Blasphemy has been defined as 1) denying of God what is true 2) ascribing to God what is false. This is in essence idolatry, which the Bible takes very seriously. In Exodus 20:3, God gave Moses the first commandment, "You shall have no other gods before Me."
There is a term called FALLACY OF EQUIVOCATION, which occurs when a word is used in two different contexts and is assumed to have the same meaning in both contexts, when distinct meanings ought to be preferred.
[ As a little experiment, I have ask the question "was President Clinton impeached?" to people my age or older who were very familiar with this particular piece of history. Most said "No, he served his full two terms." I reply "I realize that, but that was not my question. I asked if he was impeached" to which they give me a blank stare. To impeach means to bring an accusation against. I do not think anyone is denying that President Clinton has accusations brought against him.]
Pseudo Christians, or what some refer to as cults, often "use Christian vocabulary, but not a biblical dictionary." (Kevin Bywater). This is sometimes done intentionally, which Paul talked about in 2 Corinthians 11:12-15. However, how many people are deceived and led astray unknowingly?
This brings me to 2 Timothy 2: 23-26,
"But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will"
Because I just got a new Study Bible , I'll just go ahead and point out "able to teach" means "convict and encourage godliness". This goes hand in hand with emphasizing gentleness and patience. We are not teaching for the sake of being right, but rather to help our brothers and sisters "come to their senses".
Some (let's be honest, everyone) have questioned, why Evangelism is important if God is Sovereign? (Good news, J. I. Packer read your mind and wrote Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God)
Now I whole-heartedly believe in the Sovereignty of God, but what if he wants to use us (by showing them the truth) in order that they may have that Peace sooner than later? ["if" being the key word here, this is just my personal thought] What would this look like? How could this potentially change our world? Not by our power/strength/plan, but because God is granting them repentance and we're right there waiting to show them the scriptures - encouraging them to see the true attributes of Yahweh. (The alternative, being to allow deceitful teachers come in and teach them false attributes and therefore point them to a false god.)
"All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." 2 Corinthians 5:18-20
[ "Reconciliation" katallosso = catalyst: an agent that creates a reaction. "World" kosmos = cosmos: the order of all things. "Ambassador" presbeuo = elder: A person who brings maturity and balance into an immature and chaotic situation ]
In a time where our world was in need of some serious reconciliation, William Wilberforce was a social reformer. His epitaph as follows:
"In an age and county fertile, In great and good man,
He was among the foremost of those who fixed the character of their times,
because to high and various talents, to warm benevolene, and to universal candour,
he added the abiding eloquence of a Christian life."
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