The Curmudgeon

YOU'LL COME FOR THE CURSES. YOU'LL STAY FOR THE MUDGEONRY.

Friday, December 07, 2007

Tough on Blasphemy, Tough on the Causes of Blasphemy

The National Secular Society reports that the crusaders at Christian Voice have failed in their bid to prosecute the BBC for showing Jerry Springer - The Opera. The chief Christian Vocaliser, Stephen Green, claimed that "scenes depicting Christ wearing a nappy and swearing had 'clearly crossed the blasphemy threshold'"; apparently nappies aren't mean or swaddling enough, while the idea of a carpenter using curse-words is obviously off-beam. The judges concluded that the show "could not be considered as blasphemous as it was not aimed at Christianity but was a parody of the chat show genre"; that is to say, it was not aimed at the established church of the United Kingdom, but at that of the United States. They did also say that "the case raised important legal issues that were suitable to go before the House of Lords", but refused Green permission to appeal, which means that the law lords themselves have to decide whether this particular comedy can be sustained for another episode. The legal representative for Christian Voice said that the judgement is "tantamount to saying that blasphemy is of little, if any, relevance in today's society. But, as far as the Government and Parliament are concerned, blasphemy is still an offence", which sums up the situation admirably. Of course, the Government's proposals to reform the House of Lords (remember those?) will solve the problem by ensuring adequate representation for Catholics, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, Wiccans and Jedi Knights along with the bishops' bench; doubtless Christian Voice will, should it prove necessary, possess its collective soul in patience until that happy day.

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