On Blaspheming Others' Gods

I was watching the news about the shooting in the Dallas suburb where I used to live, and I wrinkled my nose when I heard people singing "God Bless America" in the background.I hope that does not mean Dallas Christians think God is on the side of those who blaspheme Mohammed. If so, which god are we talking about? Are we talking about the Trinity or the U.S. god, who may or may not be the three-in-one deity we worship?The apostle Paul himself did not blaspheme the goddess Artemis, even though he preached across the Roman Empire that gods made with hands are not gods at all. He still didn't outright-blaspheme the pantheon of gods, but rather acted wisely in how he taught the truth. You can read the story about that in Acts 19 starting in verse 23:At that time a great disturbance took place concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought a great deal of business to the craftsmen. He gathered these together, along with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity comes from this business. And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded and turned away a large crowd, not only in Ephesus but in practically all of the province of Asia, by saying that gods made by hands are not gods at all. There is danger not only that this business of ours will come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be regarded as nothing, and she whom all the province of Asia and the world worship will suffer the loss of her greatness.”When they heard this they became enraged and began to shout, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The city was filled with the uproar, and the crowd rushed to the theater together, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions. But when Paul wanted to enter the public assembly, the disciples would not let him. Even some of the provincial authorities who were his friends sent a message to him, urging him not to venture into the theater. So then some were shouting one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had met together. Some of the crowd concluded it was about Alexander because the Jews had pushed him to the front. Alexander, gesturing with his hand, was wanting to make a defense before the public assembly. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” for about two hours. After the city secretary quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, what person is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image that fell from heaven? So because these facts are indisputable, you must keep quiet and not do anything reckless. For you have brought these men here who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess. If then Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against someone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls; let them bring charges against one another there. But if you want anything in addition, it will have to be settled in a legal assembly. For we are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause we can give to explain this disorderly gathering.” After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly (emphasis mine).I believe in the right to free speech. And I defend others' legal right to free speech. A graduate of the school where I teach got shot in the foot defending others' rights to speak freely, and I think he did right to be there.But I believe in that right because some of my beliefs offend others. And I don't want the "offense" of the gospel to mean I can't share it. So I have to allow others to blaspheme my God if I want to speak freely about him. The same rights protect us both.That does not mean, HOWEVER, that blaspheming someone else's most dearly held beliefs is right. That does not mean we honor God by trash-talking what we consider to be false gods. There is a difference between having a legal, American, military-defended right to do something and a God-pleasing moral right to do so. People have a legal right to get drunk in the privacy of their own homes, but that does mean they should do so.The scriptures seem to teach that it's even unwise to trash-talk Satan, whom Christ has defeated. Consider Jude 1:9: "But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, 'The Lord rebuke you!'" If Michael hesitated, how much more so should mere mortals hesitate.I think for us to expect God to bless America, we need to "do unto others" They will know we are Christians not by our militancy about the rights we possess as American citizens, but by our love.