OK, I'm a newbie of JW and the reason why I'm here is because I once said "I deny of holy spirit" out of the disappointment at Christianity that includes a theory of hell for disbelievers. However I love Jesus and please I want to know what's JW's belief on hell and afterlife, what's JW's belief on "blasphemy of holy spirit" which is said to be unforgivable. Please I really feel I'm hell bound and I hope I can get a relief here. Thanks in advance..
About the unforgivable sin of blasphemy of holy spirit
by Vikier 12 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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cognac
I love Jesus and please I want to know what's JW's belief on hell and afterlife, what's JW's belief on "blasphemy of holy spirit" which is said to be unforgivable.
Hell = grave
From what I understand, and which makes sense to me, if you blaspheme against the holy spirit you don't feel sorry for it. The fact that you do feel sorry shows that you haven't really blashemed against the holy spirit, you really just said something out of anger. I would pray for forgiveness and let it go.
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cognac
Btw, WELCOME!!!
Feel free to ask as many questions as you would like. The people on here are very loving people who have a lot of insight that can help with any questions you may have!
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nomoreguilt
Vikier......WELCOME to JWD.. As cognac said you will find an abundance of information here. There are soooooo many highly educated folks here and a varitable plethora of varying attitudes. Enjoy.
NMG
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Narkissos
Welcome.
This is (mostly) an ex-JW site.
JWs do not believe in hell, they are annihilationists (in the sense of whoever is not "saved" is ultimately "destroyed," i.e. ceases to exist).
Otoh they do believe in unforgivable sin, and with a strong tendency to identify the holy spirit with the leadership of their organisation, they come close to suggesting that willful rejection of their doctrines amounts to unforgivable sin (although they would normally refrain from passing that judgement on any individual).
Iow, in the JW perspective you may not have sinned against the Holy Spirit but in all likeliness many of us have.
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WTWizard
Why do they keep it vague as to what "sin against the holy spirit" is? Well, what would you do if you are driving along, and there is a big dropoff on the right side of the road and there is no guard rail? Would you be anywhere near the right side? I don't think so.
That is what the Tower wants you to do. They put a dropoff on the outside of the religion, and no clear signs that you are too close. That way, people will stay as close to the center of the religion as they can get. While it prevents people from leaving, it also prevents them from doing anything for themselves and leads to stagnation.
They are vague, but they will tell you that if you are sorry for wrongdoing, it is a good sign (again, nothing definitive) that you are safe. That is about all they will tell you.
So, what I will do is redefine it. What they call "sin against the holy spirit" is when you see through the illusions that stabilize the belief system and then start spreading it. Why? Once you have seen the illusions, there is almost no chance that you are going to ever go back to believing what the organization is trying to tell you. At that point, you are worthless to them, with no hope of ever getting control back on you. That is what they call sin against the holy spirit, and it effectively keeps people from getting access to the real knowledge that will set one free.
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yknot
Welcome! Ask forgiveness and you shall be forgiven.
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Deputy Dog
Vikier
I'm here is because I once said "I deny of holy spirit" out of the disappointment at Christianity that includes a theory of hell for disbelievers.
Do you have problem with what the bible says about hell?
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Rapunzel
Vickier - The short answer to your question is that the Witnesses do not believe in Hell; they utterly reject the entire concept of Hell as torturous punishment in the afterlife. In fact, they reject the whole idea of an afterlife in any way, shape or form. The Witnesses believe that the "dead are conscious of nothing;" for the Witnesses, the dead exist in a state of unconscious oblivion. The Witnesses use the Hebrew term Sheol [the grave] to designate the collective condition of dead people. The Witnesses regard dead people as existing in a state of total unawareness - an utter lack of consciousness. Witnesses do believe, however, that the dead will be resurrected and live on a paradise Earth. But, again, the Witnesses reject any notion of a Hell,with its attendant eternal torment.
In regard to the supposed sinning against the holy spirit, perhas somebody with more knowledge than me can answer this question in a better fashion. As far as I know, the idea of sinning against the Holy Spirit is indeterminable in their opinion. That is to say that the Witnesses believe that no one can ever really say for sure whether a person has sinned against the Holy Spirit. As far as I know, they leave that determination up to God.
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the_truth_isnt_what_it_seems
According to JW, Sin = Failure . In other words sinning against the holy spirit would be to fail to the Holy Spirit. To not fail the Holy Spirit you need to follow the beleifs, teachings and practices of the JW. As guided by the Tower, Of course.