Blasphemy Challenge?

[DesR85]

I have to agree with what Darzog said. Wherever I go, I notice very high anti-religion statements especially in gaming forums and such (including this site as well). There will always be bad eggs in different religions and even atheism as well. Even I can also say that people have committed atrocities in the name of atheism as well as those people who do the same thing in the name of a belief/religion. Face it. Nobody is perfect, that's for sure and we have to live with it.

Blaming a religion/belief will surely go nowhere and will only lead to hatred among each other. Brother against brother and sister against sister. That's the reality. In the end, all this will lead to deep divisions and resentment in society.

[Vicsun]

Didn't mean for what I said to be taken as an attack on your person, Darzog; I was just poking fun at you bringing up scientists in a discussion that has nothing to do with science and pulling out a moral equivalence argument out of thin air. Imagine the opposite scenario - some scientist has just faked a bunch of research and someone says "but Christians can be corrupt too!"

Wouldn't you find that funny? I'd find that funny.

[fable]

I can't say I've seen much in the way of humor lately in this thread. Perhaps I'm missing something, too. Maybe I missed it while staring at that word "intolerance" being batted around by various parties.

I'd like to remind everybody that GameBanshee has no tolerance for generic group slams based on personal opinions alone in serious threads. If you've got a gripe with a religion, all religions, atheism, pantheism, or any -ism, please explain why, and do it with the degree of courtesy you'd expect paid to your views, whether they represent those of the majority of SYMers, or not.

So criticize intelligently, and with respect. I know it runs counter to humanity's recorded history, but hey, we're trying to start a new trend.

[Lady Dragonfly]

No. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is like what Ananias and Sapphira did (Acts 5: they sold a possession and brought part of the price to the apostles, however pretending it was all, thus wanting to deceive both men and God). Not believing isn't a sin; it just makes you subject to the law (the Ten Commandments and stuff), by which you might condemned. The point in believing is that your sins get forgiven and you are freed from the law.

I am not a Bible scholar (not even close) but I think the Christian concept of sins and 'points in believing' is a little more complicated than that. I am not going to argue the 'points'; I would like to clarify the 'sin' terminology only so everybody could have a better idea what it is all about. Please allow me to talk a bit about these Sins; actually, there is a sort of a classification of sins I personally find entertaining.

To simplify matters, I am quoting a few articles I've found in Wikipedia:

The eternal sin (often called the "unforgivable sin" or "unpardonable sin") is a concept of sin in Christian theology, whereby salvation or eternal life with God becomes impossible. Its origin comes from statements by Jesus in the context of his opponents' claim that his miraculous healings were a work of Beelzebub:

“Truly I say unto you, All their sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter: but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin: because they say, ‘He has an unclean spirit’.” (Book of Mark 3:28-29)

There are also so-called mortal sins and venial sins:

The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, are a classification of vices used in early Christian teachings to educate and protect followers from (immoral) fallen man's tendency to sin. The Roman Catholic Church divides sin into two types: venial (forgiven through any sacramental) and capital or mortal (meaning they can kill the life of grace and risk eternal damnation unless absolved in the sacrament of confession).
.......
In Latin Catholic moral theology, a mortal sin, as distinct from a venial sin, must meet all of the following conditions:

1. its subject must be ‘grave matter’;
2. it must be committed with full knowledge, both of the sin and of the gravity of the offense;
3. it must be committed with deliberate and complete consent.
......
Some things considered by the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church to be ‘grave matters’ include adultery, murder, lust, willfully missing mass on Sunday, perjury, incredulity, and the use of contraceptives.
......
Listed in the same order used by both Pope Gregory the Great in the 6th Century AD and Dante Alighieri, the seven deadly sins are as follows: luxuria (extravagance, later lust), gula (gluttony), avaritia (avarice/greed), acedia (sloth), ira (wrath), invidia (envy), and superbia (pride/hubris). Each deadly sin is opposed by one of the corresponding Seven Holy Virtues.
.....
According to Roman Catholicism, a venial sin (meaning "forgivable" sin) is a lesser sin which does not result in a complete separation from God and eternal damnation in Hell. A venial sin involves a "temporary loss of grace" from God.
.....
Venial sins are sins which do not meet the conditions for mortal sins. The sin may be one that is not a grave matter, or if a grave matter, the individual does not realize that the act is a sin or grave matter, or does not deliberately consent to the sin. The act of committing a venial sin does not cut off the sinner from God’s grace, as the sinner has not rejected God. However, venial sins do injure the relationship between the sinner and God, and as such, may be reconciled either through the sacrament of reconciliation or by some other means (e.g. receiving the Eucharist).
.....
Venial sins usually remain venial no matter how many one commits. They cannot "add up" to collectively constitute a mortal sin, except in certain cases of theft, where one steals a very small amount of money or goods many times.

Both mortal and venial sins have a dual nature of punishment. They incur both guilt for the sin (culpability), yielding eternal punishment, and temporal punishment for the sin. The Sacrament of Penance is an act of God’s mercy, and addresses the guilt and eternal punishment for sin. Purgatory and indulgences address the temporal punishment for sin, and exercise of God’s justice.

Can you see how easy it is to make Hell your final destination? Welcome aboard.
Let's return to the topic at hand, the eternal sin:

Many Christian denominations such as Catholicism view the issue of eternal sin as a grave importance— to deny the Holy Spirit entry into your life is to deny God's truth, and hence commit oneself to a life of serving Satan.

Calvinists are a notable exception —instead claiming that since Christ is not on Earth but in Heaven, therefore no man on Earth can commit an unforgivable sin against Christ. From a doctrinal view, they take a more liberal approach toward the issue of salvation, under the belief that God is both loving and forgiving —and that the hardline view is at odds with the principles of faith, even when applied to the sinner and the question of eternal sin.

I hope all this helped to clarify matters a bit.

LD@TheNineHells.com