I’m still trying to decide who’s proving what. The following site was linked on Debunking Christianity, a blog run by ex-Christians “for the express purpose of debunking 
Evangelical Christianity” (their words). Why would I read — much less link to — a blatantly anti-Christian website? As I see it, if Christianity can’t pass scrutiny and opposition, it ain’t worth believing.
But The Blasphemy Challenge is disturbing.
The Rational Response Squad is giving away 1001 DVDs of The God Who Wasn’t There, the hit documentary that the Los Angeles Times calls “provocative — to put it mildly.”
There’s only one catch: We want your soul.
It’s simple. You record a short message damning yourself to Hell, you upload it to YouTube, and then the Rational Response Squad will send you a free The God Who Wasn’t There DVD. It’s that easy.
INSTRUCTIONS:
You may damn yourself to Hell however you would like, but somewhere in your video you must say this phrase: “I deny the Holy Spirit.”
Why? Because, according to Mark 3:29 in the Holy Bible, “Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” Jesus will forgive you for just about anything, but he won’t forgive you for denying the existence of the Holy Spirit. Ever. This is a one-way road you’re taking here.
Yes, you read that correctly. They are challenging folks to blaspheme the Holy Spirit.
Francis Schaeffer argued that pushing an unbeliever to their logical extreme was a valid method of evangelism. In other words, if there really is no God, then why not live like it? The French existentialist Albert Camus saw the implications of his unbelief when he said that the greatest question facing modern man is whether or not he should kill himself. On several occasions, in discussions with atheists, I have brought up that point. If someone is the byproduct of a cosmological accident, and there is no heaven, hell or over-arching meaning to life, then suicide is a viable option.
Thoughtful atheism is one thing. Even if a person concludes Christianity is not true, the reasonable approach to issues of (possible) eternity should be humility, honesty, and introspection. But The Blasphemy Challenge does nothing to further a rational discussion of the issue, prove atheism, or disprove Christianity.
So after pondering the reasons for this troublesome Divine dare for the last several weeks, I’m asking; Who’s proving what? The Blasphemy Challenge is either, a.) For the atheist who wants to PROVE TO HIMSELF that he’s serious, or b.) It’s hype intended to rankle Christians. But in the end, I fear it is the equivalent of SPIRITUAL RUSSIAN ROULETTE. The folks at The Rational Response Squad are putting a bullet in the chamber and encouraging people to spin, take aim, and fire.
Disturbing to say the least. My heart actually broke when I heard the actual words spoken on the you tube video “damning their souls”.
It is amazing that the response of some to Jesus’ pure love is hatred or spite. It just leaves me baffled.
I agree with you. I am always up for a intelligent debate concerning my beliefs, but the makers of the dvd ‘the god who wasn’t there’ are stooping to a level which immediately brings to my mind a dark evil agenda, not just a rational healthy debate.
I could respect the unbelievers who produced this dvd if they just stuck to their arguments and battled me on the chess board of ideas, but they obviously go beyond that. They want to redicule me, insult me, and worse yet, bring others down with them.
This is not clever marketing, this is evil.
dayle
this is incredibly disturbing . . . i have nothing else to say
I agree that it’s unclear what the Debunking Christianity website is proving. For if they are trying to debunk Christianity, then why are they playing by the rules of the Bible?
I’m not going to bother checking out the link. I’ll take your word for it. My initial response is, how childish. Reminds me of a triple dog dare. “Go ahead, lay down on the train tracks… stick your tongue to the frozen pole… drink a whole bottle out of your dad’s liquor cabinet…” And now…”deny the Holy Spirt. I dare you.” The funny part is that anyone who hasn’t accepted Jesus is already denying the Holy Spirit. They are already damned to hell without visiting Youtube for an official damning to hell. There’s a lot of ugly, scary, evil, nasty, hateful, stuff out there, written by a lot of confused, deceived, blind and utterly lost people. May God thwart their efforts, wake them up, and have mercy on them.
CD, it’s a brilliant point: In order to deny Christianity, they must play by the rules of Christianity. If the Bible is not God’s Word, then attempting to break its law is to concede its power.
And Janet, your point that “anyone who hasn’t accepted Jesus is already denying the Holy Spirit” is a good one. I’ve heard many interpretations of what the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit could be. It’s not clear from the text. Some have suggested it’s the attribution of evil to the work of God (the religious leaders claimed Jesus performed miracles by the power of Beelzebub). Josh McDowell suggested that the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit could only happen when Jesus was alive on earth, in His presence. G. Campbell Morgan, one of my preaching heroes, taught that, since the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin and point us to Christ, the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is ultimately in rejecting Christ. I tend to agree with this.
In this sense, the Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is not a single act, but a life lived in rejection of Christ. Someone may be able to seek forgiveness for a foolish video they record in their youth denouncing Christ, but ultimately it is a life lived in denial of Him that will consign them to Hell.
“If the Bible is not God’s Word, then attempting to break its law is to concede its power.”
Mmm not quite. It’s more like “Step on a crack you’ll break your mother’s back” – so you step on a crack. Or “Break a mirror, you get 7 years bad luck” – so you break a mirror.
This isn’t a law that is being broken, it’s a superstition – albeit a superstition that many hold to be pure truth.
Say Candyman three times in a bathroom mirror with the lights out. I dare you.
It’s about confronting superstition, and treating the unpardonable sin as just that – superstition.