One of the more disturbing aspects of living the faith, is discovering those who feel that they can never be forgiven for their sins. Unfortunately, this is far more common than one might believe. It seems strange that the God who gave everything he had so that we could be saved, the one who forgave even those who killed him, would hold grudges. Yet, many people believe that and to some it has devastating affects. This is because they believe they are outside God's mercy. They are essentially, in their own mind, walking condemned expecting to enter Hell when they die. Many are joyful to learn that God is not this grudge holding monster, unlike some more unhappy humans we may meet in our lives.
One of the first cases I ever experienced of this phenomenon, and this as a layperson, is the case of a man who several decades earlier used magic to put a curse on a then supervisor. The following day, his boss died of a heart attack. It is mostly likely that this was a coincidence. Those Catholics involved in deliverance ministry who are versed in the aspects of the occult inform me that curses of this type are very hard to complete.
Yet, this kind of scenario, the person who does something incredibly stupid at a young age and feels condemned for the rest of his life, unable to be forgiven is one that is being perpetuated on the young and the naïve. It is called the Blasphemy Challenge.
The brainchild of the Rational Response Squad an organization that claims to be on an anti-Christian mission that promotes atheism is actually either accidentally or purposely promoting a more demonic cause. This makes them poor atheists. The Blasphemy Challenge simply asks those who participate in it to condemn their souls to Hell by uttering blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. This mission, which is based on a misinterpretation of the Mark 3:29, has claimed hundreds of adherents who do this incredibly stupid act in response for a DVD of the video "The God Who Was Not There."
The problem is that the process which claims to promote atheism among our youth, actually does not, it promotes the demonic. Further, a true atheist would never condemn his soul to Hell. Why? Because to condemn one’s soul to Hell is to acknowledge that Hell exists and a true atheist would never do that. This highlights the thinking process of the adherents to the Blasphemy Challenge. It also opens those who do so to the demonic as they continue on their lives blissfully ignorant of the reality of evil.
This brings up a practical question. Would you hire someone who took the Blasphemy Challenge? Here is why I ask.
The key to the Blasphemy Challenge is that someone commits the act and receives a DVD of the movie, "The God Who Was Not There." Now if you buy the video, it costs less than $25.00. However, buying one gets you condemned as a chicken by the Rational Response Squad. So essentially you are selling your soul and the right to not be called chicken for $25.00. Don’t ask me what is rational about this. It does not make any sense to me. Granted the soul may be worthless in the eyes of the blasphemer, but is not so in the eyes of others. So, would you hire someone whose concept of finances is so bad that they would actually sell their soul for less than $25.00? Now we would say that we would never sell our soul, that means that the value we put on one is priceless. When someone offers something that has a value of priceless for $25.00, is that the kind of person whom you would want working for your company, if you believe in adding value to your product?
The second issue has to do with the lack of critical thinking. As I said before, a true atheist would never commit such an act. If such people are so easily led down a false path with this bizarre reasoning, how much more easily can they be led down other paths. Putting this in a more secular manner of understanding, if you could get them to buy a video that costs less than $25.00, and is worth almost one hundred percent less, for the cost of one's own soul, what would they pay for your deed to the Brooklyn Bridge that just came into your hands through the head of finances for the Enfield, Massachusetts Brooklyn Bridge Deed Management Company. You just have to send all your life’s savings to a bank account in Nigeria and you will send you the deed in the mail. Then you can sell it for billions, of course, recouping all your life savings and then some. They promise it works.
I think you get my drift.
Actually, the deal they made was truly with the Devil, for I guarantee you that many years from now there will be some, maybe not a majority, who feel that the atheism thing is no more than a false religion, but they are stuck with it because of this act. They will believe, falsely, that they are outside of God’s salvation unable to be saved for one stupid act they did at another time. They were misinformed in this deal and they sold themselves short. But they chose to exchange the truth for a lie and to buy into the lie for a virtually worthless video. What really scares me about this Blasphemy Challenge is the case of the person who decides that if he is going to Hell for all eternity, or will cease to exist, why not go bring that result now and then attempts suicide. Those people are out there as well.
When people try to convince some of these blasphemers in the future who sold their souls for a $25.00 DVD—that is not worth $25.00—(and the right not to be called chicken) that their act was meaningless and is not binding in the eyes of God, hopefully those who went into despair will listen. For if they don’t, they will never realize just how much their act was silly and just how worthless that movie truly is. Yet, is not that just how the Devil works? Hence, the reason we can say that even a true Atheist has far more wisdom than the fools who partook of the Blasphemy Challenge.
Atheists and agnostics are right in most of their thinking
It has been common among religious believers to look with misgiving at atheists and agnostics, and to think that they are mistaken; however, in many instances the opposite is the truth; some religious beliefs are not just baseless, but obsolete and irrelevant. It is unbelievable how myths and a religious fantasy have influenced human minds with more strength than reality!
Most people don’t dare to confront their religious doubts; they are afraid of abandoning the “certainty” of their convictions, and opt for the status quo. The “God” of main line traditions simply does not exist. I accepted the challenge of finding the One who may be recognized even by agnostics and atheists, and came to the conclusion that God isn’t other than the Existence itself; and the Existence is, “I am,” the total existence, “All-That-Is.” There is probably a single issue in which I do not agree with atheists: I believe that “there is no effect without cause.”
There is a book most probably not written for you, but perhaps useful for some of your religious friends who still think that you are wrong and they are right: “Christianity Reformed From ist Roots.” It might help them to be relieved of the illusion, as I did myself. Distinguished philosophers and thinkers might give you an idea of this book—perhaps a generation ahead of time for most believers—(links below); or you might look at excerpts at Amazon.com.
Jairo Mejia, M. Psych., Santa Clara University
Episcopal Priest, Retired
Carmel Valley, California
Comments that include profanity, personal attacks, antisocial behavior such as "spamming" and "trolling," or other inappropriate comments or material will not be posted on Catholic Online. Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive. We will take steps to block users who violate any of our terms of service. While Catholic Online invites robust discussion, we maintain the right to not print material that is patently false in its claims concerning the teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, overtly anti-Catholic or which, in the opinion of the moderator, are intended to mislead readers as to what the Catholic Church teaches. Comments DO NOT necessarily reflect the opinion or views of Catholic Online.
RSS | Make Catholic Online Your Homepage
