On Blasphemy: A wrong, a right, or both, or neither?

Within the Abrahamic faiths, blasphemy is regarded as one of the gravest sins, since it directly offends God, whether by insulting the divine name, denying sacred truths, or mocking holy figures. From this standpoint, blasphemy is classified as a particular kind of sin. From a Western Left-Hand Path perspective, however, such 'sins' can be reinterpreted and transformed, turning what is called poison into a personal elixir of power.


SEVEN LIFE-GIVING SINS 0f The WESTERN LEFT HAND PATH

1. Pride:
Pride is a virtue, promoting self-esteem and self-worth. Pride motivates individuals to achieve greatness and a sense of achievement in their accomplishments.

2. Envy: Envy can be a motivating force, driving people to improve themselves and attain their desires. Envy encourages ambition and the pursuit of personal goals.

3. Gluttony: Gluttony is a natural indulgence. Enjoying life’s pleasures without guilt is encouraged, as long as it does not harm oneself or others.

4. Lust: Lust is a natural human desire. Embracing one's sexual desires and seeking consensual pleasure without shame is advocated.

5. Anger: Anger, when controlled and directed, can be a powerful force for change and self-assertion. It helps individuals stand up for themselves and protect personal boundaries.

6. Greed: Greed is a driving force for personal success and prosperity. It encourages individuals to strive for material wealth and improve their circumstances.

7. Sloth: Sloth is the avoidance of unnecessary labor. Efficiency and finding easier, more effective ways to accomplish tasks are advocated over unproductive effort.
 
From a Western Left-Hand Path perspective, however, such 'sins' can be reinterpreted and transformed, turning what is called poison into a personal elixir of power.

SEVEN LIFE-GIVING SINS 0f The WESTERN LEFT HAND PATH
Pride / Envy / Gluttony / Lust / Anger / Greed / Sloth
I think this doesn't really do justice to the context of the 'seven deadly sins'.

Each 'sin' designates a negative quality, an 'extreme', an unbalance or disorder in what the Greeks called 'the passions' but which are better understood as the emotional complex. They are negative because they are indicators of a lack of self-understanding or self-insight; a lack of self-discipline or self-determination.

The positive qualities – insight and understanding, discipline and determination, are a necessary prerequisite of any path, Left or Right.

Pride (the product of narcissism) is not a sense of self-worth but an over-estimation of one's worth.
The opposite and equally negative extreme is servility, a sense of inadequacy – an under-estimation of one's worth.

I can go through each in turn, if you want, but I think I've made the point.
 
One thing to consider is in this current age is that 'God' is very much a matter of subjective opinion, and doesn't really carry anywhere near the weight and importance as it did in other times, in other mindsets – then such things really mattered, whereas today they largely carry a minimal importance.

One could say the idea of the self and personal autonomy has emerged as pre-eminent, and anything seen limiting those (assumed but actually imaginary) rights and freedoms are considered blasphemy ...
I, being a product of my time (or possibly would have been ahead of my time had I lived earlier - if I had been allowed to learn to read and write) - I, a product of this time, I say -- IT IS ABOUT TIME!
(by which I mean it is about time we think this way! WAAAYYY overdue!!)
 
SEVEN LIFE-GIVING SINS 0f The WESTERN LEFT HAND PATH
I can go through each in turn, if you want, but I think I've made the point.
Why not? For further clarification.
I think there's a lot to be said for @Alif Balaam Yashin 's list
It would make sense that the way one approaches those 7 concepts could be healthy or unhealthy
The way they are presented in @Alif Balaam Yashin 's list suggest a healthy approach, rather than an acceptance of those concepts being inherently sinful/evil/wrong/bad
But maybe there is more to be said from the traditional/ RHP POV?
 
Why not? For further clarification.
I think there's a lot to be said for @Alif Balaam Yashin 's list
It would make sense that the way one approaches those 7 concepts could be healthy or unhealthy
The way they are presented in @Alif Balaam Yashin 's list suggest a healthy approach, rather than an acceptance of those concepts being inherently sinful/evil/wrong/bad
But maybe there is more to be said from the traditional/ RHP POV?
You’ve made a very keen observation.

Western Left-Hand Path philosophy relies heavily on the act of readjusting one’s perspective, shifting the framework through which reality is interpreted. This is a double-edged practice. On one hand, such perspective-shifting can devolve into self-deception or delusional thinking, where one becomes lost in fantasies divorced from reality, ultimately weakening the self. On the other hand, when approached with discipline and clarity, this same act of readjustment becomes a tool of empowerment. It enables the adherent to reframe obstacles as opportunities, transforming limitations into sources of strength, and cultivating an inner worldview that fosters autonomy, creativity, and self-empowerment. The key distinction lies in whether the perspective shift serves to obscure truth or to reshape truth into something personally advantageous.
 
I tend to think that the terms defined and explained as 'sins' or 'vices' refer to those habits of thought which have a negative effect upon a person attempting any path, be it Left or Right or the Middle Way – the cardinal vices, deadly sins, etc., are all about the loss of self-control.

1. Pride: Pride is a virtue, promoting self-esteem and self-worth. Pride motivates individuals to achieve greatness and a sense of achievement in their accomplishments.
This is the virtue of pride. This is not the vice. As such, the RHP or whoever has no issue with the above, but that's not addressing the negative or deleterious aspect.

2. Envy: Envy can be a motivating force ...
Not really. Inspiration can be a motivating force. Envy refers to that which gives rise to sadness or anger at another's good fortune, and the desire to see them fail. As such it's counter-productive, a 'sour grapes' attitude, a disdain of another's achievement, or dismissing it as worthless because one failed to attain it.

3. Gluttony: Gluttony is a natural indulgence...
Gluttony is an over-indulgence that is deleterious to one's health – an inability to control one's appetites.

4. Lust: Lust is a natural human desire. Embracing one's sexual desires and seeking consensual pleasure without shame is advocated.
Same as Gluttony.

5. Anger: Anger, when controlled and directed ...
Which is termed righteous anger, or valid, or justifiable, etc. Again, the definition applies to the positive element, it doesn't address the negative.

6. Greed: Greed is a driving force for personal success and prosperity. It encourages individuals to strive for material wealth and improve their circumstances.
Nope ... Greed is a desire for more, for its own sake, for the sake of possession and towards no good end.

7. Sloth: Sloth is the avoidance of unnecessary labor.
Nope. Avoidance of labour altogether.
 
On one hand, such perspective-shifting can devolve into self-deception or delusional thinking, where one becomes lost in fantasies divorced from reality, ultimately weakening the self.
And this gives rise to the vices.

On the other hand, when approached with discipline and clarity, this same act of readjustment becomes a tool of empowerment.
The virtues.

What habits of mind, then, are detrimental to the pursuit of the LHP?
 
What habits of mind, then, are detrimental to the pursuit of the LHP?
1. Stupidity. Lack of critical thought leads to slavery.
2. Ignorance. Willful blindness leads to stagnation.
3. Cowardice. Fear of breaking taboos or standing alone.
4. Servility. Kneeling before false authority, tradition, or herd opinion.
5. Complacency. Satisfaction with mediocrity, refusal to evolve.
6. Self-deception. Mistaking fantasy for mastery, belief for power.
7. Guilt. Clinging to inherited morality that chains the Will.
8. Laziness. Without practice and transformation.
 
A reasonable list. You'd have to clarify a couple of points, but all in all, not bad.

There's a list of the Seven Capital Sins, the Virtues as the Middle Way, and the opposite extremes as another set of Sins.

Imbalance
Balance
Imbalance
Pride
Humility​
Self-loathing
Greed/Avarice
Generosity​
Wastefulness
Lust
Continence​
Prudishness
Anger
Patience​
Servility
Gluttony
Temperance​
Deficiency
Envy
Philocalia​
Pusillanimity / Cowardice / Timidity
Sloth or Acedia
Diligence​
Workaholism

As you can see, there are correspondences.
 
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A reasonable list. You'd have to clarify a couple of points, but all in all, not bad.

There's a list of the Seven Capital Sins, the Virtues as the Middle Way, and the opposite extremes as another set of Sins.

Imbalance
Balance
Imbalance
Pride
Humility​
Self-loathing
Greed/Avarice
Generosity​
Wastefulness
Lust
Continence​
Prudishness
Anger
Patience​
Servility
Gluttony
Temperance​
Deficiency
Envy
Philocalia​
Pusillanimity / Cowardice / Timidity
Sloth or Acedia
Diligence​
Workaholism

As you can see, there are correspondences.
I do not think I understand the Envy line. I do not see how Timidity and Envy share any relationship.
Belligerence, Courage, Timidity/Cowardice, maybe --- would make a good example of imbalance-balance-imbalance.
But that doesn't line up with Envy
Envy/---/Acceptance/---Self-effacement, maybe?
 
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I do not think I understand the Envy line. I do not see how Timidity and Envy share any relationship.
I got this from a Fathers of Mercy website.

In their view, Envy is related ('a second cousin') to Pride, and Cowardice/Timidity is thus related ('second cousin' again) to Self-loathing.

By that taken 'Brotherly Love', which I have called philocalia, relates to Humility.
 
I got this from a Fathers of Mercy website.

In their view, Envy is related ('a second cousin') to Pride, and Cowardice/Timidity is thus related ('second cousin' again) to Self-loathing.

By that taken 'Brotherly Love', which I have called philocalia, relates to Humility.
I think the connection is a huge stretch, not really logical at all.
 
I think the connection is a huge stretch, not really logical at all.
Really? It makes sense to me ...

Either way, I'm not particularly wedded to it.

My point was rather the LHP 'life-giving sins' are not validations of the sins, as defined, but rather statements of the virtues, I just saw it as LHP hyperbole.
 
I got this from a Fathers of Mercy website.

In their view, Envy is related ('a second cousin') to Pride, and Cowardice/Timidity is thus related ('second cousin' again) to Self-loathing.

By that taken 'Brotherly Love', which I have called philocalia, relates to Humility.
Pride can become a virtue if transmuted into self-mastery, dignity, and self-deification. While Envy reveals where your deepest desires or perceived lacks are hiding, it's a mirror showing you what you secretly crave to manifest within yourself.. By admitting envy, you strip it of its corrosive secrecy and instead use it consciously as a motivator.
 
We're just walking round in circles now.

I could take your seven negatives, and show them as positives – the acknowledgement of one's stupidity leads to understanding; the realisation of ignorance leads to the quest for insight and understanding; by owning one's cowardice one develops courage ... and so on ...
 

Dreadful. This young man should have been allowed to live out his life. NO MATTER WHAT HE SAID.
Surely, nobody here is advocating for this??
I think I am the one who brought the word blasphemy into discussion.

I have read the accusations that have been brought forward against Aikenhead and I fully agree that what he uttered was blasphemy. He lacked respect not only to God, but also towards all prophets he knew and those who trusted them. To me, this is repulsive and disgusting. In my belief, he has committed a major sin.

The other thing is whether it is right to kill him.
According to Sunni Sharia, a person who committed kufr (which is broader, but includes blasphemy) should be given a period of 3 days to revoke and repent, else he would be put to death.

I personally think that 3 days are not enough for someone who is that much deluded. He may say something with his lips but his hatred remains.

I just read a word that has been attributed to Jesus by a great Muslim scholar:

"We should not marvel on how those are punished who are punished, but we should marvel at how those are saved who are saved"
 
We're just walking round in circles now.

I could take your seven negatives, and show them as positives – the acknowledgement of one's stupidity leads to understanding; the realisation of ignorance leads to the quest for insight and understanding; by owning one's cowardice one develops courage ... and so on ...
Who are you addressing?
 
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