There’s a whole lot of hoopla this week over tomorrow’s pending Rapture as proclaimed by Rev. Harold Camping who, even though he is telling the world that the rapture is imminent, will not sell his home or car. Just in case.
On the flip side of things, self-proclaimed athiests and non-believers are setting up rescue missions for your pets. One of the key factors in their plan is this:
Q: How do you ensure your representatives won’t be Raptured.
A: Actually, we don’t ensure it, they do. Each of our representatives has stated to us in writing that they are atheists, do not believe in God / Jesus, and that they have blasphemed in accordance with Mark 3:29, negating any chance of salvation.
This got me thinking — what the heck is that kind of blasphemy? Clearly it’s something beyond taking the Lord’s name in vain but what exactly? I knew I needed to look up the verse itself but that really didn’t help me because it seems to be contradicted by the surrounding verses (this does not surprise me — the Bible was basically written by committee over a span of many, many years, so there is plenty of contradiction throughout, it’s what makes Bible study interesting.)
So, for reference chapter 3 of Mark talks about Jesus healing people and gathering disciples and appointing apostles, while a growing number of Pharisees and Herodians are plotting against him. Mark 3:22-3:301 says:
22And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebubc! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
23So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. 28I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.”
30He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”
The key verse, 3:29 is pretty clear, blaspheme against the Holy Spirit and you’re screwed — but just before that, it says “all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven” so which absolute is one expected to believe?
A little more digging provided an interpretation from Rev. Ken Collins on The Unforgivable Sin that sheds some light for me. The key, according to Rev. Collins, is as much about the blasphemers as the blasphemy in this case. After some consideration and explanation of the passages, he sums it up, “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.”
If I read this correctly now, the Pharisees (who were learned men and leaders) were telling the crowd that Jesus was using the power of Beelzebub to drive out demons rather than the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus then tells them they are idiots to even think that, explains why they are wrong, and then tells them, “by the way, now you’re screwed.”
So if you were thinking of signing Fluffy or Rover over to Eternal Earthbound Pets, you might want to think twice. I kinda doubt that every representative has actually managed to attain that level of public slander against the Holy Spirit; it takes quite a bit of effort.
Me? I’m just going to be over here, listening to Blondie:
1scripture quoted is from the New International Version (1984) of the New Testament. I prefer the NIV because it is a good compromise between clear language and accurate translation.
I remember reading an explanation of the Mark 3:29 blasphemy question some time ago, which was generally in accordance with what your research uncovered. It’s apparently some kind of qunitessential blasphemy, and you can’t just achieve it by slandering the holy spirit. So, I agree that it would be difficult to certify that level of blasphemy, since you’d really need a judgment call from an authority to which we really don’t have access.