The unforgivable Squirrel ? View 1
Apostate Squirrel errancy@infidels.org
Thu, 8 Jul 1999 12:56:44 +0200 (00931449404, 000801bec931$4bdce1e0$c5219e3e@Noname)
-----Ursprüngliche Nachricht-----
Von: derspatz <derspatz@avon.net.au>
An: errancy@infidels.org <errancy@infidels.org>
Datum: Donnerstag, 8. Juli 1999 08:33
Betreff: The unforgivable Squirrel ? View 1
>(A cut&paste job, BOC - this one dealing
>with the "Can a Christian commit it" POV.)
>
>"But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be
>forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.
>-Mark 3:29, NIV"
>
>Of all the hard sayings of Jesus, this one has caused the most
>serious pastoral problems. I'm not even a pastor, yet how many
>times has some guilt-ridden person come to me in tears, begging
>for an explanation of this verse? Far too many for my taste! There
>are people who are predisposed to feeling guilty, either because
>of their personality type or because they have been pressed down
>by adversity, so as soon as they come across this passage, they
>are convinced that they have somehow blasphemed against the Holy
>Spirit. They are certain of this, even though they haven't the
>faintest notion of what exactly constitutes 'blaspheming against
>the Holy Spirit' and even though they cannot recollect ever having
>done whatever it is. Nevertheless, they are certain that they must
>have done it somewhere along the line and that explains why they
>are so miserable. Sometimes they feel so guilty that they come not
>to have the burden lifted, but only to have it identified! They
>are convinced they are far beyond the pale of salvation. They are
>so convinced of their unworthiness that they do not seek to be
>saved, they only seek to understand why they cannot be saved.
>
>In actual fact, these people are miserable, not because they are
>sinners, but because for some reason they are volunteering for
>inappropriate guilt feelings. Those of us who are not psychopaths
>go through periods like that, at least at some point in our
>adolescence, if not during our adulthood if we face a major crisis
>about our self-worth. When it happens, we should be listening to
>John who says that when our hearts condemn us, we should remember
>that Jesus is greater than our heart-but there are moments when
>the condemnation of the heart, when combined with this passage,
>drowns out the loudest and greatest reassurance.
>
>But what is the unforgivable sin of which Jesus speaks?
>
>The first thing to do in our investigation is to note that I have
>taken the verse out of context, and to understand this verse we
>have to restore that context and understand it.
>
>The situation was this: The teachers of the Law came down from
>Jerusalem and publicly accused Jesus of being in league with
>Satan, explaining His exorcisms that way. Why did they accuse Him
>of that? After all, the Pharisees themselves cast out demons all
>the time, so Jesus' success at exorcism was not at issue. However,
>when Jesus did conduct an exorcism, He never invoked God! That led
>the spectators to wonder where He got the authority to pull it
>off. Some people correctly deduced that Jesus possessed the
>personal authority to do it, and were amazed. The learned
>Pharisees who witnessed the exorcisms refused to come to that
>conclusion, because that would result in Jesus having the
>authority of God and they did not want to accept that. So they
>decided that Jesus must have mumbled the invocation. Since the
>only reason for mumbling would be to conceal an invocation of
>Satan, that is what they accused Him of in public.
>
>Jesus' rebuttal went as follows: Satan can't be casting out Satan,
>because that is absurd; he would be defeating himself. It doesn't
>make any sense. Furthermore, Jesus couldn't rob Satan of his
>demons and his victories unless He had more power than Satan did.
>They didn't suppose that Satan would give up without a fight, did
>they?
>
>If it is not by the power of Satan that Jesus casts out demons,
>then it must be by the power of the Holy Spirit, because that is
>the only other alternative. If Jesus does not invoke that power,
>the implication is that He already possesses it as a personal
>prerogative. If Jesus is casting out demons by the power of the
>Holy Spirit, but the Pharisees slander the Holy Spirit by trying
>to make people think the Holy Spirit is Satan, then they are
>clearly blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.
>
>So in my opinion, the unforgivable sin, the blasphemy against the
>Holy Spirit, consists in misusing one's training and education in
>the Scriptures to publicly and knowingly slander the Holy Spirit
>by misleading people into thinking that He is Satan. Clearly no
>one who does this can be forgiven, because it is through the Holy
>Spirit that we are forgiven. Also, no one who thinks that the Holy
>Spirit is Satan will permit himself to be guided by Him or filled
>with Him or given gifts by Him. So just as pulling the main
>breaker in your house means that you can never receive
>electricity, blaspheming against the Holy Spirit means that you
>can never receive forgiveness, because it turns off the tap
>through which forgiveness flows!
>
>This is not the sort of sin that an ordinary person can commit.
>Blasphemy is deliberate, public slander. In order to commit this
>sin, you have to be in a position of learned authority.
>
>In any event, to people who are worried about committing this sin,
>I offer these two observations:
>
>1) Paul said that he was the worst of all sinners, yet he was not
>only saved but also made an apostle. If Paul is the worst of all
>sinners, it stands to reason that you can't be worse than he was,
>and judging from his spiritual career, whatever limits are on your
>calling are higher than you think.
>
>2) Repentance is a spiritual gift. (See Acts 5:31, Acts 11:18, and
>2 Timothy 2:25) If you feel remorse for your sins and a desire to
>change, you are obviously not disconnected from the Holy Spirit;
>and if you are not disconnected, you cannot possibly have
>committed the unforgivable sin.
>
>So to those who are troubled: the surest sign that you have not
>committed the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is the very fact
>that you are worried about it, because that shows that the Holy
>Spirit is very definitely on speaking terms with you!
>
>regarDS
>
Squirrel...
blasphemy
n.,
pl. 3mies 5ME blasfemie < OFr blasphemie < LL(Ec) blasphemia < Gr
blasphcmia: see BLASPHEME6
1 profane or contemptuous speech, writing, or action concerning God or
anything held as divine
2 any remark or action held to be irreverent or disrespectful
SYN.—blasphemy, the strongest of the following terms, is used esp. of any
remark deliberately mocking or contemptuous of God; profanity extends the
concept to irreverent remarks referring to any person or thing regarded as
sacred; swearing and cursing, in this connection, both refer to the
utterance of profane oaths and imprecations, the latter, esp., to the
calling down of evil upon someone or something
So when I say the holy spirit is a screaming bender and a pud smoker, or a
manifestation of lucifer, then it is safe to I have committed the
unforgivable sin, no?
Regardless of what you point out in context of whatever (aoplogetics in
gear), jesus said plain and simple there are no sins that can be NOT be
forgiven, then turns around and says there is ONE that can not be
forgiven.....so what exactly is it? Yes or no? Remeber jesus was supposed to
be god in the flesh, so what jesus says..god says in effect no?
Now, what do you have here? A contradiction. No amount of apologetics would
save you here. Using context would possibly explain somethings, but then
when I would use context for jesus´ failed return prophecy you would scream
foul play...so screw context. (matt 16:27-28 context being set up in the
verses before starting with verse 24 or earlier....just to set that he was
talking to the disciples then and there ans meant all he said as that it
will be before thier time(death) comes.)
Jesus said there was an unforgivable sin, and in effect god said the same/he
was jesus or?/ (forgive the begging there) Would your perfect god who hates
all sin, let a sinner (or one who blasphemed the holy taost)into heaven?
Regardless of being saved? And how do you know he would or would not?
I really don´t care if I offend some myth, and I am not the least bit
concerned about my future in eternity.
I have been out of the fold far too long now to be scared by myths, and
wishes.
Was this post as incoherent as yours?
Squirrel
Nothing says "friendship" like a bag of shaved weasels.
God is crying, probably because of something you done.