I have read a similar sentence to my provided example below somewhere (maybe with a little bit different phrasing.)
- He was blasphemous to Bible and I think, irrespective of being religious or not, he has offended the sanctity of an entire nation.
However, as you can see within the link, the verb "offend" has nothing to do with using offensive remarks or actions; while the word "insult" exactly refers to this sense.
I was wondering whether they are interchangeable in this particular example or there have different shades of meaning.
P.S. Personally, I would say that "insulting somebody" sounds to be an intentional action to me, while "offending someone" is often something unintentional. Also, I think "offending" is something more in common use; but after all, I cannot figure out why the word "offend" had been used within my mentioned sentence (as I've already brought up my reasons!)?
Please kindly enlighten me.