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Sin/Transgression/Blasphamy: Against The Holy Ghost
Well, as a Unitarian Universalist, we used to believe that God is Too Good to Damn us and We are Too Good To Be Damned by God. The Sin or Trangration or Blasphamy against The Holy Ghost is not clear in the Bible. Anyone can interpert the bible differently. Even Scholars are struggling with this issue, then for us to even come close to their arguments. We can debate for-ever on this issue, but no of us would be any wiser, nor closer to the true meaning of what "Sin against The Holy Ghost" or "Transgration aganst The Holy Ghost" or "Blasphamy against The Holy Ghost" means. We will never know why the authors of this one particular book in the Bible wrote this, and from what context they have driven it out from. Some say it is a sin against your conscience, some say it is a sin to say that there is no God, some say that if you refere The Holy Ghost with Demonic Forces, and some will tell you that it is a form of abouse to another person or place or thing or life-form. As you can see, no one truly knows the true nature of this form of offense. At least the search is still an on going journey. Perhaps, all of the above are correct, or Non of the Above.
Last edited by UnitarianUniversalist; 06-08-2008 at 10:07 AM..
Reason: Need To Add More.
I have heard that is is the rejection of the word of God, which is given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In the text that the sentence comes from, it seems to be connected with the miracles that Jesus performed, and the unbelievers claiming He did them by the power of Beelzebub !
"Scholars" may struggle with what it means to blaspheme the Holy Spirit but true, born again believers who study to show themselves approved, don't struggle with it at all.
The blasphemy of the Holy Spirit in Matthew 12 was something that the people in the days of Jesus committed when Jesus was among them. The Pharisees witnessed irrefutable proof that Jesus was working miracles in the power of the Holy Spirit but claimed instead that He was possessed by Beelzebub. In Mark 3:30, Jesus is very specific about what exactly they did to commit "the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit."
This blasphemy had to do with accusing Jesus Christ (in person, on the earth) of being demon-possessed. There are other ways to blaspheme the Holy Spirit (like lying to Him, as in the case of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5), but the accusation against Jesus was the blasphemy that was unpardonable. This unpardonable sin against the Holy Spirit cannot be duplicated today because Jesus Christ is not on earth. He's seated at the right hand of God.
The unpardonable sin today is that of continued unbelief. There's no pardon for someoe who dies an unbeliever.
Quote:
John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life."
The only condition where a person wouldn't be forgiven is if they're not among the "whoever believes in Him." Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Those who reject the only means of salvation, Jesus, condemn themselves to an eternity in hell because to reject the only pardon is, obviously, unpardonable.
And, as for interpreting scriptures, if you want understanding on how to do it, watch these:
Yes, the unpardonable sin is total and utter rejection of God! Especially in the life of a christian, who has gone so backwards that in the end they have totally rejected the Lord and in fact told Him to in fact get out of their lives. When one reaches this stage, there is no longer any conscience, no more tugging from the Holy Spirit etc. They in fact die totally spiritually and have absolutely no desire to serve God again!!
I am not sure how far this extends to the unsaved, as they can say a lot in total ignorance and I believe the Holy Spirit will still strive, for how long though, I really don't know.
Yes, the unpardonable sin is total and utter rejection of God! Especially in the life of a christian, who has gone so backwards that in the end they have totally rejected the Lord and in fact told Him to in fact get out of their lives. When one reaches this stage, there is no longer any conscience, no more tugging from the Holy Spirit etc. They in fact die totally spiritually and have absolutely no desire to serve God again!!
I am not sure how far this extends to the unsaved, as they can say a lot in total ignorance and I believe the Holy Spirit will still strive, for how long though, I really don't know.
Wow...No conscience?...Where on earth do you get the idea that belief is linked in any way to conscience..As a former Christian who now totally rejects the concept of any god I can tell you that you are very wrong on that one....My conscience is doing just fine, thanks.
This is the only sin that the Bible says God will not forgive.
Please give me your ideas on what this could be.
That's a thought provoker there......
That's what the Bible says! My belief is that denying the Holy Ghost, either His existance, or what He speaks.
I read another poster mention suicide....ya know, mental illness is a mitigating factor, so I don't believe that the Lord is gonna hold it against an ill person.
And so far, I haven't heard of any 'sane' people killing themselves.
Wow...No conscience?...Where on earth do you get the idea that belief is linked in any way to conscience..As a former Christian who now totally rejects the concept of any god I can tell you that you are very wrong on that one....My conscience is doing just fine, thanks.
The thing is, most people who do bad things are doing it because they are desperate or ill or confused or have been treated so badly by life that they don't know which end is up, or right from wrong.
There are people who cannot be rehabilitated, Many rapists and many child molesters fall into this category. Now, you may say that they have freedom of choice, and they do, but there are some serial killers who say something came over them, took them over, and they had no resistance.
Now, some will say they are looking for sympathy or to place blame on other than themselves, but they know that they will not escape their fate by saying these things. It may be possible that they are possessed.
Child molesters say that they are doing wrong, but it is like falling down a hill, faster and faster and they just cannot stop.
I do not think people want to be hated by society. That in itself is unnatural. I am not arguing in favor of criminals, but just saying conscience is not the whole story. Perhaps some are born without a conscience.
Children have developmental years and become imprinted with lessons in those stages of life. If they have had a poor upbringing sometimes those early lessons are lacking and it is much, much harder to learn them later in life.
So, yes we do have free will and choice, but they are not all equal in all of us. I am not sure that some people should ever be allowed to roam the streets with us. Charlie Manson warned people not to release him from prison. And they did.
So, I think we should punish people in society and try to rehabilitate them, but the other side is I think only God can judge how much of a horrible life that person is actually responsible for. Only God knows how much of a choice a person really has in his behavior.
I think most pedophiles are born that way. I think we should have special prisons for them and never let them out. They do fine when not around children.
Do some of us have a stronger conscience than others? I don't like snakes, but I don't hate them for doing what they are programmed to do. I choose not to live with them.
In fact, what is the responsibility of the criminal justice system in allowing these people to run among our children, knowing that the vast majority will re-offend?
Where is the accountability of the system in being able to DNA test so many who we are keeping behind bars who are innocent, but do not test them because it ruins their arrest and solved crime records? The UK, when this test became known, screened all their evidence, did the tests and freed many men who were wrongly convicted. This was the government, trying to make amends for their sin, for surly it is a sin to wrongly imprison someone - something about bearing false witness?
Why do we have to drag our system, kicking and screaming, to test and release the innocent?
Lack of conscience, the unpardonable sin. How about those wrongly held for a crime they did not commit? There is a great chance that they will eventually leave prison with an attitude, perhaps a little less conscience. What if they cannot get employment and actually turn to crime to survive?
Sometimes our lives take away our civility and there are holds poked through our consciences.
Christ asks us to love and not to judge. He also tells us to render unto Caesar. I think there is a reason why he steered away from talking about the ideal governmental system, the ideal economic system, the criminal justice system. I think there is no way a person can live in this world and always make the best choices and bring proper justice to situations. All we can do is try the best we can. Sometimes that means ignoring your conscience. I am sure many jurors are given less than perfect evidence and their findings become less than perfect, too. Sometimes no matter what your decision your conscience will haunt you.
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Sin/Transgression/Blasphamy: Against The Holy Ghost
