Blasphemy is dead Long live blasphemy | spiked

England’s dusty, archaic and unpopular blasphemy laws look set to be abolished, but Ofcom and others are keeping their censorious spirit alive.

I think Brenden O’Neill has his wires crossed. Companies go to great lengths to protect their brands, challenging what sometimes appear to be only small infringements of the use of their precious “brand properties”. Logos, straplines, positioning statements etc. Just think of the businesses challenged for using the “R Us” gimmick. When these huge conglomerates win their case and force offenders to change the signs on the side of their van or worse rebrand their entire business no one cries “CENSORSHIP” or says that it’s an affront to free speech.
And yet, when Christians protest about the misuse of a phrase or series of words that have been hijacked by the media world you would think the devil himself had stepped up to witness box and won the day. The opposite is of course true. We have ceased the worship of God preferring to honour mammon.
If the phrase “Thy will be done” had not appeared in The Lord’s Prayer the offending splash for GHD Hair Straighteners would have been pointless. If Christ had never been crucified on a cross the symbol in the advert would have been meaningless. The ASA was right to uphold the complaint from the church.

Also the Blasphemy Law was not written by the finger of God on tablets of stone to protect God. It is there to protect us from the awful consequences of not respecting the God who made us. The House of Lords may be abolishing the offence as it stands in British Law, but the consequences of ignoring it remain the same. The ten commandments will not be affected by this change in legislation. Long live, not only the warning not to blaspheme, but the laws about loving God and loving your neighbour.