Sins Against The Holy Spirit...

by Merkaba 13 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Merkaba

  I remember reading an excerpt of a court case recently wherein a GB member was being questioned by a counselor in a court case. One of the questions was on the topic of "unpardonable sins". The GB member was asked by the legal counsel if there was a transgression that would disfellowship a member of the congregation whereupon they would not be allowed to be reinstated. The GB member (I believe it was Fred Franz) that sins against the holy spirit would not be pardoned, and that anyone commiting said sins would never be allowed back in the congregation.

  My question is: What exactly is a sin against the Holy Spirit. I know its mentioned in scripture somewhere, but no one has ever explained to me what this is exactly, and I don't think its spoken of very frequently within Club J-Dub.

  Anyone know?
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  blondie

  The WTS only defines what "the sin against the holy spirt" isn't.

  I think the case you are talking about is the Walsh case in 1954.

  http://www.lulu.com/product/file-download/the-1954-walsh-trial-transcript/834182
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  tenyearsafter

  There are several interpretations of this, but what I always heard was that it applied to those of the anointed that had become apostate and thus sinned against the Holy Spirit by rejecting Jehovah (his Organization).
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  transhuman68

  Those who, either in word or by their course of action, willfully and knowingly blasphemed God's spirit thus manifested would be "guilty of everlasting sin," with no forgiveness possible. ( Mt 1 2 : 3 1 , 3 2 ; Mr 3 : 28-30; compare Joh 15 : 26 ; 1 6 : 7, 8. ) This could be the case with some who came to be Christians and then deliberately turned from God's pure worship. Hebrews 10: 26, 27 states that "if we practice sin willfully after having received the accurate knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice for sins left, but there is a certain fearful expectation of judgment and there is a fiery jealousy that is going to consume those in opposition. "

  At 1 John 5 : 16, 1 7 , John evidently refers to willful, knowing sin in speaking of "a sin that does incur death" as contrasted with one that does not. ( Compare Nu 1 5 : 30. ) Where the evidence indicates such willful, knowing sin, the Christian would not pray for the one so offending. God, of course, is the final Judge as to the heart attitude of the sinner.- Compare Jer 7: 16; Mt 5 : 44 ; Ac 7 : 60.

  From Insight On The Scriptures (1988)
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  Merkaba

  blondie,

  indeed it is, and I was reading that from In Search of Christian Freedom - Thanks for clearing that up.
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  Listener

  I don't know that the JWs have given a clear understanding on this but there is an article dealing, to some extent, with this issue in the Watchtower 15th July, 2007 titled "Have you sinned against the holy spirit?"

  This link provides the contents of that article as well as a few other comments

  http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/1679763
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  Merkaba

  Thanks for the link Listener. I don't consider myself to be a Christian, however I will profess that I do believe a lot of what Christ taught is absolutely beautiful, and that I am brought to tears many times by reading the Gospels, and much of the New Testament. I just cannot stand behind the idea of being judged for eternity, based on what we chose to believe in a very short lifetime - it's actually one of the things I began to question growing up as a Witness from a very early age. How can Jesus, giving such a beautiful message of love, also teach something that is so hateful? It makes no sense to me.
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  WTWizard

  They are vague on purpose. This gives people the fear that they have committed it, or that anything that they do that is fun might be sin against the holy spirit.

  The real "sin against the holy spirit" is realizing that the whole religion is a scam. You see the whole Christian platform as having major flaws at the core level, or that your religion is misrepresenting it, or both. The reason to invent "sin against the holy spirit" is to limit the damage one person can do to the whole religion. Otherwise, one person realizing that Christianity cannot stand on its own ("a perfect, complete sacrifice to which nothing ever need be added" plus demands for self-sacrifice, contradicts itself) could spread the realization to the whole Christian congregation. And it could cause the whole religion to collapse from lack of support. "Sin against the holy spirit" prevents this by preventing others from paying heed to this realization that the religion is rubbish.
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  Terry

  I think a more essential question to ask is why ANY sin was ever forgiven under ANY circumstance!

  Trying to do the right thing and failing.

  Doing the wrong thing on purpose.

  Failing to do the right thing by doing nothing.

  Thinking the wrong thing.

  Being born unable to do the right thing.

  Learning "right" and "wrong" and being taught incorrectly.

  Among all the above conditions of "sin" the only obvious one is Doing the wrong thing on purpose.

  But, consider this.

  A person's life consists of Birth..........in between...............Death.

  SIN takes place in that "in between" period. What happens when there is TIME REMAINING for a person to REPENT?

  Christianity gives a sort of half-baked mechanism for forgiveness.

  However, not consistent within Christianity is agreement on how it is possible in the first place.

  Primarily, forgiveness consists of Jesus' Death and the sinner's belief in that death as a pre-condition for absolution.

  Then, things are mucked up by the introduction of a Doctrine called GRACE.

  Several versions of GRACE have appeared and have been taught historically.

  1.Sanctifying GRACE (we are, by nature, partially divine already). St. Thomas says that "grace is nothing other than a certain participated likeness of the divine nature."(7)

  2.Sovereign GRACE (Calvinist) Divine "arm-twisting" forcing worthless sinners to repent and accept God's love against their own nature.

  3.Irresistable GRACE God foreordains who will be saved and it cannot be otherwise. In effect Holy Spirit, "graciously causes the elect sinner to cooperate, to believe, to repent, to come freely and willingly to Christ."

  4. Prevenient GRACE (Augustine/Arminian/Methodist) Essentially, God turns a spiritual valve and allows us to experience our "natural" love and spiritual longing to operate that we may accept Christ's offer.

  5. Means of GRACE (Luthern) God "plants" faith in human hearts and does not depend on the faith, strength, status, or good works.

  And so on...

  Bottom line conclusion?

  The idea of what sin really is or how man escapes justice for what he actually chooses to do is distorted, convoluted and fragmented in theology.

  If you break it you buy it is on the one hand fully enforced by JUSTICE and in another instance a FREE PASS is extended by God's whim.

  So: it is NONSENSE.
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  designs

  Whimsy- God's cardinal quality