Christianity and its Tragic History with Blasphemy Laws

 I have long been a vocal opponent of the Islamic Blasphemy Laws that pervade in nations like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, one must remember that many faiths around the world have had a dark past with this issue, and Christianity is no exception.  For many years I read many cases in which Church leaders in Europe put thousands of accused blasphemers, Christian and non-Christian alike, to death.

  
Tragically, many of those executed never even said anything against the Christian faith.  Quite the contrary, they were trying to uphold its true teachings and were challenging corrupt church leaders who distorted the teachings of Jesus for their own selfish gain.  Such individuals include William Tyndale, who was martyred for translating the Bible to English.  Jan Hus, who was burned at that stake in 1415 for opposing the practice of churches selling indulgences (A corrupt practice in which people paid clergy to grant them absolution for their sins, an act that went directly against the teachings of Christ).  

Over time, Christians, both laymen & clergy, had to confront this practice and realized that persecuting and executing people for blasphemy was both un-Christian and inhumane.  In truth, Jesus himself condemned this heinous practice, and even warned in Matthew 7:21-23 that there will be many who will come and do great evil while professing that they were doing this evil in His Name.  On the day of their Judgement, Jesus would turn them away and tell them "I never knew you.  Depart from Me you workers of lawlessness!"  It took many years for the churches to realize that what these blasphemy laws were not being done in service of the Lord, but in service of the darkness.  Even if it turns out that people are indeed preaching things that are against what Jesus taught, we must not respond with with hate and violence.  We must respond with Love.  That is the way of Christ, for Christ is Love.  

For those Islamic nations that are continuing to enforce these Blasphemy Laws, they must take a hard look at their scriptures and their moral consciousness and determine if these heinous laws line up to the teachings of their faith.  If they do not, then these laws must be abandoned, but if they do, then their faith must be challenged, because forced faith, like forced love, is false.  

Sources

Extreme Devotion: Daily Devotional Stories of Ancient to Modern-Day Believers Who Sacrificed Everything for Christ.  United States: VOM Books, 2015.


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