--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Blasphemy is more complicated than the…" description: "\"“Blasphemy is more complicated than the simple act of cursing God. It is an attempt to remove our cultural eyeglasses, or at least grind the lenses to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/derrick-jensen-2824_beyond-the-stars_blasphemy-is-more-complicated-than-the-s_1278357.png" --- # Blasphemy is more complicated than the simple act of… ![“Blasphemy is more complicated than the simple act of cursing God. It is an attempt to remove our cultural eyeglasses, or at least grind the lenses to make our focus broader, clearer. There are deep strictures against removing these eyeglasses, for without them our culture would fall apart…” quote by Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/derrick-jensen-2824_beyond-the-stars_blasphemy-is-more-complicated-than-the-s_1278357.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/derrick-jensen-2824_beyond-the-stars_blasphemy-is-more-complicated-than-the-s_1278357.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/derrick-jensen-2824_beyond-the-stars_blasphemy-is-more-complicated-than-the-s_1278357.png) > ““Blasphemy is more complicated than the simple act of cursing God. It is an attempt to remove our cultural eyeglasses, or at least grind the lenses to make our focus broader, clearer. There are deep strictures against removing these eyeglasses, for without them our culture would fall apart. Question Christianity, damned heathen. Question capitalism, pinko liberal. Question democracy, ungrateful wretch. Question science, just plain stupid. These epithets—blasphemer, commie, ingrate, stupid—need not be spoken aloud. Their invocation actually implies an incomplete enculturation of the subject. Proper enculturation causes the eyeglasses to be undetectable. People believe they are perceiving the world as it is, without the distorting lens of culture: God (with a capital G) does sit upon a heavenly throne; heaven is located beyond the stars that make up Orion’s belt (and, so I was told, you can just see heavens brilliance if you look closely enough); a collection of humans, each acting selfishly, will bring peace, justice, and affluence to all; the United States is the world’s greatest democracy; humans are the apex of creation.”” [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Cultural narratives act as invisible lenses shaping perception; questioning them exposes hidden biases but can destabilize shared meaning. **In simple terms:** Culture shapes how we see the world; questioning it can be unsettling. Key Takeaway Examine and broaden your worldview. Themes culture perception bias identity Mood thoughtful critical challenging Type philosophical provocative When to use this quote - political debate - education - media consumption - personal growth Key Concepts social construct critical thinking ideology cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What lenses influence your beliefs? - How can you balance critique with community? A Different Perspective Challenging deep norms may cause social alienation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beyond the stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beyond-the-stars/) [Blasphemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blasphemy/) [Christianity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/christianity/) ## Related quotes > [The question eventually must be raised: Is it a criminal offense to take the name of the Lord in vain? When people curse their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-north/the-question-eventually-must-be-raised-is-it-a-criminal-offense-to/) [Gary North](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-north/) > [Our hymn-books resound with a melodious cursing of God and enduring Him forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-hymn-books-resound-with-a-melodious-cursing-of-god-and-enduring/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our manners have been corrupted by communication with the saints. Our hymn-books resound with a melodious cursing of God and enduring Him forever. One…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-manners-have-been-corrupted-by-communication-with-the-saints-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Did you feel guilty cursing God--you, of all people?' No,' he said. 'Because even in doing so, I was recognizing there was a greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/did-you-feel-guilty-cursing-god-you-of-all-people-no-he-said-because/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [Somebody who moved up very fast was Jim Cameron, who was a young guy out of - I think he came from Arizona, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-corman/somebody-who-moved-up-very-fast-was-jim-cameron-who-was-a-young-guy/) [Roger Corman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-corman/) > [“Danny, whose body made Miller forget the world and whose soul, even marked with shadows, made Miller believe in something beyond the stars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-mckinley/danny-whose-body-made-miller-forget-the-world-and-whose-soul-even/) [Brooke McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-mckinley/) > [ “\[The Devil\] And me? I suffer, and still I do not live. I am an x in an indeterminate equation. I am some sort… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-devil-and-me-i-suffer-and-still-i-do-not-live-i-am-an-x-in-an/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [A small child has no ambitions, he has no desires. He is so absorbed in the moment - a bird on the wing catches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/a-small-child-has-no-ambitions-he-has-no-desires-he-is-so-absorbed-in/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A lot of times you talk about what you know, but since our reality is so difficult, its hard to think about travelling beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-grevioux/a-lot-of-times-you-talk-about-what-you-know-but-since-our-reality-is/) [Kevin Grevioux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-grevioux/) > [“By and large, the kind of science fiction which makes tomorrow's headlines as near as this morning's coffee has enlarged popular awareness of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-zimmer-bradley/by-and-large-the-kind-of-science-fiction-which-makes-tomorrow-s/) [Marion Zimmer Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-zimmer-bradley/) > [Church bells beyond the stars heard, the soul's blood, The land of spices; something understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/church-bells-beyond-the-stars-heard-the-soul-s-blood-the-land-of/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [They say aim for the stars, but I want to aim beyond the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-yarde/they-say-aim-for-the-stars-but-i-want-to-aim-beyond-the-stars/) [Anthony Yarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-yarde/) > [“Simple accident: a zombie-crewed containership from Southern Kath wrecked in a storm. The containership had been hired to transport a horror from beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-gladstone/simple-accident-a-zombie-crewed-containership-from-southern-kath/) [Max Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-gladstone/) > [“To return to the general analysis of the Rosicrucian outlook. Magic was a dominating factor, working as a mathematics-mechanics in the lower world, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-a-yates/to-return-to-the-general-analysis-of-the-rosicrucian-outlook-magic/) Frances A. Yates > [“This was not the velvet embracing desert sky at El Geneina; this was infinite space. The idea of no boundaries, no end, is terrifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/this-was-not-the-velvet-embracing-desert-sky-at-el-geneina-this-was/) [Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/) ## More by Derrick Jensen > [The global industrial economy is the engine for massive environmental degradation and massive human (and nonhuman) impoverishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/the-global-industrial-economy-is-the-engine-for-massive-environmental/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“In sum, one of the primary things I learned was how to kill time. I learned also to wish away my life. I learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/in-sum-one-of-the-primary-things-i-learned-was-how-to-kill-time-i/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“I had broken the most basic commandment of our culture: Thou shalt pretend there is nothing wrong.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/i-had-broken-the-most-basic-commandment-of-our-culture-thou-shalt/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“Someone asked me once at a talk why I so stress the positive with my students yet am such an unstinting critic of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/someone-asked-me-once-at-a-talk-why-i-so-stress-the-positive-with-my/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [If the world is presented as resources to be exploited, then, more than likely, you're going to exploit the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/if-the-world-is-presented-as-resources-to-be-exploited-then-more-than/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [It's no wonder we don't defend the land where we live. We don't live here. We live in television programs and movies and books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/it-s-no-wonder-we-don-t-defend-the-land-where-we-live-we-don-t-live/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“ISOLATION DOES STRANGE THINGS to a person’s mind. This is true for any social creature, human or otherwise. Monkeys taken from their mothers at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/isolation-does-strange-things-to-a-person-s-mind-this-is-true-for-any/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [My great-grandmother grew up in a sod house in Nebraska. When she was a tiny girl - in other words, only four human generations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/my-great-grandmother-grew-up-in-a-sod-house-in-nebraska-when-she-was/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [Where will you drive your own picket stake? Where will you choose to make your stand? Give me a threshold, a specific point at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/where-will-you-drive-your-own-picket-stake-where-will-you-choose-to/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“So often, environmentalists and others working to slow the destruction are capable of plainly describing the problems (Who wouldn’t be? The problems are neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/so-often-environmentalists-and-others-working-to-slow-the-destruction/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [Forests precede us and deserts dog our heels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/forests-precede-us-and-deserts-dog-our-heels/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [“The condition of alienation, of being asleep, of being unconscious, of being out of one’s mind, is the condition of the normal man. Society…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/the-condition-of-alienation-of-being-asleep-of-being-unconscious-of/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [So many indigenous people have said to me that the fundamental difference between Western and indigenous ways of being is that even the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/so-many-indigenous-people-have-said-to-me-that-the-fundamental/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [When dams were erected on the Columbia, salmon battered themselves against the concrete, trying to return home. I expect no less from us. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/when-dams-were-erected-on-the-columbia-salmon-battered-themselves/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [People say 'what do you mean' when you talk about 'bringing down civilization.' What I really mean is depriving the rich of the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/people-say-what-do-you-mean-when-you-talk-about-bringing-down/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) [Explore all 149 Derrick Jensen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) ## More Beyond the stars quotes > [“This was not the velvet embracing desert sky at El Geneina; this was infinite space. The idea of no boundaries, no end, is terrifying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-gellhorn/this-was-not-the-velvet-embracing-desert-sky-at-el-geneina-this-was/) [Martha Gellhorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-gellhorn/) > [“To return to the general analysis of the Rosicrucian outlook. Magic was a dominating factor, working as a mathematics-mechanics in the lower world, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-a-yates/to-return-to-the-general-analysis-of-the-rosicrucian-outlook-magic/) Frances A. Yates > [“Simple accident: a zombie-crewed containership from Southern Kath wrecked in a storm. The containership had been hired to transport a horror from beyond the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-gladstone/simple-accident-a-zombie-crewed-containership-from-southern-kath/) [Max Gladstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-gladstone/) > [They say aim for the stars, but I want to aim beyond the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-yarde/they-say-aim-for-the-stars-but-i-want-to-aim-beyond-the-stars/) [Anthony Yarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-yarde/) > [Church bells beyond the stars heard, the soul's blood, The land of spices; something understood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/church-bells-beyond-the-stars-heard-the-soul-s-blood-the-land-of/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [“By and large, the kind of science fiction which makes tomorrow's headlines as near as this morning's coffee has enlarged popular awareness of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-zimmer-bradley/by-and-large-the-kind-of-science-fiction-which-makes-tomorrow-s/) [Marion Zimmer Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-zimmer-bradley/) > [A lot of times you talk about what you know, but since our reality is so difficult, its hard to think about travelling beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-grevioux/a-lot-of-times-you-talk-about-what-you-know-but-since-our-reality-is/) [Kevin Grevioux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-grevioux/) > [A small child has no ambitions, he has no desires. He is so absorbed in the moment - a bird on the wing catches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/a-small-child-has-no-ambitions-he-has-no-desires-he-is-so-absorbed-in/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [ “\[The Devil\] And me? I suffer, and still I do not live. I am an x in an indeterminate equation. I am some sort… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoyevsky/the-devil-and-me-i-suffer-and-still-i-do-not-live-i-am-an-x-in-an/) [Fyodor Dostoyevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoyevsky/) > [“Danny, whose body made Miller forget the world and whose soul, even marked with shadows, made Miller believe in something beyond the stars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooke-mckinley/danny-whose-body-made-miller-forget-the-world-and-whose-soul-even/) [Brooke McKinley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooke-mckinley/) > [Somebody who moved up very fast was Jim Cameron, who was a young guy out of - I think he came from Arizona, from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-corman/somebody-who-moved-up-very-fast-was-jim-cameron-who-was-a-young-guy/) [Roger Corman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-corman/) > [let this be our beautiful departure from stagnation; let our minds come alive; enter another dimension; go beyond the stars eagerly struggling to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-iqbal/let-this-be-our-beautiful-departure-from-stagnation-let-our-minds/) [Muhammad Iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-iqbal/) > [“Fame. Everyone dreams of fame. You long to live forever, to gain the power of light. But fame is fickle. One minute you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-suddain/fame-everyone-dreams-of-fame-you-long-to-live-forever-to-gain-the-2/) [Matt Suddain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-suddain/) > [Duty reaches down the ages in its effects, and into eternity; and when the man goes about it resolutely, it seems to me now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mountford/duty-reaches-down-the-ages-in-its-effects-and-into-eternity-and-when/) [William Mountford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mountford/) > [“Man is a rope stretched between the animal and Superman – a rope over an abyss – a dangerous crossing, a dangerous wayfaring, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/man-is-a-rope-stretched-between-the-animal-and-superman-a-rope-over/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Browse all 50 Beyond the stars quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beyond-the-stars/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Blasphemy is more complicated than the simple act of cursing God. It is an attempt to remove our cultural eyeglasses, or at least grind the lenses to make our focus broader, clearer. There are deep strictures against removing these eyeglasses, for without them our culture would fall apart. Question Christianity, damned heathen. Question capitalism, pinko liberal. Question democracy, ungrateful wretch. Question science, just plain stupid. These epithets—blasphemer, commie, ingrate, stupid—need not be spoken aloud. Their invocation actually implies an incomplete enculturation of the subject. Proper enculturation causes the eyeglasses to be undetectable. People believe they are perceiving the world as it is, without the distorting lens of culture: God (with a capital G) does sit upon a heavenly throne; heaven is located beyond the stars that make up Orion’s belt (and, so I was told, you can just see heavens brilliance if you look closely enough); a collection of humans, each acting selfishly, will bring peace, justice, and affluence to all; the United States is the world’s greatest democracy; humans are the apex of creation.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Derrick Jensen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/blasphemy-is-more-complicated-than-the-simple-act-of-cursing-god-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beyond the stars" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/blasphemy-is-more-complicated-than-the-simple-act-of-cursing-god-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/derrick-jensen-2824_beyond-the-stars_blasphemy-is-more-complicated-than-the-s_1278357.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/derrick-jensen-2824_beyond-the-stars_blasphemy-is-more-complicated-than-the-s_1278357.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf4/derrick-jensen-2824_beyond-the-stars_blasphemy-is-more-complicated-than-the-s_1278357.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Blasphemy is more complicated than the simple act of cursing God. It is an attempt to remove our cultural…” — Derrick Jensen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Derrick Jensen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Blasphemy is more complicated than the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/blasphemy-is-more-complicated-than-the-simple-act-of-cursing-god-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/blasphemy-is-more-complicated-than-the-simple-act-of-cursing-god-it/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```