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Out for the weekend…

I’ve received a lot of great e-mails lately, including people tipping me off to interesting science news, people offering kudos on the video, and people offering to convert me because of the video. I read and enjoy all of them, but haven’t had much time for replying lately. Sorry about that!

I’m about to jet off to see my family for the holidays, so I’m not sure if I’ll have time for blogging. I hope everyone has a safe and happy Christmas weekend, whether you celebrate it or not. Mwah!

Rebecca Watson

Rebecca is a writer, speaker, YouTube personality, and unrepentant science nerd. In addition to founding and continuing to run Skepchick, she hosts Quiz-o-Tron, a monthly science-themed quiz show and podcast that pits comedians against nerds. There is an asteroid named in her honor. Twitter @rebeccawatson Mastodon mstdn.social/@rebeccawatson Instagram @actuallyrebeccawatson TikTok @actuallyrebeccawatson YouTube @rebeccawatson BlueSky @rebeccawatson.bsky.social

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10 Comments

  1. Convert you? How interesting that they should try to convert you after you committed the unforgivable sin. What sort of arguments could they possibly use to persuade you? Once the promise of a great reward is out of the picture, why would you even care?

  2. Don't worry. I'll try to think of something blasphemous to post for you. Or write about giant squid, to make PZ happy.

  3. Well, the truth is they claim that they don't know exactly what "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit" is, therefore you can't be sure if someone has committed it, therefore you must never write anyone off as a lost cause. Too bad, huh?

  4. blas·phe·my

    Pronunciation: 'blas-f&-mE

    Function: noun

    Inflected Form(s): plural -mies

    1 a : the act of insulting or showing contempt or lack of reverence for God b : the act of claiming the attributes of deity

    2 : irreverence toward something considered sacred or inviolable

    It's true, I have claimed to be the holy spirit (I just did by writing it down too), and some women have even called me "god" at certain moments, and the mere act of claiming godly powers is enough to be considered a blasphemer. Likewise, it would then appear then that the mere act of denouncing the holy spirit, or claiming his (its?) attributes, is sufficient to "blaspheme" the holy spirit, the unforgivable sin.

    Comitting the ultimate sin is easier than you think.

    Of course, nothing about religion is logical, so using logic to check-mate them might not work …

  5. Most on this forum know, but this is a reference to Mathew 12:31. It is unusual because the new testament is the "kinder gentler" testament and pretty near everything is ok if you repent it. Not so for blaspheming the Holy Spirit. It is an unredeemable ticket to hell., no exceptions.

    But yes, as the question has been raised, how do you blaspheme the nebulously defined holy spirit? Some christians may say that you *cannot* blaspheme the holy spirit unless you first believe that he/she/it/that thing in the fluffy slippers exists. Blaspheming against a fictional character with pretend rules isn't really a serious altercation, so it doesn't count. However, that makes it pretty hard for us to avoid people trying to save our souls and convert us. That makes me sad because I would rather avoid salvation attempts by the Santa Clause Militia.

    I think that to blaspheme the holy spirit you need only not believe that one exists. Merely, you need to understand the rules under which one might exist. Insane God Posse rules and the denial of reason, that sort of thing. Then you can safely assert that anything in that set of the supernatural cannot exist and would be an abomination to logic, the rational mind, and the scientific method if it did. I think that safely blasphemes against the holy spirit and condemns you to the eternal scary place for bad children, thus freeing you from resiting the prayers and salvations of supernaturalists.

  6. Info:

    Saying "I blaspheme the holy spirit" shows irrevrance to the holy spirit, doesn't it? I mean blaspheming isnt an act in the same sense as burning down a house. If it was there'd be holy spirit cinders all over my apartment…. of coruse if they're made of spirits then I couldn't see them now could I?

  7. They should agree on some clear criteria for what constitutes 'blasphemy'. It seems to be a very unscientific term.

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