Most internet-savvy atheists know about the Rational Response Squad. If you don't, feel free to check in on them at their site linked above, and at the Blasphemy Challenge, which is what I want to talk about today.
If you're unfamiliar with what the Blasphemy Challenge is, take a moment to familiarize yourself, then read on with abandon :) The link is above.
I'm planning on making a contribution to The Blasphemy Challenge, but I don't have convenient
access to a camera that will take more than 15 seconds of footage at a time... so, being the verbose motherfucker that I am, things are not so much with the "filmed" part yet.
But I have scripted my statement, and I might as well publish it here. Hope you like what I've come up with. And if you have any critiques, feel free to leave me a comment.
Okay, enough introduction.
Hello, Rational Responders!
I'd like to help out by contributing to the Blasphemy Challenge...
But I'm not sure I can deny the holy spirit... since in my mind, actively denying something implies that it is a thing that exists that you're interacting with. It calls to mind dealing with an unruly youngster... like, "No! Bad holy spirit! You cannot have the cookie!"; this particular cookie being, of course, my soul (which, by the way, I also cannot even relinquish, since I don't think I have one of those either). In short, not only can I not deny something due to its nonexistence, I can't do so because I have nothing to withhold from it. It's like trying to bluff during a hand of poker when you're not playing with real money: you have chips on the table and you've assigned arbitrary values to them, but no matter how many chips you're betting, whether it be none, one, or many... it's all the exact same real value: zero. In the end nobody has won or lost anything. I don't think we even have cards.
And in case there was any misunderstanding about the context of Mark 3:29, let me unambiguously state that the acts performed by Christians to spread Christianity represents the absolute worst of human nature. If any of our human behaviors deserve to be called demonic, it's the fear-mongering critical to successful religious indoctrination.
Pretend for a minute that this supernatural contest for souls between God and the devil is actually going on. If I were the devil, I tell you what I'd do. I'd prey on the weakest minds I could find. Minds that would believe anything. And I'd do my best to convince them that I was God. I'd even present the idea of an evil devil for them all to rally against. I'd make them as afraid as possible of abandoning me, and I'd sweeten the deal by promising them eternal rewards for choosing what would appear to be the only right choice. In other words, I'd make it sound too good to be true, and then watch the volunteers pour in.
It's not a devil you should be afraid of. It's a silver-tongued Satan pretending to be God.
Okay, there you go. And just in case all that didn't do the trick, Let me make clear that I intend to commit an unpardonable sin. I'm hoping this follows along the same line as "whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart." Even if I haven't performed all this correctly due to a technicality, I've already committed the unpardonable sin in my heart.
In conclusion, I will pledge this with my full name as a baptized and confirmed Roman Catholic: I am Kevin James Christopher Savino-Riker, and I completely and wholly deny the holy spirit.
I'll post the video here once I make it. Meanwhile, more text-based creative compositions to follow.
It's Friday, so say a prayer to Freyja!
You know, I don't understand why that is such a big deal. I am a Pagan; I deny pretty much anything related to Christianity to begin with.
ReplyDeleteNot much of a challenge to me. o.O
Though I am fairly disgusted at it. It's not much more than a marketting ploy.
Aenne.
Aenne, thanks for stopping by :)
ReplyDeleteYou kinda hit the nail on the head when you said, "Not much of a challenge to me. o.O"
It's only a challenge to people who believe in the literal truth of the bible.
Partaking in the Blasphemy Challenge is a way of articulating that you are no longer under the influence of the fear-mongering Christian church. Had you been a believer, you'd most certainly be afraid of the consequences.
It's something akin to a child who's no longer afraid to go to sleep once he realizes the monsters under the bed are simply not there.
Think of the Blasphemy Challenge as a place for former Christians to take the much-needed (but often difficult) first step toward the catharsis of religious independence.
Oh, and sorry if I led you astray with the 'Freyja' reference at the bottom of my post... I'm sure you were looking for something else :-p