A Peculiar Blog

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I just read a story that, to say the least, is absolutely heartbreaking.

The Blasphemy
Challenge

Brian "Sapient" is an average-looking 30-year-old guy who works out
of his basement in Philadelphia. His job? Well, Brian is taking on
God.

"Wow, that’s a dramatic way of putting it," says Brian, who asked
that "Nightline" not use his real last name for safety reasons. But
however he defines his challenge, Brian is on the cutting edge of a
new and emboldened wave of atheism.

This person along with a lot of others, has made the single worst
decision possible. You see, they’ve gone beyond merely calling
themselves atheist because it’s kind of a case of somebody trying to get
under people’s skin or for shock value. These people are serious. So
much so that they’ve founded something they call the "Rational Response
Squad". In his basement he and his "squad" broadcast a weekly Internet
radio show promoting their atheist beliefs.

They recently started a new campaign to get more publicity. They call it
the "Blasphemy Challenge"

"Initially we wanted to find a way to allow atheists to come out of
the closet, speak up and show other people that there are people that
think like this," Brian says.

What they did was challenge people to make videos of themselves,
denying, denouncing or blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and then post them
on YouTube.

"We wanted to do it in such a way where we stripped the power from
religious institutions that instill fear in people," says Brian. "And
we did that by blaspheming the Holy Spirit, by showing that we are not
scared of this unforgiveable sin."

A passage in Mark 3:29 reads, "whoever blasphemes against the Holy
Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin."

While the passage is open to interpretation, the Rational Response
Squad is taking it literally and challenging people to gamble with
their eternal souls. So far more than 800 people have taken up the
challenge.

…

Dozens upon dozens have posted, including comedian Penn Jillette, who
simply says, "I deny the Holy Spirit."

This is without doubt one of the saddest things I’ve read in a long
time. Whether they believe in God or not, these people are literally
choosing eternal condemnation and doing so in a way that assures they’re
very unlikely to ever change their position. Frankly, the only more
certain way to ensure eternal condemnation is to accept the mark of the
beast prophesied in Revelation.

The story makes a big deal about the fact that this person’s name and
address are kept secret to keep him safe from attack. The thing is,
there is not a single genuine follower of Jesus who would want to do
anything but convince him that he’s making a horrible mistake.

And by the way, I doubt I’ll ever consider Penn Jillette funny again.

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