In The Whole Duty of Man, sometimes attributed to Richard Allestree or John Fell, blasphemy is described as "speaking any evil Thing of God", and as "the highest Degree whereof is cursing him; or if we do not speak it with our Mouths, yet if we do it in our Hearts, by thinking any unworthy Thing of him, it is look'd on ...
Blasphemy, in a religious sense, refers to great disrespect shown to God or to something holy, or to something said or done that shows this kind of disrespect; heresy refers a belief or opinion that does not agree with the official belief or opinion of a particular religion.
Therefore, blasphemy is not the greatest sin. But contrary to this: A Gloss on Isaiah 18:2 (“To a terrible people ...”) says, “Compared to blasphemy, every sin is less serious.”
Conscious and hardened resistance to the truth leads man away from humility and repentance, and without repentance, there can be no forgiveness. That is why the sin of blasphemy against the Spirit cannot be forgiven since one who does not acknowledge his sin does not seek to have it forgiven.
Christian theology condemns blasphemy. "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain", one of the Ten Commandments, forbids blasphemy, which Christians regard as "an affront to God's holiness". Leviticus 24:16 states that "anyone who blasphemes the name of Yahweh will be put to death".
ÇMurder, torture and abuse of any human being, but particularly the murder, torture and abuse of children and animals. These are more than unforgivable to me; they are incomprehensible. They violate the most basic dignity of the human person and, as such, deny God in our broken world.
Pride (superbia), also known as hubris (from Ancient Greek ὕβρις) or futility. It is considered the original and worst of the seven deadly sins on almost every list, the most demonic. It is also thought to be the source of the other capital sins. Pride is the opposite of humility.
The person who repeatedly and without repentance rejects the Holy Spirit's testimony to Christ is the one who has blasphemed the Holy Spirit. That sin is the only sin that never will be forgiven.
Pride has been called the sin from which all others arise. Author Michael Eric Dyson discusses his book on the subject and the complexities and ambiguities of this deadly sin.
Spitting on a cross, drawing pictures in the Qur'an, tripping a rabbi — all of these are rude in general, but because they combine a sacred religious person or thing with rude behavior, they're also blasphemous.
In the Christian religion, blasphemy has been regarded as a sin by moral theologians; St. Thomas Aquinas described it as a sin against faith. For the Muslim it is blasphemy to speak contemptuously not only of God but also of Muḥammad.
Still, in this earliest Judaic form the idea is straightforward: misusing the name of God was blasphemy and the penalty was stoning to death. The prohibition is stated in more general and familiar terms in the third commandment (Exodus 20.7).
Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is willful, wide-eyed slandering of the work of the Spirit, attributing to the devil what was undeniably divine. These people had seen as clearly as anyone could see and understood as lucidly as anyone could understand that Jesus performed his miracles by the power of the Spirit.
You may have felt like your sins are too serious or that you have made the same mistake too many times. But no matter how much we have sinned, we can always repent and be forgiven. Some sins may be easier to correct than others, but Jesus Christ has provided for total forgiveness from all sins. He is eager to forgive.
In other words, the unpardonable sin is the refusal to accept salvation when it is offered by God at the time of death (i.e. final impenitence). Grace comes to us through the Holy Spirit and by rejecting that final grace, we sin against the Spirit. It is hard to imagine anyone refusing salvation, but it happens.
My response is to turn to Scripture and explain that they don't need to worry because the unforgivable sin can't be committed today. It could only be done by those who saw the miraculous work of Jesus Christ and publicly attributed it to the work of the devil.
Therefore, when others ask, “Can a Christian commit the unpardonable sin?” the clearest answer is “no,” because to be a follower of Jesus is to believe and accept the testimony of the Spirit – that Christ is Lord – which is the exact opposite of the Pharisees' response.
DEAR F.B.: No, Judas was not forgiven for his betrayal of Jesus -- and one reason is because he could not bring himself to repent of the sin he had committed. You see, there's a difference between feeling sorry over something we have done, and actually repenting of it.
According to Roman Catholic theology, the seven deadly sins are the seven behaviours or feelings that inspire further sin. They are typically ordered as: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth.
Reformed Churches
Reformed theologian William M'Gavin opined that "the four sins that cry to heaven for vengeance; these are, wilful murder—sin of Sodom—oppression of the poor—to defraud servants of their wages" are greater in gravity than the seven deadly sins.
All Sin is not the Same
In fact, the Book of Proverbs (6:16-19) identifies seven things that God hates although there is not any punishment proscribed for those. Scripture clearly indicates that God does view sin differently and that He proscribed a different punishment for sin depending upon its severity.
If forgiving someone more than once or twice seems unreasonable, just remember how often God forgives you. He doesn't put a limit on how many times you turn to him with your sincere heart, humbly seeking forgiveness. He's just glad you've returned. May we do our best to model our forgiveness after God's example.
There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies and a person who stirs up conflict in the community.
These are: despair, presumption, impenitence or a firm determination not to repent, obstinacy, resisting divine truth known to be such, and envy of another's spiritual welfare. Bibliography: thomas aquinas, Summa Theologiae 2a2ae, 14.3; In 2 sent. 43.1.