Dr Paul Allen

  The relationship of God to evil and sin is a theological question that almost every Christian cares about. We believe, of course, that God exists and is sovereign. We know evil exists by virtue of our experience.  Therein lies the conundrum. If God is in control of everything and evil exists, then it must exist because God either desires, permits or needs its existence.  The first option produces an evil, twisted deity.  The second makes God a little less warped but portrays him as apparently indifferent and insufficiently moved by our plight to eradicate the cause.  The third prompt the question of how an omniscient God couldn’t come up with a better plan. All three formulations should be rejected. They are all propelled by some flawed thinking.  First, the notion of God’s sovereignty is too often defined as God predestinating everything . God’s foreknowledge does not necessitate predestination. The fact that God knew evil would enter into the world (because he knows all things re

English: John the Baptist baptizing Christ (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) The " blasphemy of the Holy Spirit " language comes directly from the Gospels and is found in parallel accounts in  Matthew 12:31-32 ,  Mark 3:28-29 , and  Luke 12:10 . Beyond this threefold witness, it also appears in roughly the same form in the  Didache  (11:7), and it's the 44th saying in the Gospel of Thomas . In all these cases the literary context varies slightly, but there's a consistency in emphasizing the one greatest and unforgivable sin—the "speaking against" or "blaspheming" of the Holy Spirit. Ambrose and the  Didache  understand the unforgivable sin to be opposing the Spirit's work—not just in Jesus' day, but continuing through his Spirit-inspired prophets in the contemporary church. Many in the church connected this saying with the "sin unto death" of  1 John 5:16 , understood as an unforgivable post-conversion relapse, while others int

The Temptation of Christ, 1854 (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Matthew 12:24–32 “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come” ( v. 32 ). Of all the teachings of Jesus , perhaps none troubles us more than His warning about blaspheming the Holy Spirit. When reading today’s passage it is only natural to ask, “What is the unforgivable sin ?” and, “Have I committed it?” Many in church history have identified the unforgivable sin as divorce, adultery, or another grievous sin, or they have said God will not forgive those who do even one evil deed after baptism. That so many options have been suggested illustrates the complexity of Matthew 12:24–32 . We must, therefore, humbly approach the topic of the unforgivable sin, aware that we cannot be too cautious when applying today’s verses. Let us also note that even heinous sins are forgivable. Christ pardoned Peter for d

( ) (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Author: Cripplegate . Mark 3 features a phrase unusual for its apparent awkwardness. In his rebuke of the scribes , Jesus accuses them of committing the unforgivable sin , which is of course blaspheming the Holy Spirit . While there are lots of debates on what exactly it means to commit this sin, one major fact is often overlooked in this discussion: before condemning the scribes for committing the unforgivable sin, Jesus makes an astounding statement. He asserts that “every kind of blasphemy can be forgiven the sons of men…” Why does Jesus use the phrase “sons of men”? This is the only recorded time Jesus used that phrase to describe humans, and it stands out as being unnatural. After all, have you ever said “sons of men”? The context of Mark 3 is rife with demonic activity. Satan has tempted Jesus ( Mark 1 ), and Jesus began his public ministry by casting out a demon. But even more recently, as Jesus was pushed to the countryside, his ministry

Image via Wikipedia "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation" (Mark 3:28–29). I cannot tell you how many times in my teaching career very distraught Christians have come to me to ask about the unpardonable sin and whether they might have committed it. I suspect most believers have asked themselves whether they have done something unforgivable. It is not surprising that many people struggle with this issue because the precise nature of "the unpardonable sin" is difficult to discern and many theories about it have been set forth through church history. For instance, some people have argued that the unpardonable sin is murder and others have said that it is adultery, because they see the serious consequences that those sins wreak on the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage. But I c