The unforgivable sin?

[bacon_man]

I know what the unforgivable sin is, but how do you get the interpritation i’ve read from Jesus’ words? Is the Churches position on this infallable? Could it be that the sin the Pharisees were commiting was resisting the known truth? Can someone explain this?

 

[beckycmarie]

Are you asking about the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit mentioned in Matthew 12:31-32? My understanding is that this refers to one of the 6 sins against the Holy Spirit:

1. Presumption;
2. Despair;
3. Resisting the known truth;
4. Envy of another’s spiritual good;
5. Obstinacy in sin;
6. Final impenitence.

In order for a sin to be “unforgivable,” someone needs to persist in it without repentance unto death.

 

[beckycmarie]

Below is what the Navarre Bible Commentary says regarding the blasphemy against the Spirit. The underlined portions also apply to the 6 sins against the Holy Spirit mentioned above.

"God wants all men to be saved (1 Tim 2:4) and he calls everyone to repentance (2 Pet 3:9). The Redemption won by Christ is superabundant: it atones for all sins and extends to every man and woman (Rom 5:12-21). Christ gave his Church the power to forgive sins by means of the sacraments of Baptism and Penance. This power is unlimited, that is to say, the Church can pardon all sins of all the baptized as often as they confess their sins with the right disposition. This teaching is a dogma of faith (cf. Council of Trent, De Paenitentia, can. 1).

The sin Jesus speaks about here is termed “sin against the Holy Spirit”, because external expressions of God’s goodness are specially attributed to the third person of the Blessed Trinity. Sin against the Holy Spirit is said to be unforgivable not so much because of its gravity or malice but because of the subjective disposition of the sinner in this case: his attitude shuts the door on repentance. Sin against the Holy Spirit consists in maliciously attributing to the devil the miracles and signs wrought by Christ. Thus, the very nature of this sin blocks the person’s route to Christ, who is the only one who can take away the sin of the world (Jn 1:29), and the sinner puts himself outside the range of God’s forgiveness. In this sense the sins against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven.

Source: The Navarre Bible Gospels & Acts, p. 126-127

 

[bacon_man]

So it’s not the sin, but rather the attitude? If someone were to do this could they be forgiven if they repented? How do you get that from Jesus’ words?

 

[beckycmarie]

So it’s not the sin, but rather the attitude? If someone were to do this could they be forgiven if they repented? How do you get that from Jesus’ words?

It’s a combination of the two - there are certain sins that people tend to persist in, such as those 6 sins against the Holy Spirit. Every sin can be forgiven, but also any sin can be made “unforgivable” by refusing to repent.

I didn’t come up with this stuff on my own, it comes from the Catechism (paragraph 1864) and The Navarre Bible, a Catholic edition which contains commentary from the Faculty of Theology at the University of Navarre and has a Nihil obstat and Imprimi potest.

Since the Church was given the authority by Christ to correctly interpret Scripture, then the Church can correctly “get all this from Jesus’ words.” I’m just repeating what the Church teaches on the topic.

More on this topic from Ask an Apologist, all of which say basically the same thing:
What is “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit” and why is it unforgivable?
Is there a sin that God won’t forgive?
Is there a damnable sin?
Is there a sin that will not be forgiven even with repentance?
Does Hebrews 10:26-27 speak of another unforgivable sin?

 

[distracted]

So it’s not the sin, but rather the attitude? If someone were to do this could they be forgiven if they repented? How do you get that from Jesus’ words?

its not being forgiven that is, that keeps one from entering Heaven and avoiding Hell… Jesus can forgive all sins except the ones not repented of…

that doesn’t mean you absolutely have to go to confession… because you may die before you can get to a preist… but if you are really sorry, God knows…

it is NOT being sorry that is the unforgivable sin. or leads to it…

knowing sin is wrong but doing it anyway… and eventually one becomes very hardened … cannot receive Christ…

 

[distracted]

.

weird thing is… most people are guilty of this unforgivable sin to some degree or another, which is why Jesus had to come to Earth… we can’t overcome this sin by ourselves… and even with Jesus around… (hopefully in our hearts) it is difficult to… not become hardened by the ways of the world, the flesh and the devil…

the longer we live the more sins we commit…

better to die young…

so it would seem…

 

[NHInsider]

It’s not a specifc action, it’s a logical result - God will not force forgiveness upon us, so if we refuse to accept it, we remain unforgiven.

All of those 6 sins

1. Presumption;
2. Despair;
3. Resisting the known truth;
4. Envy of another’s spiritual good;
5. Obstinacy in sin;
6. Final impenitence.

are variations on “rejecting forgiveness:”

Presumption - believing that you don’t need to be forgiven
Despair - believing that you cannot be forgiven
Resisting known truth - understanding the Gospel (of forgiveness by faith in Jesus) but refusing to submit to it
Envy of another’s spiritual good - rejecting God’s justice
Obstinacy in sin - understanding that ones behavior is contrary to God’s will but refusing to change
Final impenitence - rejecting the gift of salvation, even at the moment of death

 

[Wesley7]

Maybe the fundamental difference is accidental blasphemy as compared intentional blasphemy which can make you the Blasphemouth.