Yesterday Philip Eubanks, who is on staff with me at Rehoboth UMC, shared with me something that I found extremely disconcerting. On the 'You Tube' website, a group called the 'rational responders' has posted a video encouraging people to take the blasphemy challenge. Quoting Matthew 12:21, where Jesus says that 'blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven', the video encourages people to film themselves denying the Holy Spirit. After watching a few of the submitted 'blasphemy' tapes, I had to stop because of the revulsion I felt.
While the scholars debate over the exact meaning of this passage from Matthew, I am quite sure that a simple denial of the Holy Spirit is not the unforgivable sin.
I debated on whether or not to include the video, but decided that you might want to see this for yourself. May God help us all!
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2 comments:
This video gave me chills. It was downright spooky. Having said that, I think they got it wrong. I don't think that the denial of the existence of the Holy Spirit is what the Bible means by "the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit."
I still remember the day this passage (found in Luke 3) came to life for me. Last summer our family visited our old church in Globe, Arizona - a little Seventh-day Adventist church set up on a hill outside the town, and one of the most loving churches you've ever seen, despite all the rules they follow. The Sabbath school lesson that Saturday focused on the unpardonable sin.
One peculiar thing about the Holy Spirit coming into my life is that after it happened, Bible verses that I had never understood started to come to life. The meaning just about leaped off the page. And that was what happened that day during the study - almost instantly, I understood what the unpardonable sin really was.
In the passage (starting at verse 20), Jesus is pretty ticked off with not only the Pharisees but also his own family for mistaking the Holy Spirit, whose power enabled His ministry, for the Devil. They were putting themselves in a position only God can occupy: that of passing judgement on someone's actions, motive, and fitness to do God's work. In doing this, they were actually trying to shut down God himself.
I believe that blashpemy against the Holy Spirit is the sin Lucifer committed - putting himself in the place of God and seeking equality with God - which would allow him also to pass final judgement on someone's actions. Anyone who sets him or herself up as a rival God, and claims powers only belonging to God, and persists in that endeavor, commits blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.
It should make us think twice before we judge others, or assume someone's ministry is not from God. Mark 9:40 says that "whoever is not against us is for us." Jesus'inclusiveness extendeded to many people who broke the traditional model of service; he makes it clear that there are many correct paths we may take in serving God.
So, I say that the unpardonable sin - also called blasphemy against the Holy Spirit - involves judging people in a way that only God has the right to do, and persistently trying to occupy a space only God can occupy.
I would like to hear other views on this. I have often heard people say that this is a hard verse to interpret. I would like to hear from any theologians reading this blog, since I am not a theologian.
i don't think that it i our reasponsibility to decide who is going to hell and who isn't. the video goes against what god has told us," those who judge will be judged by God"
i think this video is tring to get christians all around the nation stired up with something we all know is not important.
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