and is this tainting of our rights something our current golden candidate will exploit to the public and correct properly?

Prophet,
>> Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is to attribute an act or a move of the Holy Spirit to a work of Satan. <<
Is it committing an act that is not of God, but claiming it's God's will, or is it claiming that something of God's will is evil? I just want to be clearer on it, and make sure I'm accurate for the future. I'll Google it later ...
BTW, if it's one of those 2, can someone really commit an act on Earth that will never be pardoned by Jesus? Or has it something to do with a hardening of the heart?

I find it difficult to believe that this person was ever a Christian even though he may have gone through the motions of a pastor of the church. He mocks God by pretending to be a Christian and now mocks God further by declaring himself to be an atheist. What he has done will lead astray some people who are weak in the faith. These are the sins he is now guilty of.

It's disturbing to read about something like this, that some of our spiritual leaders may actually be having a silent battle with apostasy while they are preaching. This is a sign of the last days when even the very elect will be deceived. And this poor misguided former pastor has been deceived big time!

Pastors are under attack from the devil and his minions and they need us to pray for them without ceasing!

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is to attribute an act or a move of the Holy Spirit to a work of Satan. That is unforgivable.

Was this "Christian pastor turned atheist" ever really a Christian??

amatheson, BTW ... I think your post offered the Biblical interpretation of what I posted about the Seattle Times article.

>> "They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us." (1 Jn. 2:19) <<

Thank you for that. It sums it up. :^)

charles, HyperionOverseer,

The way I understand it, or rather the way is was explained to me, is that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is actually a perpetual sin. It's not something that can be committed once, with no hope of redemption, if the offender wishes to repent.

Remember recently, there was a (I don't know what else to call it) "dare" called the Atheist Challenge? Atheists videotaped themselves announcing that they "deny the Holy Spirit", essentially trying to score some shock value from Christians by posting themselves on 'YouTube', because they don't believe in God, anyway. It's just another example of how dishonest skeptics hear of something in the Bible and completely misinterpret it for their own twisted agenda.

The UNFORGIVABLE SIN is the belief that God cannot forgive something you've done, or said, or that He can't help you. But God can do anything. To believe that God can't forgive you for ANYTHING you've done is the ultimate arrogance, and an insult to God. It infers that Christ's death on the cross was somehow incomplete. The insidiousness of this is that these people usually keep believing it until they die, and are eternally lost, because they won't even inquire about it with their pastor or with other Christians.

charles, I think you're right about only Christians being able to commit this sin, because to deny God's power in this context, they have to know the tenants of Christianity and believe in the Trinity.

The GOOD NEWS ... for anyone reading this who thinks (or knows) you have committed this sin, unless you're dead, as I'm writing this, as you're reading this, unless you're lying in the ground, in a silk-lined polished box, covered with dirt ...
It's NOT TOO LATE for you. Repent of this right now. Know in your heart that ALL things are possible with God. Repent of this sin and ask forgiveness and you can break this curse.

God loves you. Spit out your pride and love Him too.

HyperionOverseer, The only unforgivable sin is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. If he did this, only GOD knows. Lets pray for his salvation. P.S. I believe only a Christian can commit this sin. If he wasn't a Christian the he didn't.

Our problem is that we allowed our country's amendments to be changed to mean something they don't and our laws to be re-written in favor of some special interest groups. Every time a new bill is introduced, the real goal needs to be discovered. We, as Christians need to be very alert. If you don't believe this, go back to when these groups changed the laws and see for yourself. We do make a difference if we are informed and vote our conscience. The Lord told us to be alert. Now they want to change the bible! What next? Hate sin, not the sinner but love the Lord above all. I know you all have more to add to this and I pray we learn precisely what the Lord wants us to and go forth with the truth of His word.

NOW THIS PEOPLE

is the unforgiveable sin!

But the question is, is the unforgiveable sin a one way ticket to hell?

I would wonder more why this man turned from Christ to embrace a destiny of nothingness. To venture to guess ... he fervently went through the motions, but never really understood what being a child of God (or having real faith for that matter) is really about.

The following link is to a Seattle Times article interviewing another pastor->atheist, Dan Barker. http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004001181_preacher08m.html
Ideus is mentioned briefly, but Barker is the main focus. I think this is relevant, because I suspect this is typical of someone who tried to follow Jesus as a "religion", and not a "Savior".

Note the lines below from paragraphs 8, 9 and 11 respectively, which would at least SEEM to support my speculation.

>> it's about "unjoining religion and becoming your own person. <<
In other words ... NOT a servant of God. Perhaps he never really was.

>> he came to believe that one doesn't need faith in order to do good in the world <<
Sure, that's true ... but then all good experiences end with the world, and no one will enter Heaven by works.

>> We don't need salvation because we're not sinners in the first place. <<
I think this was the nail in the coffin -- pun intended. These are not the words of someone who really understood who Christ is, and why HE came.

Keith Green! One of the greatest (if not "the" greatest) musical prophet of our time. I've known no one who's shaken up the church like he did.
And God bless Jay Sekulow and the ACLJ! I'm sure he'll hear about this and get something going. Right now I think he's got a big group working on the Israel/Palestine conference.

I wore a cross on my Army Uniform for my entire career as an Army Chaplain, now I am retired.
Chaplains do not wear a cross because the government endorses any faith. They wear them to identify themselves as to which faith group they represent. Chaplain's in the military represent the faith group that that endorses them. The people we serve have the right to know what kind of clergy we are.
The 1st Amendment needs of the prisoner and police officer have priority over the needs of the state or the atheist. Prisoners and policemen cannot just walk away to worship anytime they want. They often face dangerous and stressful circumstances. The presence of a Chaplain with the symbols of his/her faith is a powerful comfort to those in need.
The American Center for Law and Justice, the Alliance Defense Fund, the Chaplains, and police department should stand up to this challenger. This fight has been fought before and won, and can be won again. The Chaplaincy; military, law enforcement, corrections, school, hospital, and corporate, must defend their right to self-identity. They must fight to keep the rights of the people they serve who are greatly controlled by the institutions in which they find themselves. They are the majority, and they have a right to worship and practice their faith within the confines of these institutions.
The soldier, the prisoner, then employee, the student, the police officer, and the hospital patient should not have to check his or her 1st Amendment right to practice their faith just because they are forced to deal with an institution that is tax funded.
Let each chaplain wear the symbol of the faith they represent, they have the right and the obligation to do so. The people they serve have a right to know who they represent in case they do, or do not want their services.

Keith Green once quipped, "Going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to McDonald's makes you a hamburger."

You can even flip the burgers, and it still doesn't make you a hamburger!

"They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us." (1 Jn. 2:19)

Yes, and this goes against the First Amendment.

Very, very sad.