[thetallguy24]

blas·phe·my noun \ˈblas-fə-mē\ plural blas·phe·mies Definition of BLASPHEMY 1. a : the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God b : the act of claiming the attributes of deity My understanding (based of the definition of blasphemy) is that this was not blasphemous unless Catholics want to admit she is a goddess/deity. Second, a bikini doesn't make her a non-virgin anymore. She can wear that and still be pure. Third, if you have a baby, you are medically not a virgin anymore because the hymen would have broken during delivery.

[mlizzy]

My understanding (based of the definition of blasphemy) is that this was not blasphemous unless Catholics want to admit she is a goddess/deity.

Oh, hooey! When you insult the Mother of God, you ARE insulting Jesus Christ. That can't be that difficult to figure out.

[MNDude]

actually point #3 would not be accurate since the church’s teachings are “By his power as God, the Savior passed through the closed womb of the Virgin Mary as light passing through glass, as thought proceeding from intellect. He did no harm to the physical integrity of our Lady’s virginal cloister, but rather consecrated it!”

[A.A. Cunningham]

Third, if you have a baby, you are medically not a virgin anymore because the hymen would have broken during delivery.

A view not shared by Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, etc.

Medically, a woman can't conceive unless sperm migrates to the fallopian tube and fertilizes an egg. Do you reject that portion of Scripture that states that didn't happen?

[jagusafr]

Agreed, but heeeeeeere they come...

[Mrs. Don-o]

I don't think "blasphemy" was used here in a precise sense, as an insult only to the Deity uniquely and personally, but in the looser sense as an insult to a holy person, place image or thing.

For instance, that might include a rendition of Michelangelo's famous "Creation of Adam" with God reconfigured as the Flying Spaghetti Monster, OR with Adam photoshopped as Liberace or Little Black Sambo.

Or, say, a Cross covered with a condom, a crucifix in a jar of urine, a Torah scroll used as toilet paper, Daffy Duck bringing the Tables of the Law down from Mount Sinai, etc.

These are certainly offensive. So is the Mother of Our Lord Jesus Christ in a bikini. The people responsible for this are showing either an imbecile-level of cultural perception intelligence, or a f-you level of respect for religious values.

It should not be censored (in the sense of forcible suppression by the government power.) Heavens-to-Liberty, no. There should be push-back, shaming, and a bankruptcy-level boycott.

[Mrs. Don-o]

"When you call her the Mother of God, you are making her God the Father’s equal."

Not true. She was --- to use the word correctly understood by Orthodox, by Catholics, and by you --- Jesus's birthgiver. Jesus is God. He existed from all eternity; she did not. He is the Alpha and Omega. She is not. He is God, she is not. He is her creator and savior. She does not create or save herself, her Son, or anyone else.

Repeating a false explanation of Mary, mother of God as "goddess" or some such, would be either ignorance or malice. I'm always wondering which.

"I would love to see you use Scripture to show how insulting Mary equated to insulting the Lord Jesus Christ, "

I don't see how it's precisely equal, since Jesus Christ is a divine Person, and Mary is a lower order of being, a human person. However, Scripture says to "honor your father and your mother," and she who was honored by Jesus ought not to be dishonored by us. As well, nobody would even bother to dishonor Mary if it were not for her relationship to her Son. Imbecile artists don't bother to dishonor a nobody. They dishonor her precisely because it trivializes her Son.

"Ironically, Mary is also called the Queen of Heaven, which is also the name given Asherah (the Mother of the Gods) and Hera/Juno (the Mother of Gods)."

If by "ironic" you mean "happening in the opposite way to what is expected," --- which is Dictionary.com's definition of ironic --- then you are right. It is ironic --- unexpected --- that a Jewish girl from Galilee would have a title like "Queen of Heaven." It is ironic because of her total humility: she is the handmaid of the Lord.

However,in the Jewish tradition, the mother of the King --- the "Queen Mother" --- had a special position. The wife of the King was not necessarily eminent, because a king might have many wives; but he only had one mother. The customary Jewish honor to the Queen Mother is exemplified here:

1 Kings 2:19
Bathsheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a throne to be set for the king's mother; and she sat on his right hand.

I'm sure you're aware of the significance of the "right hand."

All this shows that Mary spoke well both when she said "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior," and when she said "All generations will call me blessed."

We are fulfilling that prophecy whenever we honor her by calling her Blessed Mary.

Others fulfill a different prophecy --- the prophecy which says "I will put enmity between you [the Serpent] and the Woman, between your seed and her seed."

It is always instructive -- and saddening --- to see where the enmity is coming from.

[Owl558]

“Definition of BLASPHEMY...”

You missed this part of the definition:

“irreverent behavior toward anything held sacred, priceless, etc.: He uttered blasphemies against life itself.”

But then, this meaning doesn’t fit the word games you’re trying to play.