Dad and I have communicated via email and I understand and appreciate the wisdom of his stance (which is probably fairly distant from what you deem it).

I submit that this blog consistently abuses God’s Word.

That’s simply not true. Show me one place (much less many) where God’s word is abused.

Does this blog uplift?

Definitely! My spirits have been uplifted many a times by this blog. Furthermore, because it puts these very important Biblical issues in the form of humor, it’s easier for us to see some of these problems in our lives. It’s a non-threatening way to get us to think. (Unless, we are insecure in who we are and easily threatened.) It’s uplifting for me because it causes me to think about what God would have me to do and how God would have me to live my life.

Does it honor God? Does it treat God’s Word as sacred? No.

Yes, it does both of those. What it doesn’t treat as sacred is those who misuse God’s word.

Unfortunately, conservative Christendom has come to point that they reflexively think of stiff and starchy as being holy. It’s not. They think of political/Mennonite-al/religious correctness as being honorable to God. It’s not. The Pharisees were the stiff, starchy, politically correct ones that Jesus had very strong words for. Check out my graduation thesis from SMBI, Mennonites: the 21st century Jews, for more on this whole topic.

All you’re doing is proving the writer of this post’s point.

Do you consider swearing using God’s name in vain as blasphemy? I do, and I consider using His Word in vain (as this blog does) equal to taking God’s name in vain.

How does it take it in vain?

It makes valid hermeneutical points with the actual God’s Word.

It uses King James English in some of its writing. (Perhaps you are confusing King James English with the Holy Scriptures because that is the archaic and inaccurate translation we have used for so long?)

If you don’t define anything short of cursing God as blasphemy, then feel free to view this blog as non-blasphemous. I don’t feel that arguing the point any further will do any good.

This is not a matter of definitions, though I have shown Biblically that this blog is not blasphemous as you originally charged. I have also shown that what this blog offends is not God or His Word, what it offends is your starchy outlook on life and your King James English.

I leave you with one consideration… Imagine, if you can, being an unbeliever and stumbling upon this website. What would it do to your image of the Christian God, that a professed Christian could twist the Sacred Scriptures so lightly and make a joke of them?

Something I’ve found in dealing with unbelievers is that I often project my own starchy (and trust me, I’m plenty starchy myself; I’m just willing to laugh at my starchiness) worldview on them. But the truth is, they don’t have a starchy worldview. They often have a much more clear perspective of what is making fun of nonsensical practices of people and what is making fun of God.

Trust me, I’m a staunch Beachy and love my church a lot! I haven’t found a better one yet and I’ve been around. But we need to loosen up, be able to laugh at ourselves, not take this humor personally, and honestly ask: Why does this offend us? Is it because it’s offending God? Or is it because it’s making me uncomfortable about how I live my life?

I just discovered your website this past Sunday at lunchtime as I heard my 12 year old daughter talking about it. I’d be interested in knowing who you are and get to know you better. Just for the record, we are a Christian family of 7 that attend a Beachy church in Kansas and although there are some practices that we have that are cultural, I don’t think anyone has found the “perfect church” and we appreciate our fellow believers and share similar values.

I would simply ask whether you have considered whether using sarcastic humor is the best use of your writing talents? Have you considered what good might be accomplished if the time you spent here would be channeled in ways that would encourage and build up the body of Christ rather than tear down one particular branch of the church?

My mind was drawn to Philippians 4 verses 4 -9 and I quote it in the Message Version of God’s Word, The Bible.

4 -5 Celebrate God all day, every day. I mean, revel in him! Make it as clear as you can to all you meet that you’re on their side, working with them and not against them. Help them see that the Master is about to arrive. He could show up any minute!

6 -7 Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.

8 -9 Summing it all up, friends, I’d say you’ll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.

I especially invite you to consider verses 8 – 9.

Sincerely,
A Brother in Christ
Marvin Mast

1. impious utterance or action concerning God or sacred things.
2. Judaism.
a. an act of cursing or reviling God.
b. pronunciation of the Tetragrammaton (YHVH) in the original, now forbidden manner instead of using a substitute pronunciation such as Adonai.
3. Theology. the crime of assuming to oneself the rights or qualities of God.
4. irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless, etc.: He uttered blasphemies against life itself.

Strong’s Greek Lexicon:

From G989; vilification (especially against God): – blasphemy, evil speaking, railing.

I would ask you, where on this blog has God been vilified?

Easton’s Bible Dictionary:

In the sense of speaking evil of God this word is found in Psa_74:18; Isa_52:5; Rom_2:24; Rev_13:1, Rev_13:6; Rev_16:9, Rev_16:11, Rev_16:21. It denotes also any kind of calumny, or evil-speaking, or abuse (1Ki_21:10; Act_13:45; Act_18:6, etc.). Our Lord was accused of blasphemy when he claimed to be the Son of God (Mat_26:65; compare Mat_9:3; Mar_2:7). They who deny his Messiahship blaspheme Jesus (Luk_22:65; Joh_10:36).

When was evil spoken of God? When was God abused?

Smith’s Bible Dictionary:

Blasphemy. In its technical English sense, blasphemy signifies the speaking evil of God and, in this sense, it is found Psa_74:18; Isa_52:5; Rom_2:24, etc.

But, according to its derivation, it may mean any species of calumny and abuse: See 1Ki_21:10; Act_18:6; Jud_1:9, etc.

Blasphemy was punished by stoning, which was inflicted on the son of Shelomith. Lev_24:11.

On this charge, both our Lord and St. Stephen were condemned to death, by the Jews.

[The Unforgivable Sin!] The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, Mat_12:32; Mar_3:28, consisted in attributing to the power of Satan, those unquestionable miracles which Jesus performed by “the finger of God,” and the power of the Holy Spirit.

It is plainly such a state of wilful, determined opposition to God and the Holy Spirit, that no efforts will avail to lead to repentance. Among the Jews, it was a sin against God, answering to treason, in our times.

Where in this blog is God spoken evil of? Where has God been abused?

Here’s an example of blasphemy in the Bible:

The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name and cursed. So they brought him to Moses. (Now his mother’s name was Shelomith, the daughter of Dibri, of the tribe of Dan.)
(Leviticus 24:11 NASB)

Does that sound like what this blog is? Blaspheming the name of God and cursing?

When somebody blasphemes, there is no need for anyone to make a case that that person blasphemed. It’s readily evident.

There are only two instances in the Bible (that I could find) of people accusing someone of committing blasphemy. The first was in 1 Kings 21:10 where Jezebel brought false witnesses against Naboth. The second were the Pharisees accusing Jesus and Stephen.