The unforgivable sin

Have you come across this or remember reading it before:

“‘Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven of their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’ - for they had said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’”

— Mark 3:28-30 (NRSV)

Can it be that there is a sin that is so bad that it is unforgivable? A line that even God says, "even I cannot go there.' Some action that is so reprehensible and evil that you will have a mark of shame on your soul for eternity? And if there is such an act, is "blaspheming the Holy Spirit" such an act?

Jesus makes it clear that disciples are forgiven to the extent that they forgive others. The Lord's Prayer even says it: "And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those trespass against us." We are restored through the act of forgiveness.

The role of the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of forgiveness. Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit being the "Advocate". The Holy Spirit is advocating for the accused, much like what God does on behalf of Job to Satan (the "Accuser").

Blaspheming is speaking wrongly about God. So when one blasphemes the Holy Spirit, one is saying that Holy Spirit cannot/will not forgive. 

When we say there cannot be forgiveness for someone else, when we are not forging the trespasses of others, then we are not restored.

And so, if we are forgiven to the extent that we forgive and we say the Spirit of Forgiveness cannot forgive someone, then we commit an unforgivable action. Not because God does not desire forgiveness, but it becomes a closed circle.

And now for the crude and over simplified "paint" version:

Only forgiveness can break the cycle. 

Where is the outrage for the Halftime show?

I loved the show. However, I wonder where the outrage is about the show? 

Ten years ago, the no infamous "nipplegate" happened. In which for a fraction of a second Janet Jackson's breast was exposed after Justin Timberlake ripped off part of her black leather costume. In 2013 Beyonce gave this sexually charged performance which some people were shocked by the outfit (which also was black leather). 

Then in 2014 we have the very talented Bruno Mars performance in which the only outrage I saw was related to the shirtless Anthony Kiedis and Flea. 

But did anyone listen to what was being sung during the show by Mars? It opened with a chorus of children holding hands and singing a song that talks about how desperately the song writer desires to be a Billionaire. This was then followed up with a song that talks about how having having sex. 

I am not a puritanical prude that believes that all the hip gyrating is leading these United States toward the path of destruction. Again, Mars is very talented and would enjoy having 1/4 of his musical talent. But when we are okay with kids singing about the desire for being super wealthy and a band singing about how not having sex would be like being locked out of heaven, but not okay when there is a "wardrobe malfunction" I have to wonder if there is a disconnect. 

I am not even going to talk about the male/female difference here. I am not saying that we are all okay with men preforming hetro-sexualized material but not okay with women doing it. I want to point out that this is an example of just how influenced we are by Plato.

Aristotle argues that what is real is that which we can see, touch and sense. The scientific community is built on this idea that what is measurable is reality and what is not measurable is theory at best. Because of the emphasis on the measurable (i.e. the material) it may be argued that science is the religion of the material. It is what can be seen and measured that really matters.

So when someone shows off some skin or dances provocatively then we "know" that the performer is moving in a specific direction. But when the performer uses the less measurable ethereal objects such as words to invoke something we are much better with it because we cannot measure words like we can an exposed nipple.

I don't know, maybe it was the upbeat tempo, maybe it was because the dancer dressed in a way to make physical connections to a more "pure" time in american music, maybe it is because Mars is male, maybe it is our connection to ancient Greece and a philosophy that places truth in the material rather than the "ideal", or some combination but I just wonder where is the outrage for the halftime show? 

Why the calling of Jesus is more about Jesus than the Disciples

It is common to read the Bible and think, where do I fit into this story? It is common to think, "this" is the life lesson from this story. It is common to read the Bible and put ourselves at the center of the narrative.  

When we read the story of Jesus calling some disciples in Matthew 4 it is natural to put ourselves into the story or to think the story is revealing about the character/actions of the disciples. Here is the text:

Jesus calling James and John

18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the lake—for they were fishermen. 19And he said to them, ‘Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.’ 20Immediately they left their nets and followed him. 21As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them. 22Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.

But it is worth repeating, and repeating, and repeating, and repeating the protagonist of the Christian life and the Bible is God - not you or me.

When we hear about Jesus calling the disciples we notice how obedient the disciples are or how quickly they abandon their tasks to follow Jesus. Perhaps the sermon is about how we need to abandon our lives and immediately follow Jesus. Perhaps we do. But that sermon is not the Good News. Jesus is the Good News. And if we preach the Good News then we need to preach Jesus. 

So what does this story tell us about the Good News of Jesus Christ? Allow me to get the ball rolling on your thinking. 

In a world that is set up to encourage the students to seek out the teachers Jesus inverts that and as the teacher he seeks out the students. The Good News is, in part, the fact that God in Jesus Christ seeks, finds and calls us. We get to respond. \

And as the one who is doing the main action, God is the protagonist in our lives.