Saturday, October 01, 2011

Goddammit. I forgot about Blasphemy Day.

Ah, well. Happy belated. And to celebrate, let's first have a painting by Dana Ellyn (because a bomb in a turban is sooo 2006):

'Jesus Does His Nails,' by Dana EllynAbove: Jesus Does His Nails, by Dana Ellyn
(embiggen)


And here, via SkepticDoc, is a useful five-minute reminder from Skepchick, aka Rebecca Watson:

(alt. video link)

The full text of Robert G. Ingersoll's closing argument in the trial of Charles B. Reynolds for blasphemy, as mentioned by Rebecca in the video, is available with some scrolling at that link. Rebecca also refers us to the Center For Inquiry's page on Blasphemy Day.

I was led to Dana Ellyn's site by an article in USA Today after seeing what PZ Myers had to say:

PZ Myers: I suppose you could all celebrate Blasphemy Day, but it’s not such a big deal for me. As far as I’m concerned, every day is Blasphemy Day.

Dana Ellyn has more works on this theme. Clickable thumbnails for the full collection are at the bottom of the page. Enjoy. I did.

[Added] You can also read four NYT articles from the time of the trial, published on 28 October 1886, 13 November 1886, 20 May 1887, and 21 May 1887, respectively. Note also the final paragraph from an article that ran a century later, reflecting on the event:

The New Jersey statute forbidding ''cursing, scoffing at or denying the existence of God or Jesus'' remained on the books until 1979. A criminal code revision finally made it legal to be as open about doubting the Lord as others are about believing in Him.

[Added2] Dana Ellyn graces us with a visit in Comments.

3 comments:

danaellyn said...

Thanks so much for using my painting for the belated Blasphemy Day wishes! And, many thanks for introducing your blog readers to my work - much appreciated!!

The painting you posted (Jesus Does His Nails) is sold but if anyone is interested in seeing a similar piece, I still have this momental work:
"Making Up Jesus"
http://www.danaellyn.com/10_09/jesus.jpg

Thanks again!
Best,
Dana Ellyn
www.danaellyn.com

bjkeefe said...

Hey! Thanks for noticing, Dana, and thanks for stopping by.

Here's the above URL, linkified for others' clicking convenience: "Making Up Jesus." Hope it sells quick. I could use the 15% commission.

;)

bjkeefe said...

But seriously, prospective customers should see Dana's "Best of" page and scroll down to the "Large-scale paintings" section.

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