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Author Bio:
Rabbi Marc Gellman began his studies in 1969 at the University of Wisconsin, and went on to attend the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of ...
Read more about By Rabbi Marc Gellman, Tribune Media Services.
Unforgivable Sins: A Primer
By Rabbi Marc Gellman, Tribune Media Services
Q: What is the unforgivable sin? - B., via godsquadquestion@aol.com
A: There are many sins recounted in the Hebrew Bible but none are ever called unforgivable sins. Sometimes the punishment for sinning is death, but repentance is always possible before punishment.
In the Christian Scriptures, there are three verses that take up the subject of unforgivable sin. In the Book of Matthew (12: 31-32), we read, "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven men, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. And whoever shall speak a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in the age to come."
The same idea that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is unforgivable is found in Luke 12:10 and Mark 3:29.
What constitutes such blasphemy is not so clear, but generally the idea is that rejecting God and God's good news for salvation is the most radical and thorough rejection a person can make, and thus it separates the blasphemer most profoundly from the community of faith. This is not so much a punishment for the sinner as it is a fact about the sinner's willful rejection of God's grace.
If I were to translate this sentiment about unforgivable sin into my own life list, I'd probably include the following sins as fundamental, although the concept of unforgivability from a forgiving God is not sensible to me and one that I cannot accept into my own faith life. I believe that God can forgive all sins provided the sinner is truly contrite and has repented for his or her offenses. Here's my list of unforgivable sins:
--Murder, torture and abuse of any human being, but particularly the murder, torture and abuse of children and animals. These are more than unforgivable to me; they are incomprehensible. They violate the most basic dignity of the human person and, as such, deny God in our broken world.
As for lower level unforgivable sins, I would include:
--Losing hope. Tomorrow may not be better than today, but when you stop hoping that tomorrow will be better than today, you're lost.
--Believing that you deserve everything you have. The beginning of a prayer life is understanding that we've been given more than we deserve and that we really need to thank God for the extra blessings.
--Believing that your burdens exceed your blessings. Every day we awaken to life, our blessings are greater than our burdens. Spending all your time thinking about what God has taken from you blinds you to the overwhelming abundance of what God has given to you.
--Believing you're worthless. Being made in the image of God is actually two blessings. The first blessing is being made in God's image. The second blessing is knowing that you're made in God's image. If you don't know this, you must learn it before you start believing the worst things hateful people say about you.
--Not caring about the big questions: Why do bad things happen to good people? Is there a purpose to life? What happens after I die? All these are eternal mysteries, not mere problems, and they deserve our time and prayerful attention. Just thinking about them ennobles, confirms and transforms us. If we spend our time asking, "Do we have enough cheese?" we'll have a life full of cheese but nothing else.
--Never understanding the difference between wisdom and intelligence. Being smart is knowing what is. Being wise is knowing what matters. Smart can happen to young people. Wisdom takes years of living. By my calculation, there are enough smart people in the world but not enough good people.
--Admiring famous people, not good people. Nothing gums up our souls more than caring about people who are just celebrities because they're pretty or outrageous or rich or on television. The world is filled with amazing good people who are making the world better, or at least helping to keep it from getting worse. The good ones ought to be the celebrities, but the world doesn't work that way yet.
--Thinking that children are a nuisance. Children can be noisy or smelly but they're never a nuisance. Robert Frost said that a baby is God's opinion that life should go on. We should have the same opinion as God.
--Keeping score. Remembering every insult and every betrayal and every time some other person did not properly respect us is a waste of time and almost always leads to a sour disposition. A Buddhist legend tells of two monks on a journey. One monk wrote in the sand an insult he received from his friend. Later in the journey, he wrote on a rock some act of kindness done to him by a friend. The other monk asked about this strange habit and his partner said, "Always write your wounds in the sand so they can wash away from your memory, but write your blessings on stone so you will never forget the goodness shown to you by others."
There are other unforgivable sins, but these will do for now lest I commit another unforgivable sin: Never make your column so long that nobody will read it.
(Send QUESTIONS ONLY to The God Squad, c/o Tribune Media Services, 2225 Kenmore Ave., Suite 114, Buffalo, NY 14207, or email them to godsquadquestion@aol.com.
(c) 2009 THE GOD SQUAD DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE MEDIA SERVICES, INC.
This news arrived on: 07/16/2009
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Posted Comments:
08-26-2009 02:08
P wrote:
THIS DOMINIK CALLED ME A SWINE AND DOG AND HIS PREACHER CALLED MY RABBI FALSE AND AN IDIOT -- CHECK OUT RABBI G'S GOD SQUAD ABOUT BEING CREATED IN GOD'S IMAGE IS A BIG DEAL. HIS CHURCH AND PREACHER ARE LIKE MODERN DAY NAZIS AND HITLER.
08-25-2009 11:27
doMINIK wrote:
A DEBATE WITH YOUR PREACHER AND BRO. ELI WILL END THIS.
IF YOU AND YOUR PREACHER WILL HAVE THE GUTS TO ACCEPT IT.
DONT TELL ME YOU ARE ONE OF THE ONE MENTIONED IN
JER 51:30... MEN BECAME WOMEN...
DEBATE?.. TO BE BROADCAST AROUND THE WORLD... WE'LL TAKE CARE OF THE EXPENSES...
IF YOU AND YOUR PREACHER WILL HAVE THE GUTS TO ACCEPT IT.
DONT TELL ME YOU ARE ONE OF THE ONE MENTIONED IN
JER 51:30... MEN BECAME WOMEN...
DEBATE?.. TO BE BROADCAST AROUND THE WORLD... WE'LL TAKE CARE OF THE EXPENSES...
08-21-2009 10:43
yo dominik wrote:
unfinished business!
Before challenging anyone to a debate, there's something you need to answer first:
Your “most sensible preacher of our time” also said something VERY INTERESTING and ENLIGHTENING. On the bottom of webpage 1 of the A.D.D. website under Biblical Topics entitled “Salvation” Your PRESIDING MINISTER Mr. Soriano stated: “If you have noticed, in the New Testament, the word house refers to the Church of God. This is, truly, the house of God because it was built by God, Himself. That is why, if, in our time, you come across churches, whose founders are also their ministers, you can be sure that they are NOT REAL!” [emphasis original]. Mr. Soriano’s got a lot of chutzpah, arrogance, to say something like this since he is the FOUNDER of your church group back in 1977! He's still there as your presiding minister! . . .if, in our time, you come across churches, whose founders are also their ministers, you can be sure that they are NOT REAL!” [emphasis original].
So, he is hung by his own words “you can be sure that they are [he is] NOT REAL!” He said it, I didn't.
I am praying hard for you and your NOT REAL preacher
Your “most sensible preacher of our time” also said something VERY INTERESTING and ENLIGHTENING. On the bottom of webpage 1 of the A.D.D. website under Biblical Topics entitled “Salvation” Your PRESIDING MINISTER Mr. Soriano stated: “If you have noticed, in the New Testament, the word house refers to the Church of God. This is, truly, the house of God because it was built by God, Himself. That is why, if, in our time, you come across churches, whose founders are also their ministers, you can be sure that they are NOT REAL!” [emphasis original]. Mr. Soriano’s got a lot of chutzpah, arrogance, to say something like this since he is the FOUNDER of your church group back in 1977! He's still there as your presiding minister! . . .if, in our time, you come across churches, whose founders are also their ministers, you can be sure that they are NOT REAL!” [emphasis original].
So, he is hung by his own words “you can be sure that they are [he is] NOT REAL!” He said it, I didn't.
I am praying hard for you and your NOT REAL preacher
08-21-2009 06:05
dominik wrote:
MR. HEY,
TO END THIS TALK... HOW ABOUT A DEBATE WITH YOUR PREACHER AND BRO. ELI SORIANO? HAVE THE GUTS?
ISAIAHS 1:18 18
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
THIS IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN PROVE THAT YOU AND YOUR PREACHER/S ARE ANTI-CHRIST.
ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH AND YOUR PREACHER TO FACE A DEBATE WITH BRO ELI? ARE YOU?
AND WHY ARE SO AFRAID TO POST YOUR CHURCH NAME? IT'S NOT THE CHURCH BUILT BY JESUS CHRIST. IM STARTING TO GET THE HINT.
I'LL WAIT FOR YOUR ANSWER! I HOPE YOU ARE MAN... AND IM BEGINNING TO DOUBT IT... OK.
ILL GIVE YOU THE CHANCE TO PROVE YOU ARE MAN...
Good day.
HAVE THE COURAGE PLEASE... PLEASE?
TO END THIS TALK... HOW ABOUT A DEBATE WITH YOUR PREACHER AND BRO. ELI SORIANO? HAVE THE GUTS?
ISAIAHS 1:18 18
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
THIS IS THE ONLY WAY WE CAN PROVE THAT YOU AND YOUR PREACHER/S ARE ANTI-CHRIST.
ARE YOU MAN ENOUGH AND YOUR PREACHER TO FACE A DEBATE WITH BRO ELI? ARE YOU?
AND WHY ARE SO AFRAID TO POST YOUR CHURCH NAME? IT'S NOT THE CHURCH BUILT BY JESUS CHRIST. IM STARTING TO GET THE HINT.
I'LL WAIT FOR YOUR ANSWER! I HOPE YOU ARE MAN... AND IM BEGINNING TO DOUBT IT... OK.
ILL GIVE YOU THE CHANCE TO PROVE YOU ARE MAN...
Good day.
HAVE THE COURAGE PLEASE... PLEASE?
08-20-2009 01:23
Hey Dominik wrote:
Your “most sensible preacher of our time” also said something VERY INTERESTING and ENLIGHTENING. On the bottom of webpage 1 of the A.D.D. website under Biblical Topics entitled “Salvation” Your PRESIDING MINISTER Mr. Soriano stated: “If you have noticed, in the New Testament, the word house refers to the Church of God. This is, truly, the house of God because it was built by God, Himself. That is why, if, in our time, you come across churches, whose founders are also their ministers, you can be sure that they are NOT REAL!” [emphasis original]. Mr. Soriano’s got a lot of chutzpah, arrogance, to say something like this since he is the FOUNDER of your church group back in 1977! He's still there as your presiding minister! . . .if, in our time, you come across churches, whose founders are also their ministers, you can be sure that they are NOT REAL!” [emphasis original].
So, he is hung by his own words “you can be sure that they are [he is] NOT REAL!” He said it, I didn't.
I am praying hard for you
So, he is hung by his own words “you can be sure that they are [he is] NOT REAL!” He said it, I didn't.
I am praying hard for you
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