The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (412 page)

Black Stone
(
al-
ajar al-aswad
)
.

A stone said to be of meteoric origin, variously thought to be of lava or basalt, and reddish-black in colour, some 12 inches in diameter, embedded in the eastern corner of the
Ka‘ba
in
Mecca
. As the Ka‘ba is the focus of Muslim devotion, being the ‘house of
All
h
’, so is the Black Stone the holiest object.

 
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(1757–1827).
Poet, artist, and visionary. Trained as an engraver, he soon combined his talent for illustration with his poetic gifts and, with
Songs of Innocence
(1789), began a series of works, engraved and combining text and coloured illustration. His vision combined a positive acceptance of, and delight in, the world of the senses, both the immediately pleasing and that which is darker and more threatening: it was expressed through verbal and visual imagery that became increasingly complex and allegorical. The key to all this Blake found in various occult traditions—hermetic,
Neoplatonic
,
gnostic
, and especially the theosophy of
Swedenborg
.

 
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(Gk., ‘speaking evil’). Impious or profane talk, especially against God; and in many W. legal systems, the offence of reviling God or Jesus Christ or an established church. The appearance of Salman Rushdie's
The
Satanic Verses
, raised the issue whether blasphemy should be extended to become a more general offence (in the UK), or whether it is an offence in the domain of inciting unrest.
In Judaism, ‘blasphemy’ is speaking scornfully of God
(Heb.,
gidduf
,
eruf
) and is described euphemistically as
birkat ha-Shem
(‘blessing the Name’, i.e. God). According to Leviticus 24. 10–23, the penalty for cursing God is death.
The nearest equivalent in Islam is
sabb
, offering an insult to God.

 
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Blavatsky, H. P.
:

see
THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY
.

 
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Blessing
.

A two-way movement of (from humans to God) thanksgiving and praise, and of (from God to humans) power and goodness/good fortune. Blessings (in both senses) are prominent in Judaism, where it is said that there is a blessing for every occasion. See also
BENEDICTIONS
.
In Christianity, blessings occur especially in worship and in the
liturgy
—e.g. at the end of the
eucharist
and other services, where the congregation is blessed.
In Islam,
baraka
was associated originally with fecundity and having many descendants. From this it came to mean success or prosperity in more general terms. The source is always God.

 
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