The Trial Of The Man Who Said He Was God
manner of ways John a-Nokes has insulted and brought into contempt One whom many people perceive as divine.
    Second, its extreme form. In John a-Nokes the offence peaks: for he falsely claims that he is none other than the Unique Being whom ordinary humans worship as the highest and the holiest.
    Third, its dissemination. To gain publicity for his blasphemous beliefs, he has persistently used all available means, including radio and television broadcasts, books, magazine articles and public lectures.
    Fourth, the reaction. His teachings have so outraged religious people that they have repeatedly committed such breaches of the peace as riotous assembly, arson, unlawful killings - and prima facie murder.
    In applying these four criteria, Your Honour, the Prosecution sets out to prove the Accused guilty of the crime of blasphemy as defined in the Act, Sections 4, 7c, 12, and 13b.
    JUDGE: How do you plead, John a-Nokes? Guilty or Not Guilty?
    MYSELF: Not Guilty, Your Honour.
    JUDGE: I understand that you wish to conduct your own Defence. Indeed I see that the dock has already been fitted with shelves for your books and papers. However, it’s my duty to warn you of the risk that your inexperience may hamper the presentation of your case to the Jury. Are you sure you can do justice to the evidence and the arguments that are in your favour, and can do battle with those that are not? Even at this late hour you may change your mind. There is in court a learned and able King’s Counsellor who is well prepared to take on your Defence.
    MYSELF: While I’m much obliged to Your Honour, I’ve decided to defend myself, notwithstanding the risks. But I do seek Your Honour’s indulgence when, due to ignorance of court procedure and etiquette, I fail to conduct myself properly.
    JUDGE: Have no fear on that score: I shall keep you in order.
    MYSELF: My Defence, Your Honour, I summarize like this:
    None of the four components of the Prosecution’s case against me - what Counsel calls my blasphemy, the extreme form it takes, its dissemination and the public’s reaction - none of these is resisted in principle. I’ll go along with all four once they are stripped of pejorative and prejudicial language. My Defence doesn’t consist so much in combating as in reinterpreting them, in the light of two considerations.
    The first and comparatively unimportant one is that the outrage I have undoubtedly given rise to was unintentional. So far from being deliberate, it was and is much regretted. Alas, it is unavoidable if the truths I publicize are at all important - and I say they are supremely important, indeed critical, for the health and even the survival of our species. Though the Act, as I read it, does little to distinguish between offence that’s given inadvertently and offence that’s given deliberately, it’s hardly a difference which the Judge and the Jury can ignore.
    The second and crucial Defence argument - the pith and substance of my case - I state baldly here. Baldly, but without rancour or complacency. Full supporting evidence will come out in the course of the Trial.
    Here it is: I am the only one in court who is not guilty of blasphemy! I accuse my accusers of this most serious crime!
    It’s you who stand in the dock today!

The Prosecution Witnesses and the Defence Rebuttal

Prosecution Witness No. 1
    THE POLICE OFFICER
    P reliminaries over, all is now set in court for the Trial to proceed.
    Counsel for the Prosecution calls his first witness, a police officer in uniform. Prompted by Counsel, he gives evidence of arrest. He testifies how, armed with a warrant, he went to my home, where he cautioned me that anything I said was liable to be taken down and used in evidence.
    COUNSEL: What was the Accused’s reaction?
    OFFICER, consulting his notebook: Paying no attention to my warning, he kept bragging it was impossible to arrest him. He was a sight too big and slippery (vac... vacous? and tenous? are words I’ve got down here)

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