Dawkins encourages others to blaspheme Holy Spirit

[Michael]

Professor Richard Dawkins is encouraging children to blaspheme the Holy Spirit on his website, Christian Voice has learned.

On www.richarddawkins.net the campaigning atheist has republished 'the blasphemy challenge' by a youth group calling itself 'Rational Responders'.

The idea, which dates from December 2006, is that anyone who blasphemes the Holy Spirit on video on YouTube is rewarded with a free copy of a DVD called 'The God Who Wasn't There'.

According to 'The Rational Response Squad', their campaign is 'to entice young people to publicly renounce any belief' in what they describe as 'the sky God' of Christianity. Their knowledge of Christian theology is not much better than Mohammed's when he was writing the Koran. After relegating God to 'the sky' they venture that Christians believe the Holy Spirit 'dwells on earth as God's representative'.

But the campaign claims to go further than foster renunciations of belief. It 'encourages participants to commit what Christian doctrine calls the only unforgivable sin - blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.'

Comments on the same page start with a couple of writers saying 'I deny the Holy Spirit' before one 'Kergillian' accuses the campaign of being crass and points out that if atheists do indeed deny God, then blaspheming that which does not exist is just a game. Another comment adds 'childish' and a third 'puerile and senseless'.

Stephen Green, National Director of Christian Voice, said today:

'Dawkins thinks that by encouraging young people to blaspheme the Holy Spirit he can keep them out of the Kingdom of God, a Kingdom of a God in whom he claims not to believe.

'A superficial look at Luke 12:10 would appear to indicate that speaking a word against the Holy Spirit is enough to commit the said blasphemy and remain unforgiven, but Matthew 12:22-32 and Mark 3:20-30 set the Lord's remark in context.

'To blaspheme the Holy Spirit, it is necessary to ascribe Jesus's casting out of a demon to Satan rather than to the Holy Spirit. Some would say it was only relevant during our Lord's time on earth and such a sin can not now be committed. It is certainly clear from the text that the Lord's fire, as it were, was turned on a group of unbelieving Pharisees who were watching the event.

'However we read the passage, merely saying 'I deny the Holy Spirit' doesn't come close to what the Pharisees did and would appear to be entirely forgivable. It is not actually blaspheming the Holy Spirit. The crucial point however, is that Richard Dawkins thinks it is, and that he is trying to convince young people in particular to commit a sin against a God in whom he does not believe and for them to surmise they will never be forgiven by the same God whom he says does not exist.

'Is that rational or is it rather than a peculiar combination of wickedness and madness? Has the evolutionary biologist lost the plot?

'If Dawkins were a Satanist, it would make sense to seem to block the path of redemption. As someone who claims to be a rationalist, even for the evangelical atheist which is Dawkins, it just looks malicious, loony, ill-informed and stupid in equal measure.

'I believe God will forgive those kids who have been enticed to join this latest fad if they turn to Jesus Christ and believe in His saving work. Even Richard Dawkins himself can turn off the road to hell and seek the forgiveness of the same Jesus he hates so much. God is that big and that gracious!'

www.christianvoice.org.uk/Press/press053.html

[stevepugh]

Its a shame that Dawkins does not understand scripture better.

The blaspheme of the Holy Spirit cannot be done today. So his devilish plan fails.

What is Blaspheme against the Holy Spirit?

The Concept only occurs once in Scripture and it is recorded three times by the Synoptic writers.

Matt 12:31 Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

Mark 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal d**nation.

Luke 12:10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.

This one event recorded by the Gospel three writers describes the National Rejection of the Jewish Messiah, while he was present in their midst, on the basis of attributing his Messianic signs to Satanic origin. This was an unforgivable sin and it was blaspheme against the Holy Spirit.
From this event onward Christ refused to preach any more to them and spoke only parabolicaly. The rejection of Christ led by the religious leaders and taken up by the common man was the sin against the Holy Spirit who was empowering Christ do do his Messianic sign miracles.

All other sins are able to be forgiven says Christ.

The subject of Blaspheme against the Holy spirit is never mentioned in scripture by any writer in any age OT or NT. This was a unique sin that cannot be repeated today.

No NT writer ever warns anyone against committing this sin. Even the Antichrist who is coming cannot perform this sin.


Steve

[andrewchapman]

I think this is rather rash to assume that this very severe warning about blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is of no direct relevance today. Surely it is better to believe that the scripture is true and that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is not forgiveable. I did once have to pray with a brother who had indeed insulted and spoken against the Holy Spirit in a moment of insanity and rebellion against God. I have never felt so afraid before the Lord and we had to seek Him very earnestly for His mercy and forgiveness. The brother was punished in a certain way for his great sin, but he himself was restored to full salvation.

The context in the scripture was that the Pharisees were in effect calling the Spirit of God Beelzebub. There are many today who cast judgement on movements in the church such as the Toronto Airport gatherings and manifestations within them and say that certain things are the work of the devil and not of God. They may in certain cases be correct, but if they are wrong, and in effect calling the Holy Spirit the devil, then they are blaspheming against the Holy Spirit. For this reason I believe that we must be extremely cautious about making such a categorical statement.

[Michael]

What do you reckon this shaking is ?
See latest video "Dudley OutPouring" - A Shaking Going On! (May 18, 2008) at

youtube.com/watch?v=dUl2-Bo0Q2M

At the start of this video clip Trevor Baker is talking about Todd Bentley. Praying for international visitors from Turkey, Macedonia, USA, South Africa, etc.

[andrewchapman]

Hi Michael, Not sure. In general, I would say that when the Holy Spirit is present in power, demons begin to manifest, perhaps to oppose what God is doing or perhaps because they are getting upset and agitated. You see this in Jesus's ministry that demons start crying out just because He is there. There's a good discussion by Jonathan Edwards about manifestations - it's quite a while since I read it, but as I remember it he is very open-minded about what is going on. Contrary to what is sometimes claimed, the eighteenth century revivals had all sorts of weird and wonderful manifestations (including holy laughter by the way), and a lot of it is our flesh reacting to the presence of the Lord in a measure to which we are not accustomed, some of it is demonic, and sometimes I think God may communicate prophetically through bodily actions. For example, you sometimes see in the old-time Pentecostal churches, somebody running around the room, as a sign of the urgency of the hour, and there are many such things, which we should not discount straight away without enquiring of the Lord. Holy laughter could be seen partly as a message about Isaac, the child of promise, and so on. The much-quoted barking like a dog (which I never personally saw although I was around Kensington Temple and also Rodney Howard-Browne's ministry in 1994) must be demonic or possible of the flesh, I would have thought. There was also laughter later on which seemed to be demonic, like a mocking spirit, or just silliness.

I think the important thing is not to take too much notice of physical manifestations and to focus on what is actually being said, and also to look at the long term fruit to see if it is good. I was impressed in the video that Trevor did not draw attention to his shaking and just carried on when he was able. This ministry was born out of Toronto I believe so probably shares their aversion to deliverance ministry - in fact that has been a feature of Vineyard as a whole. So sure, some of the manifestations may be demonic, but that does not mean that it is not the Holy Spirit who is moving. On the contrary, that is a normal feature of the moving of the Spirit. But they should be cast out if they manifest, and on this I hope we are in agreement. Shalom.

[andrew]

Hi there I feel it would manifest demons when god is surrounding due to they want to attack always but gods good and defeats them

[stevepugh]

Andrew, I'm afraid you have just contradicted yourself.

You said that you met a man who had committed the unpardonable sin and then he found forgivness? This is absurd!

I've given you the scriptural teaching on this matter. There is no unpardonable sin today.


Steve