Monday, April 13, 2015

The perfect test for “blasphemy”

A Saudi blogger has already suffered fifty lashes for "blasphemy" by asking for more discussion of religion in Saudi Arabia.  But can his accusers really know that he has committed "blasphemy" against Allah or that he is only disturbing their world view?

I propose the following test of blasphemy.

If a person is accused of blasphemy, he or she should be staked out just after sundown on a clear night in a field that is at least one hundred feet from any structure.  If the person has actually insulted Allah, then Allah will send a lightning bolt to kill or injure the "blasphemer".  After all, did not God send down fire to light Elijah's water-soaked offering?

If the accused is not harmed by a lightning bolt from Allah, then the accuser should undergo the following.  The accuser should be tied to a ten-meter metal pole on the night of prolonged thunderstorms.  If the accuser is killed during the night, then we can assume that it is Allah's will.  If the accuser survives the night, then the accused and the accuser should ask forgiveness of each other.

And forgiveness is the basic tenet of all religions, irregardless of how the "believers" ignore this bedrock principle.