not anti blasphemy laws but laws protecting the dignity of all religions & drawing a line here. Or maybe Catholics boycotting shows using such ads (Catholic league does this).
@metalnecromancer You're right. Political correctness is just a new age liberal version of an old idea, and I'm against that as well.
Isn’t hate an emotional state?
@misterzonker2584 ...and is that what you think he was saying?
I'm amazed how often this Genetic Fallacy gets repeated by Clarinet below. Citing the possible origins of religious belief no more disproves than proves the existence of God.
One could make the equally fallacious argument that because the capacitiy for religious belief is so hard-wired into the earliest human conditions, God therefore must exist, having assured our capacity to believe the supernatural in order to survive.
Repeating this fallacy will never make it more valid.
I owe my parents and not some theory.