Blasphemy Challenge - Unforgivable Sin?
Offline I know that you've all heard this many times - Christians claiming that your Blasphemy Challenge is misguided because it fails to commit what is the actual unforgivable sin.
But I want to press the point some more. The Blasphemy Challenge is not asking people to commit the unforgivable sin. You've heard the usual arguments, including cries to read the verses in context. Your response has been something along the lines of "context doesn't matter, denial of the existence of something is a great blasphemy!"
Well then, if this is true, then Christians could not believe that any atheist could ever be saved. C.S. Lewis, a great hero of many Christians, was once an atheist. An atheist denies the existence of God. The Holy Spirit is God. Therefore, an atheist by definition already denies the existence of the Holy Spirit. Thus committing what RRS believes to be that unforgivable sin. No atheist can ever be saved, then. How many Christian scholars believe that? As Brian said in another thread,
No, actually not only do Christians not "know" this, there are actually quite a few that agree we are commiting the unforgivable sin including some scholars.
Which scholars? What's your definition of a scholar? You want to tell me that many Christians believe all atheist's are by definition beyond repentance and salvation?
And none of that rubbish about asking me to say that I deny the existence of the Holy Spirit to prove it's not the unforgivable sin. Brian, you should be smarter than that if you're running a site like this. I'm not going to steal bread from a supermarket, just to prove that's not the unforgivable sin. I'm not going to deny the existence of Paul, just to prove that's not the unforgivable sin. Since I believe in God, I'm not going to lie about His existence just to prove a point to you. I want to avoid any sin that I can, whether forgivable or not.
I can understand, having put a lot of effort into the Blasphemy Challenge, not wanting to admit that it was misguided. But you will have to face this truth eventually. Still, maybe it would have been wiser for me not to point it out so that you waste time and energy on it.
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The point of the Blasphemy challenge is getting Atheism out in the open. Many people who were 'closeted atheists' have come out to their religious family and friends because of the challenge. It's something that we atheists rallied around.
This whole topic has been hashed and rehashed a million times, and the challenge is pretty much in the past anyways.
Also, unless you are somehow privy to the innermost workings of Sapients mind, it's impossible for you to judge whether it was 'misguided' or not. Maybe Brian accomplished just what he wanted to.
http://atheismisrational.blogspot.com/
Oh, not this again...
o.O!
Please take some time and read through the forums and thread to see if a topic has already been posted.
Thank you.
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The challenge is about a lot more than just committing the unforgivable sin. It's about standing up, "out of the closet", in the name of what one believes (or in this case disbelieves) in.
Whether or not us Atheists are really committing the sin is irrelevent. You can see the symbolism in your bible but can't see it in the challenge?
If you're an evangelical, maybe this analogy will help.
Evangelicals, in general, believe that baptism isn't REQUIRED to get to heaven, but its a public profession of faith. Evangelicals know there's nothing magical about baptism.
The Blasphemy challenge is similar. We KNOW that we are not really committing an unforgivable sin, but its a public profession of a lack of faith in the Christian god.
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