What Does It Mean To Blaspheme The Holy Spirit?

[Neon Genesis]

According to Mark 3:28-29, the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is unforgivable (but I thought God was supposed to forgive all sins if we repented?)

“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnationâ€

But what does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? The scriptures never specify what counts as blaspheming. Is it simply denying the existence of the Holy Spirit or is it making any sort of mockery out of it? If blaspheming the Holy Spirit is unforgivable, how can the bible hold us accountable for committing the sin if it doesn't even explain itself as to what it means to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? What if you're a Christian and you accidentally blaspheme the Holy Spirit? How would you ever know if the bible doesn't tell us? Surely if God is all-loving and cares about our souls, he would have made it clearer as to what blaspheme means?

[Deva]

Naturally as a Christian I always wondered about this. I think I heard this explained once as just having a hard hearted attitude of unbelief. The Holy Spirit is supposedly the person of the Trinity that is supposed to convict you and convince you of your need for Christ. If you resist it is tantamount to blasphemy and of course anyone who doesn't accept Christ has committed the unpardonable sin.

 

Not that I think its the correct interpretation - that was just how I remember it being explained in the Baptist chruch and it was semi-satisfactory at the time.

[dunany77]

The way it was taught to me was if, as a christian, you were worried that you had accidentally committed the unpardonable sin, then the very fact that you were worried about it meant that you didn't commit it and that you were still indwelled with the holy spirit. Only the truly reprobate soul can commit it because it means that soul can never enter heaven.

 

http://www.blasphemychallenge.com/

[godlessgrrl]

Well... here's a link to some modern definitions of the word "blaspheme", courtesy of dictionary.com: blaspheme

 

The Greek roots translate, more or less, as "to speak evil (of)"; and a quick look at my trusty dusty English/Koine interlinear New Testament indicates that blasphemein is indeed the Koine Greek word used in the original NT. No indirect translation going on there, so there should be no guessing: if you speak ill of the Holy Spirit, you've blasphemed the Holy Spirit.

 

So I say: that Holy Spirit - man, what an asshole! Fucker still owes me twenty bucks. Oh yeah, and he solicits hookers, knocks up teenagers, and molests puppies. Not to mention doesn't exist.

 

There! I just officially blasphemed the Holy Spurt. Who's going to help me pick out my handbasket?

[Guest TheTruthHurts]

How about this: Claiming that the Holy Spirit has filled you and made you a new person in Christ's image and then killing over a million of his children for no reason at all and calling that "God's Will"?

[disEnchanted]

This is from a christian forum so I guess you could say here's your answer straight from the horse's mouth:

 

"the mere fact that you're worried you may have committed blasphemy against the holy spirit is proof that you haven't.

 

(hebrews 6:4-6) "For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, and then have committed apostasy, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt."

 

this passage makes it clear that "blasphemy of the holy spirit" is apostasy; being a believer and follower of god, only to knowingly and willfully abandon it."

[mwc]

But what does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? The scriptures never specify what counts as blaspheming. Is it simply denying the existence of the Holy Spirit or is it making any sort of mockery out of it? If blaspheming the Holy Spirit is unforgivable, how can the bible hold us accountable for committing the sin if it doesn't even explain itself as to what it means to blaspheme the Holy Spirit?

This is a good question but one that wouldn't have really been a problem for the original readers way back in the day. The meaning of the words were much more clear to them than they are to us. Gwenmead gave one example of what it might mean to blaspheme but it really doesn't have to be so vulgar. You can blaspheme by simply not giving the person (in this case the HS) its proper respect it should be given considering its position (it is supposedly the holy spirit of god after all). Denying it is the holy spirit of god would be blaspheming. Denying that it can do all the amazing things that its followers claim can be blaspheming.

 

To say it another way it would be like having a sitting king and then saying he's not so great to his face. Depending on the king you may have just screwed the pooch. According to the bible if you say the HS isn't so great, well, you've screwed the pooch. The other guys are easy going but not the HS apparently. You've got to acknowledge his "greatness" at all times and without question. It doesn't take vulgarity to blaspheme but just to express a lack of belief in his ability would probably be enough. Basically, lying about (slandering or injuring the HS's "good" name) or taking away from the HS's "majesty" would be blasphemy. Denying his existence altogether should definitely be blasphemy I would think. Actually, most everything people say in relation to the HS on this site would likely fall under blasphemy.

 

mwc

[hereticzero]

This is from a christian forum so I guess you could say here's your answer straight from the horse's mouth:

 

"the mere fact that you're worried you may have committed blasphemy against the holy spirit is proof that you haven't.

 

(hebrews 6:4-6) "For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, and then have committed apostasy, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt."

 

this passage makes it clear that "blasphemy of the holy spirit" is apostasy; being a believer and follower of god, only to knowingly and willfully abandon it."

Aw, geeze! That pretty much covers it! I'm going to hell fer sure ...

[par4dcourse]

That verse tormented me as a child. I was pissed about something and told gawd to go to hell. Worried myself silly about "blasphemy" and going to hell. Lovely things for a 10 yo to be worried about.

[Mike D]

Since god, jesus and the holy spirit are all the same entity, make sure that if you do intend to blasphemy the holy spirit that you go on record beforehand and tell god that you're blaspheming the holy spririt part of him, not the god or jesus parts. Also, if you blasphemy the entire god-unit as a whole without picking a specific part, the two parts that forgive (god and jesus) will have majority rule over the part that won't (holy ghost), and you'll be forgiven.

 

If there's any confusion on this, please pray to the holy spirit (nicely) for clarification and guidance on proper blasphemy procedures

[dunany77]

Since god, jesus and the holy spirit are all the same entity, make sure that if you do intend to blasphemy the holy spirit that you go on record beforehand and tell god that you're blaspheming the holy spririt part of him, not the god or jesus parts. Also, if you blasphemy the entire god-unit as a whole without picking a specific part, the two parts that forgive (god and jesus) will have majority rule over the part that won't (holy ghost), and you'll be forgiven.

 

If there's any confusion on this, please pray to the holy spirit (nicely) for clarification and guidance on proper blasphemy procedures

What's with the holy spit anyway? Why would a supposed god of the universe get insulted by a puny little human? He has absolutely no self-esteem whatsoever! Not to mention how spiteful he has to be to refuse to forgive someone for not kissing his ass! Talk about a mental case.

[been there done that]

Hello,

 

I am new here. First, let me make this statement...

 

An EX-christian is the greatest Godlover of all.

 

I can have no greater respect for a human being as I do for someone who has had the wisdom and fortitude (including true love) to escape the partisan and mammon based "form of godliness" club called "christianity". I'm not blaspheming (disrecting/mocking) anything that is OF God, but Christianity has always been practiced and taught in a very worldly way. Money is a useful tool to pay rent, buy food, etc., but when it becomes a required part of WORSHIP, it becomes "mammon".

 

'Jesus worship' used to be called "The Way". After the name changed to "Christian", it became founded on mammon because all of the iniquitous want THE LABEL of "christian" in order to redeem their ego and conscience..

 

 

Anyway, before I actually call collective Christianity (modern day Pharisees) a "Brood of Vipers" that misleads the people and makes them twice a "child of hell" (not MY words, Matthew 23:15)...

http://cf.blueletterbible.org/search/trans...;t=RSV&sf=5

...let me get back on topic.

 

Blasphemy is not verbal. It is defined in Hebrews chapter 6 as ignoring/rejecting Jesus as being our ONLY foundation/cornerstone after becoming fully knowledgeable of what He did for us on the cross. Jesus cautions us that if we set a foundation of our own by performing deeds and scholarly accomplishment/study, then, repentance IN CHRIST is no longer possible (because we chose our own foundation instead). Jesus's judgement is always just, He's not going to be unjust and overlook this apostasy (we must leave the introductory doctrine and receive the "better things", Hebrews 6:9).

 

Making our own foundation and scorning 'God all inclusive' as the only foundation is blasphemy/apostasy (Jesus is the "WHOLE fullness" of God, Colossians 2:9). If someone blasphemes/SCORNS the only foundation, they blaspheme the spirit, but it only refers to 'mammon christians',...true lovers of God (ex-christians) cannot blaspheme.

 

There is a second message in scripture (a deeper one,..."depths of God", 1 Corinthians 2:10) that wordly christianity has never found because of the "STRONG delusion" that can deceive even the elect (the strong delusion is NOT a FUTURE event).

 

Everyone on earth has salvation available to them (Luke 3:6), but having a Godly character is our guarantee (2 Corinthians 1:22 and 5:5, Ephesians 1:14). We must do the works of God by trusting that He has done everything necessary (John 6:28 and 29) and that we have already been justified in Him(1 Corinthians 6:11, Galatians 2:16 and 17). He abolished the 'sin laws' (both the "commandments" and also the ordinances of the N.T., Ephesians 2:15) so we could live under the perfect law (James 1:25 and 2:12), and we should know Him as "Abba Father" (dear Father", Romans 8:15, Galatians 4:6), not 'master'/taskmaster, and be a "friend of God" (James 2:23), not 'slave/servant' so we can have a "more excellent" devotion/relationship (1 Corinthians 12:31) based on the "greatest of these" (1 Corinthians 13:13) and have our conscience purified also (Hebrews 9:14). We should "walk by the spirit" (Galatians 5:16 and 25), learn the "sword of the spirit" (Ephesians 6:17) and read the "word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15, Ephesians 1:13, John 14:6) to receive 'wise counsel' (good advice, insight/wisdom) and reject the wordly teaching of "self abasement" (Colossians 2:18) instead of surrender our individuality so that we can truly identify with and relate to "I am who I am" (the Father's FOREVER name, Exodus 3:14).

 

Unbeleivers should fear not knowing God (it is the BEGINNING of wisdom), but once we come to know Him, our love should be made perfect (just like the law, 1 John 4:18) because the fear of God is a commandment of MAN, Isaiah 29:13) and there should be absolutely NO FEAR of Him, (no room for fear, Mark 12:30).

 

Mankind has always taken the 3 gracious gifts of God...

1) creation (Father)

2) salvation (Son)

3) Godliness teaching (God's spirit)

 

and replaced them with the teachings of the 6th day creation,...(666). Institutional christianity has made 'God in the image of MAN' and refused to love oblective truth (2 Thessalonians 2:10).

 

(there is even a version of scripture that has on the front cover 3 points and six lines...the NEW KJV..you'd think some discerning christian would notice, but not the "hirelings", John 10:13).

 

 

No one blasphemes God by leaving/rejecting the world system (mammon), just the opposite, your love of God has been TEMPERED.

[Fweethawt]

No one blasphemes God by leaving/rejecting the world system (mammon), just the opposite, your love of God has been TEMPERED.

Umm... Fuck your "god™", and the donkeyS that he rode in on, m'kay?

 

Thanks.

 

But no thanks.

[Deva]

Blasphemy is not verbal. It is defined in Hebrews chapter 6 as ignoring/rejecting Jesus as being our ONLY foundation/cornerstone after becoming fully knowledgeable of what He did for us on the cross.

 

Pretty much what I said before - the unpardonable sin is rejecting Christ. That is one interpretation. As far as the rest of your post goes - Been There Done That- I have no idea what you are talking about. Surely if you have read even some of the posts on this site you must realize that we have all rejected far more than the organized church and in fact HAVE committed blasphemy as you have defined it. Yet we are "Godlovers"?

 

You will find that extensive quoting of scripture doesn't get you very far here if you expect to be understood.

[Neon Genesis]

"the mere fact that you're worried you may have committed blasphemy against the holy spirit is proof that you haven't.

 

(hebrews 6:4-6) "For it is impossible in the case of those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, become partakers of the Holy Spirit, tasted the good word of God and the miracles of the coming age, and then have committed apostasy, to renew them again to repentance, since they are crucifying the Son of God for themselves all over again and holding him up to contempt."

 

this passage makes it clear that "blasphemy of the holy spirit" is apostasy; being a believer and follower of god, only to knowingly and willfully abandon it."

One possible explanation I've heard about that verse is that it's referring to Satan and his angels rather than Christians. Supposedly Satan tasted the heavenly gift when he was still a good angel, but he he rejected it in spite of already being "enlightened" and so God cannot forgive Satan for that blaspheme. But that makes no sense to me because for one thing, nowhere in the verses does it say anything about Satan and fallen angels. And if it was about Satan rather than humans, why would Jesus warn humans not to blaspheme the Holy Spirit since he was clearly giving that commandment to humans, not angels?

[Neon Genesis]

blah blah blah blah blah

Translation: "I'm a real Christian and all those other people are fake Christians! I know this because I know everything because the bible says so and my way is more right than everyone else's way even though I have no evidence to back up any of my claims! All you people aren't really non-believers! You're just afraid of God (never mind that it's logically impossible to be afraid of things you don't believe in), but obviously I know more about you than you do even though I'm a complete stranger because I'm a real Christian, and therefore, I must be right because I say so! Because we all know that Christianity isn't a religion, it's a relationship with invisible sky daddies! Teeheehee!"

[Antlerman]

Hello,

 

I am new here. First, let me make this statement...

 

An EX-christian is the greatest Godlover of all.

Greetings. While I appreciate the gesture of respect shown to us, I'd like to hear how you see us as honoring God by denying His existence?

 

Oddly, in a fairly complicated way that has a high potential to be misunderstood, I agree with the 'sentiment' you've expressed - not necessarily in all that it possibly may connote however. I understand what you're saying and have expressed it ironically myself many times in the past here that, "I am more a Christian now that I'm not one, than I ever was when I was one". Not to be taken literally, but figuratively and ironically.

 

I'm just curious to hear how you make your statement in the light of the fact that we deny the doctrine of salvation, that doctrinal foundation of truth that may be the basis of everything you say following?

 

I can have no greater respect for a human being as I do for someone who has had the wisdom and fortitude (including true love) to escape the partisan and mammon based "form of godliness" club called "christianity". I'm not blaspheming (disrecting/mocking) anything that is OF God, but Christianity has always been practiced and taught in a very worldly way. Money is a useful tool to pay rent, buy food, etc., but when it becomes a required part of WORSHIP, it becomes "mammon".

 

'Jesus worship' used to be called "The Way". After the name changed to "Christian", it became founded on mammon because all of the iniquitous want THE LABEL of "christian" in order to redeem their ego and conscience..

If you're interested, I agree with these sentiments to a point. But it's not just money as the focus. You may be interested for your edification to dig into what I see as this problem of 'corruption' that occurs behind any organized religious belief: http://www.ex-christian.net/index.php?showtopic=23961

 

Just yesterday on this site I also citing the problem you just mentioned about Jesus as a leader at some point being transformed by his followers into The Way ™, i.e., worshiped and turned to for salvation instead of people 'working out their own salvation', so to speak.

 

Where I'm disagreeing with you is that it's not about money really, but as you'll see in my other topic it's more about the cycle of what happens when a break-away movement hits mainstream, and then becomes organized, and then the "Iron Law of Oligarchy" takes over. In part you're right, but that's more the symptom than the cause.

 

Anyway, before I actually call collective Christianity (modern day Pharisees) a "Brood of Vipers" that misleads the people and makes them twice a "child of hell" (not MY words, Matthew 23:15)...

http://cf.blueletterbible.org/search/trans...;t=RSV&sf=5

...let me get back on topic.

You can go ahead and call them that. They are.

 

Blasphemy is not verbal. It is defined in Hebrews chapter 6 as ignoring/rejecting Jesus as being our ONLY foundation/cornerstone after becoming fully knowledgeable of what He did for us on the cross. Jesus cautions us that if we set a foundation of our own by performing deeds and scholarly accomplishment/study, then, repentance IN CHRIST is no longer possible (because we chose our own foundation instead). Jesus's judgement is always just, He's not going to be unjust and overlook this apostasy (we must leave the introductory doctrine and receive the "better things", Hebrews 6:9).

Here's where I'm going to challenge your thoughts. Though I agree about what you're trying to reference that one's 'foundation' should not be about artificially going through the motions of righteous acts, it has little to do with scholarly accomplishment/study, per se. What it is is one word: sincerity.

 

Would you agree with this sentiment, that an atheist can serve what you see as God, more than a Christian through living a sincere life, and through their heart treating their world, themselves, and others with reverence and compassion through a heart of love? If so, then the foundation of doctrinal understanding is out the window, and the truth, or foundation as it were, seems to lay somewhere more universally, somewhere where the Christian symbols are only representative and not the actual objects of salvation.

 

If you say you respect us as ExChristians because we are sincere humans who would prefer to serve life through the truth of our hearts, rather than a religious code or set of doctrines, even if that means denying or rejecting all its icons, then you may find yourself respected here. Is it possible you see us this way?

 

 

I'll leave it at that for now and see how you respond. There's a lot more I'd like to see how you'd respond to, but I'll start there for a beginning.

[upstarter]

Though I see that this thread is quickly spinning in another direction I still wanted to post. I think that this idea of blaspheming the holy spirit was at the very core of my deconversion. When I began to question various aspects of xtianity and I was summarily silenced for it, I began to feel guilty. Was I a bad xtian for asking questions? Did I need to repent of this sin? And then I heard about "the unforgivable sin". Oh shit. Had I already done this, without knowing it? I had been pretty disobedient at times, and I was questioning my religious leaders and their teaching. Was it already to late to be forgiven?

 

So, I sought out my pastor and asked him about this unforgivable sin. What was it exactly? What did it mean to blaspheme the holy spirit? He basically told me that the unforgivable sin was "turning my back on Jesus". I thought about this a lot in the next few years as my deconversion process proceeded. And was ultimately quite comforted by the fact that once I turned my back on Jesus, that was it. No more pressure. I couldn't be forgiven now anyway, so it was well and truly over.

 

Once my parents have died, I plan to out myself as an atheist to my sister. And this is the very verse I will use to keep her off my back. Sorry, hon, too late for me, it's unforgivable!

 

Heather

[Snakefoot]

According to Mark 3:28-29, the sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit is unforgivable (but I thought God was supposed to forgive all sins if we repented?)

“Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; 29 but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnationâ€

But what does it mean to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? The scriptures never specify what counts as blaspheming. Is it simply denying the existence of the Holy Spirit or is it making any sort of mockery out of it? If blaspheming the Holy Spirit is unforgivable, how can the bible hold us accountable for committing the sin if it doesn't even explain itself as to what it means to blaspheme the Holy Spirit? What if you're a Christian and you accidentally blaspheme the Holy Spirit? How would you ever know if the bible doesn't tell us? Surely if God is all-loving and cares about our souls, he would have made it clearer as to what blaspheme means?

 

When I was a fundie zombie, I delved into this rather deeply--which was silly since context and verse 30 supply the answer (please forgive the scripture posting):

 

22. The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, "He is possessed by Beelzebul," and "He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons."

.

.

28. "Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter;

29. but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"--

30. because they were saying, "He has an unclean spirit."

 

So, saying that a "miracle" performed by someone who "has the holy spirit" was actually a miracle performed by an "unclean spirit" (e.g. Beelzebul/bub, Satan, et al) blasphemes the holy spirit. Put another way, blasphemy of the holy spirit is attributing its performances to the Devil or other demons.

 

Nice fairytale, no?

 

Ergo, I hereby declare that every fundie who has ever spoken in tongues, every healing miracle performed, every time some fundies' car made it to the gas station when the gauge showed Empty, was an act of the Devil and his angels.

 

Hail Satan! Oh, I mean, Hail His Noodliness!

[been there done that]

Hello Antlerman,

 

Thank you for your peaceful and hospitable response, and Heather's response meant alot to me also because it lacked hostility.

 

Because you will be civil to me, I will address your questions about me respecting (having high regard for) ANYONE who, for whatever reason, chooses not to disrepect humanity (institutional "christianity" is, in effect, disrespect of humanity and where it came from) by joining the religious club of wordly christianity and playing the puffed up games of 'master intellectual', 'protocol master', 'lingo master', 'game master', etc.

 

I regard 'Godly behavior' to be little more than 'respect of humanity' while also realizing the folly/foolishness of human nature and it's tendency to be predatory against itself. Because we are many, we tend to be recklessly in competition with each other, satan doesn't CAUSE evil/wrong (he can only TEMPT), we are the ones who CAUSE evil/wrong and use him as our scapegoat to blame it all on him instead.

 

We (humanity) can and should also recognize the origin of humanity and what was done in order that may return to the origin (spiritual home) after our bodies cease to function.

 

Many people have always chosen to join 'spiritual clubs' and regard any form of text as a 'spiritual crossword puzzle' to be navigated with skill and wit, but in God, there is no LABYRINTH to navigate, He is not a board game, video game, etc..

 

Thank you for the civility Antlerman and Heather, but to the rest (nasty posters), I am not a MARTYR, and there is absolutely no just reason for your abuse, or for me to tolerate it. REMINDER...poetic justice is 'as you do unto others, you are also doing unto yourself'...meaning that your nastiness is making you an insecure and bitter person as you speak, AND YOU WILL BE THAT WAY for the rest of your life until you stop being nasty to people (God is not slow in His judgement). You are the worst hypocrites of all, the only reason you left "christianity" is because you're just plain nasty and disrepectful about EVERYTHING in all of REALITY, NOT because of sincerity.

 

This thread was FILLED with scripture and concerns about scriptural concepts such as "unpardonable sin", "blasphemy", "hell", etc., yet you claim to disregard the whole concept of GOD. I'm not going to comment on this except for saying that "your thoughts are contrary to LOGIC". Well, it's really no surprise to see this, you were trained by "christianity" not to think or be a human being (you were trained to be "a" christian, not "a" HUMAN BEING.

 

"I am who I am" wants HUMAN BEINGS.

 

 

There are two requirements in scripture...

1) have faith that God exists.

2) have faith that He rewards those who love Him. ("...faith FOR faith", Romans 1:17).

 

http://cf.blueletterbible.org/search/trans...;t=RSV&sf=5

 

... but first there must be logic, THEN, you will have the ability to REASON with God...(if you can't even tare yourself away from hostility, how reasonable can you be??)...

http://cf.blueletterbible.org/search/trans...;t=RSV&sf=5

[Mike D]

What's with the holy spit anyway? Why would a supposed god of the universe get insulted by a puny little human?

What I would like to know is why does the Babble single out the holy spirit? You can call Jesus and god himself every foul word in the book they won't get so pissed they won't forgive you. But not this holy ghost dude.... just look at this guy wrong and he'll fuck you up!

[Neon Genesis]

This thread was FILLED with scripture and concerns about scriptural concepts such as "unpardonable sin", "blasphemy", "hell", etc., yet you claim to disregard the whole concept of GOD. I'm not going to comment on this except for saying that "your thoughts are contrary to LOGIC". Well, it's really no surprise to see this, you were trained by "christianity" not to think or be a human being (you were trained to be "a" christian, not "a" HUMAN BEING.

 

"I am who I am" wants HUMAN BEINGS.

 

 

There are two requirements in scripture...

1) have faith that God exists.

2) have faith that He rewards those who love Him. ("...faith FOR faith", Romans 1:17).

 

http://cf.blueletterbible.org/search/trans...;t=RSV&sf=5

 

... but first there must be logic, THEN, you will have the ability to REASON with God...(if you can't even tare yourself away from hostility, how reasonable can you be??)...

http://cf.blueletterbible.org/search/trans...;t=RSV&sf=5

Yeah, I'm really sure that you implying that we aren't real ex-Christians because the Christianity we deconverted from isn't "real" Christianity (whatever that is) because obviously "real" Christians can never do anything wrong and then accusing us of being inhuman magically makes you hospitable.

[been there done that]

Though I see that this thread is quickly spinning in another direction I still wanted to post. I think that this idea of blaspheming the holy spirit was at the very core of my deconversion. When I began to question various aspects of xtianity and I was summarily silenced for it, I began to feel guilty. Was I a bad xtian for asking questions? Did I need to repent of this sin? And then I heard about "the unforgivable sin". Oh shit. Had I already done this, without knowing it? I had been pretty disobedient at times, and I was questioning my religious leaders and their teaching. Was it already to late to be forgiven?

 

So, I sought out my pastor and asked him about this unforgivable sin. What was it exactly? What did it mean to blaspheme the holy spirit? He basically told me that the unforgivable sin was "turning my back on Jesus". I thought about this a lot in the next few years as my deconversion process proceeded. And was ultimately quite comforted by the fact that once I turned my back on Jesus, that was it. No more pressure. I couldn't be forgiven now anyway, so it was well and truly over.

 

Once my parents have died, I plan to out myself as an atheist to my sister. And this is the very verse I will use to keep her off my back. Sorry, hon, too late for me, it's unforgivable!

 

Heather

 

 

 

 

 

Heather,

 

I'm sorry about not addressing your post before, but I was distracted by all the hostility of other posts.

 

I decided to know NOTHING but CHRIST AND HIM CRUCIFIED. I don't know (or care) about...

 

Parables

ancient cultures worship habits

biblical history (I'm mildly aware of anything that might be FUTURE).

 

This means that I made the personal choice to know 'ONLY about Jesus and His being CRUCIFED (Paul did this also, it is allowed,...you can also make this decision if you'd like).

 

After all, our wisdom is not to be found in parables...(but scholars like to PLAY wth them)...

http://cf.blueletterbible.org/search/trans...=RSV&page=2

 

Everything BEFORE the spirit was given is not relevant to NEW Testament worship/devotion...(but scholars like to PLAY)...

http://cf.blueletterbible.org/search/trans...;t=RSV&sf=5

 

We can sin against 'propriety' (table manners, dress codes, etiquette, etc.). CAREFUL, humanity will judge you and call you names).

 

The prodigal son sinned against heaven/rightness (like cheating on a test, often considered a victimless crime because nobody actually suffers physical harm).

 

...but if we sin against a PERSON and cause suffering and pain (consequences), we should have 'tears of sorrow' in our heart ("rivers of living water". John 7:38, Revelation 7:16, that also flowed from Christ's side at the cross), make amends, and LEARN not to REPEat the offense (REPEnt). It's possible that as much as 1% of christianity has any idea at all what the water that flowed from Christ's side is (if you don't believe me, ask and expect half an hour of double talk). The person at the well (John chap. 4) was smart enough to be interested in "better things" (Hebrews 6:9) and also readily recognized "Messiah" while the disciples still called Him "Rabbi". We need living water baptism of God's spirit (not H2O).

 

But, back to the prodigal son. His dad was the real victim because the "inheritance" was wasted, but, the prodigal son learned the error of his way and returned to his dad, so the dad reacted the same as our heavenly Father.

 

You want to keep her off your back?....(everyone should live QUIETLY not bothering anyone, 1 Thessalonians 4:11)...

 

"to aspire to live quietly, to mind your own affairs,..."

[dunany77]

your nastiness is making you an insecure and bitter person as you speak, AND YOU WILL BE THAT WAY for the rest of your life until you stop being nasty to people (God is not slow in His judgement). You are the worst hypocrites of all, the only reason you left "christianity" is because you're just plain nasty and disrepectful about EVERYTHING in all of REALITY, NOT because of sincerity.

So I guess it's "eye for an eye" instead of "turn the other cheek" eh?

 

Did you really think you could sneak in under the radar? Of all the perverse versions of Xianity, you are one of the worst. You walk around with such pride thinking you are one of the 'specially chosen ones' that REALLY gets the truth about jesus. You put religious people to shame with your ill-concealed condemnation of just about 99% of the world that you deem is going to hell for not believing the way you do.

 

Shame on you. You don't deserve to have a nice civil conversation here. Go back the way you came, and take that goddam jesus shit with you!!

[mwc]

This means that I made the personal choice to know 'ONLY about Jesus and His being CRUCIFED (Paul did this also, it is allowed,...you can also make this decision if you'd like).

I can??? I'm swollen with happiness!

 

mwc