Before you fall for this scam, please consider the following:
1) These people have absolutely no idea what blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is (see below, "What is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit")
2) They claim that blaspheming the Holy Spirit will serve as a wake up call. They believe Christians blindly believe whatever they are told in church. The "truth" is that Jesus never really existed (this is the main point of the free DVD they will send you, "The God Who Wasn't There"). By believing their version of the facts, you can be set free from the delusion of foolishly thinking Jesus is a real person, and all the other "nonsense" in Christianity. What amazes me is how many people seem to buy their version of the facts, without any skeptical inquiry- the very thing Christians are supposedly guilty of and the very thing they think they are now avoiding!
I think everyone should have a healthy dose of skepticism. No one wants to be fooled. The Bible encourages skepticism, it says "Test everything. Hold on to the good," (1 Thes. 5:21). So don't believe everything you hear in church just because the preacher says so- do a little investigation on your own. Likewise, don't believe everything some atheist tells you. Just because they say "evidence reveals Jesus didn't exist"- this doesn't make it so any more than your pastor saying "evidence reveals Jesus did exist." Most of the content in "The God Who Wasn't There," is completely without any supporting evidence, credible sources, or even common sense. It uses highly selective and sometimes false statements to put together a wildly fanciful explanation of how Jesus didn't exist. See the "Answers for Seekers" link in the right column of this blog for a good introduction to answers to some questions you may have about how a Christian can know the Bible is true.
What is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?
Mark 3:29 says, "whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."
The Blasphemy challenge says this means to "deny the existence of the Holy Spirit." Thus saying on a video clip, "I deny the existence of the Holy Spirit," means that you have committed the unforgivable sin and, assuming there is any truth in Christianity, you have assured yourself a spot in hell. Does making a statement like this have anything to do with "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit? Absolutely not. This kind of thinking only reveals how utterly ignorant this particular group of atheists are.
First, blasphemy, both in biblical Greek and in modern English, simply does not mean "deny the existence of something." It usually has something to do with speaking irreverently, insulting, or slandering. In the quotation from Mark 3:29, Jesus is using it to mean a type of irreverent insult.
Second, it is important to note what kind of insult Jesus meant. Judging by the context of the passage a specific kind of insult, not just any insult, is meant. The religious leaders Jesus was speaking to had just said that Jesus performed miracles using Satanic powers. Of course, Jesus believed it was the Holy Spirit who gave him the ability. So blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was saying that the work of the Holy Spirit was the work of Satan.
Does this mean you can blaspheme the Holy Spirit by replacing the words "I deny the existence of the Holy Spirit," with the words, "I think the miracles Jesus did were done through the power of Satan."? Of course not, because it is not the words alone but that you actually believe what you are saying. The last time I checked, must atheists don't even believe in the existence of Satan, let alone that Jesus used Satan's powers to perform miracles (apparently some don't even believe Jesus existed!).
I do not think anyone could really commit this same sin today. John MacArthur Jr. gives a great explanation why:
Excerpt from "What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?" by John MacArthur Jr.:
"So, in a true sense, what Jesus did, He did by the power of the Holy Spirit working through him. His virgin birth was conceived of the Spirit. His empowerment for ministry was at his baptism and was generated by the Holy Spirit. And so, Jesus operated on the principle of submission to the Father and the power of the Holy
Spirit. Now, it was one thing (notice in verse 32) to speak against the Son of Man, to say something against the humanness of Jesus or against his earthly presence or his earthly work. But to blaspheme the Holy Spirit was quite another thing.
Now, what it means is this: these people had received all the revelation they could receive. They had heard Jesus teach—and He said, “You should believe me for the words I speak.” They had seen the works that He had done, miracle after miracle after miracle… Many of them. So many of them that John says in John 20, “I suppose that if all the things that Jesus did were written, the books of all the world couldn’t hold them.” They had seen hundreds and perhaps thousands upon thousands of miracles. And Jesus said, “If you won’t believe me for the words, believe me for the very”—what? “Works’ sake.” The point here is, here were a group of men, the leaders of Israel, who had had the epitome of revelation. They had it all. The fulfillment of all Messianic prophecy in the Old Testament, the corroboration by the very statements of Christ and the deeds of Christ that He was the Messiah, and their conclusion was that He was of Satan. Now, what happened? With all the revelation that God could possibly give them, they concluded the very opposite. And our Lord says, “It’s impossible for you to be saved.” Why? “Because
when you had all the revelation, you concluded that I was satanic.” That’s hopeless."
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