Category: Atheism

Honestly, I think Matthew 12;31-32 is one of the absolute worst verses in the entire thing.

Matthew 12:31-32

Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.

And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

This is Jesus saying that there's absolutely nothing so depraved, repulsive, degrading or horrific that you can do to a fellow human being that will keep you out of heaven, as long as you don't say anything mean about his dad-self.

This is a celestial blank check for believers to do literally anything they want, never have to seek forgiveness from the one they wronged, and do it as many times as they like. This is divine authority to be exempt from the moral standards of mere humans.

This verse says that Adolf Hitler and Jeffrey Dahmer would be in heaven, but not an atheist philanthropist like Bill Gates. An atheist, no matter how much good they put into the world, is condemned to eternal hellfire for the blasphemy of denying a god who couldn't be bothered to make itself indisputably known, out of its apparent need to be "mysterious" and mercurial (which, necessarily, makes it wholly responsible for all non-belief).

Naturally, this verse appears in the other Synoptic Gospels.

Mark 3:28-29

Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:

But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.

The only unforgivable sin is blasphemy. Not murder, not child rape, not cannibalism. Not kidnapping a child, raping them, torturing the to death, fucking the corpse, eating the organs, and sewing the body parts into a child-suit. No. That's all fine – just say 'sorry" to the clouds.

What's not fine is saying mean things about an omnipotent, eternal, universe-creating deity who, by definition, cannot actually be hurt. And declined to answer the desperate prayers of the aforementioned child.

Luke 12:8-10

Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:

But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God.

And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.

Everyone who proclaims belief in Jesus will be proclaimed by Jesus i heaven, but everyone who denies him will be denied in heaven (i.e. condemned). No requirement to be moral or good. Only belief is required.

The reason this is my go-to for bible morality is that it's not a matter of Old Testament vs new covenant stuff that they can claim "no longer applies" – which would, necessarily, mean the Ten Commandments "no longer apply." This is the Consigliere saying, explicitly, that he only cares about loyalty of the Soldiers to the Godfather.

This, to me, demonstrates the total moral vacancy of the Xian belief system, and the psychopathic, narcissist god who is its figurehead, who demands only that its followers be obedient, not moral.

And yes, I recognize that Xians don't behave this way. And that's the point. They're given a blank check by their scripture. That they don't cash it is all the proof you need that Xianity has no claim to moral authority, and that believers act in spite of it, not because of it.

"Most humans are more moral than the scriptures they hold sacred." ~ Alishba Zarmeen