hahaha(blasphemy response challenge)

Rev0lver
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hahaha(blasphemy response challenge)

have any of you seen this one yet? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTXSPRqwjgg

he denies the existance of this website and is not afraid.

tell him to type it in and see what happens. he also doesnt believe that brian sapient and rook etc are there either.


AModestProposal
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I responded to him on

I responded to him on his website: larrylee.info

And he responded back to me in blue:

 

Larry, I saw your Youtube response to the Blasphemy Challenge, and I\'m afraid that in all your work to put on that arrogant, condescending tone, you missed the whole point of the challenge. No one engaging in the challenge actually believes it will cause them to go to hell. (How can you possibly know this is true?  At best you can only say you don’t think that anyone believes it, but there is no way that you can know this is the case for sure, unless you have statements from these people indicating such. So I reject this premise as you have not backed it up.) The accuracy of whether they\'ve committed the unforgivable sin is irrelevant. It\'s merely a symbolic gesture. (Why not be accurate in their symbolic gesture?  If you are going to make a symbolic gesture, shouldn’t it at least be accurate with regards to what it symbolizes?) Why don\'t think they\'ll go to hell? They know hell does not exist. (Again, how do you know this?) And while you\'re right that the bible does not elaborate on the ultimate sin, it does make it clear that blaspheming the holy spirit is not redeemable. If you\'re saying no unforgivable sin exists at all in your religion, you\'re not being honest. It\'s there in the bible. Why would it be clearly stated in the bible that it\'s unforgivable if, as you claim, there\'s no unforgivable sin in christianity? (It is certainly there in the Bible, but if you will consider the context, you will see that it is impossible for someone to commit this sin today.  The only way for you to commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is to be a first century Jew who encounters Jesus and attributes his miracles to Satan.  That’s it.  And since you, nor I, nor anyone else living today can possibly be a first century Jew encountering Jesus, we can’t commit the sin.  So yes there is a blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, but it simply by definition cannot be committed today.)But if you\'re simply saying that\'s not the correct way to blaspheme the holy spirit, please enlighten me how we can do so, as we are eager to prove we are not afraid of an imaginary place and that the church\'s fear tactics have failed. As I\'ve said, the point is not to go to some imaginary hell, but to publicly side with science and reason over superstition. Now you mock (numerous times) the \"I am not afraid\" bit people are using in their videos. Whether you are mocking their lack of fear in hell or their fears of coming out as a non-theist, I\'m not sure. What point were you trying to convey there? While I\'m not a member of the Rational Response Squad, I\'m sure they\'d love to discuss your thoughts on this on their radio show. (Tel them to call me.)I such you contact them at their website to state your case. Thanks again for writing and please write back again if you would.  Larry

 


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Typical Christian. He has to

Typical Christian. He has to pre-approve comments he likes.


Rev0lver
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he should definitly come on

he should definitly come on this radio show and talk to sapient. you should respond to him and get him to do so.

but in response to what he said...

(How can you possibly know this is true?  At best you can only say you don’t think that anyone believes it, but there is no way that you can know this is the case for sure, unless you have statements from these people indicating such. So I reject this premise as you have not backed it up.)

They dont believe in hell, so they wouldnt think it makes them go there.

(Why not be accurate in their symbolic gesture?  If you are going to make a symbolic gesture, shouldn’t it at least be accurate with regards to what it symbolizes?)

Your whole ****ing bible is filled with symbolic gestures!

(Again, how do you know this?)

We dont know, we just find it improbable enough not to believe it. The same goes for everybody who took the challenge, unless they are retarted satan-worshippers that reject the holy spirit.

(It is certainly there in the Bible, but if you will consider the context, you will see that it is impossible for someone to commit this sin today.  The only way for you to commit the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is to be a first century Jew who encounters Jesus and attributes his miracles to Satan.  That’s it.  And since you, nor I, nor anyone else living today can possibly be a first century Jew encountering Jesus, we can’t commit the sin.  So yes there is a blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, but it simply by definition cannot be committed today.)

By your definition no, but by a real definition yes it can.

 

 

 

 


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AModestProposal

AModestProposal wrote:

I\'m sure they\'d love to discuss your thoughts on this on their radio show. (Tel them to call me.)

What's his number? 


AModestProposal
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He didn't give me his

He didn't give me his number, but you can email him using the Contact Us link on his website: www.larrylee.info


AModestProposal
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Here's how I responded to

Here's how I responded to him. I'll post again with his response if he gives one:

----------------

Larry,

Thanks for the speedy response.

Regarding your first point that I don't know if EVERYBODY engaging in the challenge knows it's symbolic, you are correct. I must concede that I cannot be absolutely 100% certain of this, but I think you'll agree that this is a moot point. Suppose hypothetically, someone engaging in the challenge actually believes that doing so will send them to hell, since you point out that it's not really accurately committing the unforgivable sin anyway, whether a hell exists or not, the result is the same. So what does it matter and why does it trouble you so much? But you also ask if I can back up the claim, so I turn to the videos themselves, which we'll call Exhibit A: videos of people personally testifying that they lack god-belief. In fact, some of the videos include longer denials that even mention denials of the existence of heaven and hell. All things being equal, I believe it's a somewhat reasonable assertion that these are legitimate confessions of non-belief. Wouldn't you agree?

In your next point, you suggest the challenge should be accurate in its symbolic gesture but claim that the said gesture is impossible to
perform in the modern age. So how would you suggest the symbolic gesture be performed accurately, or in accordance with The Bible, which is itself full of much symbolism?

Then you asked how we know there is no Hell. Aside from the existence of a Hell being just as absurd as the existence of Never Never Land or Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory, no evidence outside of references in a few 1900-year-old texts, offer evidence that such a place ever existed, and the principles said to govern this Hell violate fundamental laws of science, which have been observed in the natural world, tested, and verified countless times. So again, while agnostic Atheists or weak Atheists (as they're sometimes called) like myself admit we can't claim absolute certainty (as Theists often do), using science and reason, we can be almost as certain such a place does not exist.

As for your final point: while you're hardly the first Christian to
claim this feat is impossible to commit, I think you're the first to
claim the act could only be legitimately committed by people living in
the first century C.E. First of all, this is problematic, considering
the Gospels of Mark and Luke, which refer to the unforgivable sin, were written late in the 1st century, and therefore, why bother even writing them down for all posterity if virtually no one could benefit from them? Second of all, by what definition are you referring to? This time I'm afraid I have to be the one to ask you to back up this interpretation. I've asked two biblical scholars who are far more versed on this topic than I, and none of them have ever heard this interpretation either. Where did it come from?

I did pass along your website info to The Rational Response Squad. But since you didn't provide any other contact info., I suggested they email you from your website as well. Thanks again for your honest response.

-Michael