The son of the Israelite woman blasphemed the Name and cursed. Men were scorched with fierce heat and they blasphemed the name of God who has the power over these plagues, and they did not repent so as to give Him glory. Matthew 12:31-32īut whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin." - Mark 3:29 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come. "Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. God would not allow such behavior because it threatened the purpose of the people of Israel among the nations. If one member of the community was allowed to revile God or his appointed leaders, the whole community would be put at risk. When one member of the community sins, the whole corporate body suffers. Like the sin of Achan (recorded in Joshua 7), sin does not occur in isolation from others in the community. Disobedience in the community threatened the very fabric of the covenant people. Such a disposition could not be tolerated in the community. For, to revile God (or those whom he appointed) was to call into question the integrity and holiness of God himself. Jesus teaches that the blasphemy for which there is no forgiveness is that against the Holy Spirit all other blasphemies, particularly those against "the Son of Man, " may be forgiven.īlasphemy is well-attested in the Old Testament in passages like Leviticus 24:10-16, which were rooted in the fundamental command of Exodus 22:28 that states, “You shall not revile God, nor curse a ruler of your people.” Such blasphemy was subject to punishment by death.The Greek root blasphem- can be used of strong insults thrown at other people (Mark 15:29 Acts 13:45 Eph 4:31 1 Peter 4:4), or even unjust accusations (Rom 3:8), but it is more usually used of insults offered to God (e.g., Rev 13:6 16:9) No special verb is reserved for insults directed at God. Translators choose "blaspheme" when, for instance, the verbs "curse" (qalal), "revile" (gadap) or "despise" (herep) are used with God as the object.In both Testaments, the idea of blasphemy as something that offends the religious sensibilities of others is completely absent.There is no Hebrew word equivalent to the English "blasphemy, " and the Greek root blasphem-, which is used fifty-five times in the New Testament, has a wide meaning."Blasphemy" denotes any utterance that insults God or Christ (or Allah, or Muhammed) and gives deeply felt offense to their followers. But what is blasphemy? And can you commit it unknowingly?Īccording to Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, the biblical concept of “blasphemy” is different from the common definition today: Today's Concept of Blasphemy: Many of us are familiar with the term "blasphemy" mostly with its stern associations with "blaspheming the Holy Spirit-the one "unforgivable" sin in all of Scripture.
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