Understanding Psychopathy
"Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit"
FROM BOOK: St. Philaret of New York
pp. 341-344
https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Philaret-New-York-Collected/dp/B0DK1Q9K7B
These days [1980?] people often talk about the Savior's miracles, distorting and misinterpreting them, trying in one way or another to deny them. At the time He performed them, this was impossible to do, becasue these miracles were worked in the sight of all. They would have gladly discredited the miracles and denied the fact that they had actually happened. But, again I say, this was not at all possible, and therefore they resorted to their favorite way of doing things — to falsehood. The started saying that the Savior drives out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.
We know that in the Holy Gospel, the Evangelist John says that when the Lord sternly reproved them for their falsification, all they could say was, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" (Jn. 8:48) This was what they dared say to Him! And in another place in the Gospel when the Lord reproved them, He said that any sin can be forgiven: every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven "either in this age, or in the age to come" (Mt. 12:32), that is, NEVER!
We know that the Church hopes that a person who has not cleansed himself of earthly sins can receive absolution and forgiveness. All our prayers for our dear deceased are based on this hope when we ask of the Lord "that they be forgiven every transgression, both voluntary and involuntary (in the Panikhida). If the Church prays this, we have every reason to retain this bright hope. We pray with faith that the Lord in His grace and mercy will cleanse them THERE of what they did not get to cleanse themselves here.
With regard to this sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the Lord said that this will not be forgiven either in this age, or in the age to come! Since it was obvious to all, with what power the Lord Jesus Christ worked His miracles, it is indisputable that this was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Only His enemies who had become completely like unto Satan dared to say wuch a thing when Christ poured out His mercy and blessing on the ailing and infirm. They were brazen enough to say that He worked these miracles by the power of Beelzebub. There is also another place in the Gospel, when he opened the eyes of one blind from birth, other people of the same mind started to stop them saying, "Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" (Jn. 10:21)
Remember that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a conscious opposition to the truth that is obvious to a person's conscience, when a person goes against the truth and against the voice of his own conscience. This is the grave sin the Lord Jesus Christ was speaking of, that it will not be forgiven in this present age, or in the coming age.
It is significant that in another place in the Gospel regarding the same, He said that every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven if anyone speaks a word against the SON OF MAN, that is, against Him Himself, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age, or in the age to come. The wrong conclusion can be drawn here, as if the Divine Person of the Holy Spirit uis higher than the Lord Jesus Christ, since blasphemy against Christ the Savior may be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. This conclusion is completely wrong. Not that the Lord did not at all say that blasphemy against the SON OF GOD may be forgiven, and blsphemy against the Holy Spirit may not. Those who were blaspheming Him saw before themselves a man, therefore, the Lord did not say against the SON OF GOD, but against the SON OF MAN. They saw Him as the Son of Man. Even the Holy Apostle Paul, the great missionary of Christianity, said blasphemous things in his time. But this sin of blasphemy was forgiven because he had blasphemed the SON OF MAN, not the SON OF GOD.
The sin against the Holy Spirit is terrible because when a person's spirit is so hardened that it goes against an obvious truth, he crosses a dreadful, lethal border after which there is no turning back. With this evil, with this opposition to the Light of the Lord, he becomes like the evil Satan who does nothing but blaspheme the Lord. That is why this sin is not to be forgiven. Saint Athanasius says, "there is no sin which can overcome the love of God — there is no such sin." But the thing is, a sin can be forgiven if a person repents of it, but a person who has allowed himself to get to this terrible condition is already not capable of repentance. He has become like the evil Satan who could repent, but as he (Satan) said himself, when he was talking to some saints about himself, if he wanted to repent he could, but in his malice DOES NOT WANT TO and fights against God and His truth. Likewise, a person in this most sorrowful spiritual state is already on the path of falsehood and by this takes his unfortunate soul over the border, past the point of no return, for he has already committed spiritual suicide and is not able to repent.
Remember, beloved brothers and sisters, Saint John Chrysostom, the great preacher of repentance always said, "Strictly speaking, the terrible mortal sin which is unforgivable is precisely that sin which a person did not and cannot repent." No matter how much a person has sinned, whatever he may have done, if only he is capable of repentance, there is still hope for him. Not in vain did the Holy Fathers say that when Satan came to a holy person leading an ascetic life who had fallen into a terrible and grave sin, he still could not rejoice because he knew all too well that repentance would destroy all his machinations and again return the person to God's mercy.
The enemy of our salvation knows this very well. Judas, the traitor, perished only when he ran off and hanged himself, that is, when he despaired and was not able to repent. The Apostle Peter also sinned gravely and disgracefully when he denied the Lord three times, but he did not despair, and even though he knew the gravity of his sin, he did not lost hope that the judgment of His beloved Teacher would be merciful. With this hope he did not despair, but wept and repented for his sin, and we know how he was forgiven.
Our Lord does not forgive sins like we who are sinners. We always say, "I forgive but cannot forget." But the Lord forgives in such a way that He completely OBLITERATES the sin, as if it never existed. He crosses it out completely from a person's deeds. Likewise, Saint Theophan the Recluse said, "If a person has a grave sin on his conscience and goes to his spiritual father and is given absolution in the name of the Lord, then at the moment that the absolution was made, the sin disappears as if it never happened. Only our Lord is able to forgive like this! This is how He forgave the Apostle Peter and all sinners who repented. As the Most-blessed Vladyka Anthony pointed out, the forgiveness granted at confession completely eliminates those sins from the human soul. They fly off into the abyss of non-existence and they ahve absolutely no effect on the eternal fate of man beyond the grave. This is how great God's mercy is!
I have to make sure that my soul does not begin to become evil and consciously oppose the truth. This sometimes happens! To a small extent we can take this example. A little child was naughty, but he knew that his kind parents would forgive him if he asked forgiveness. But he was stubborn and did not want to! This, of course, is a small example, but it shows what this is about and warns us that a person before God can get to the point, like this child before his parents, when he does not WANT TO REPENT.
May the Lord protect all of us from this terrible fate, from this terrible condition of the soul, for where there is repentance, the mercy of God cannot NOT be present, for as Saint John Chrysostom said, our Lord is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy. Amen
__________________________________
Saint Philaret of New York, "Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit," in Sermons & Teachings of Metropolitan Philaret, Volume II (Flushing: Russian Orthodox Youth Committee, 1989), 183–186
"Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit"
FROM BOOK: St. Philaret of New York
pp. 341-344
https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Philaret-New-York-Collected/dp/B0DK1Q9K7B
These days [1980?] people often talk about the Savior's miracles, distorting and misinterpreting them, trying in one way or another to deny them. At the time He performed them, this was impossible to do, becasue these miracles were worked in the sight of all. They would have gladly discredited the miracles and denied the fact that they had actually happened. But, again I say, this was not at all possible, and therefore they resorted to their favorite way of doing things — to falsehood. The started saying that the Savior drives out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.
We know that in the Holy Gospel, the Evangelist John says that when the Lord sternly reproved them for their falsification, all they could say was, "Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?" (Jn. 8:48) This was what they dared say to Him! And in another place in the Gospel when the Lord reproved them, He said that any sin can be forgiven: every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven "either in this age, or in the age to come" (Mt. 12:32), that is, NEVER!
We know that the Church hopes that a person who has not cleansed himself of earthly sins can receive absolution and forgiveness. All our prayers for our dear deceased are based on this hope when we ask of the Lord "that they be forgiven every transgression, both voluntary and involuntary (in the Panikhida). If the Church prays this, we have every reason to retain this bright hope. We pray with faith that the Lord in His grace and mercy will cleanse them THERE of what they did not get to cleanse themselves here.
With regard to this sin, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, the Lord said that this will not be forgiven either in this age, or in the age to come! Since it was obvious to all, with what power the Lord Jesus Christ worked His miracles, it is indisputable that this was blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Only His enemies who had become completely like unto Satan dared to say wuch a thing when Christ poured out His mercy and blessing on the ailing and infirm. They were brazen enough to say that He worked these miracles by the power of Beelzebub. There is also another place in the Gospel, when he opened the eyes of one blind from birth, other people of the same mind started to stop them saying, "Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?" (Jn. 10:21)
Remember that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is a conscious opposition to the truth that is obvious to a person's conscience, when a person goes against the truth and against the voice of his own conscience. This is the grave sin the Lord Jesus Christ was speaking of, that it will not be forgiven in this present age, or in the coming age.
It is significant that in another place in the Gospel regarding the same, He said that every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven if anyone speaks a word against the SON OF MAN, that is, against Him Himself, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age, or in the age to come. The wrong conclusion can be drawn here, as if the Divine Person of the Holy Spirit uis higher than the Lord Jesus Christ, since blasphemy against Christ the Savior may be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. This conclusion is completely wrong. Not that the Lord did not at all say that blasphemy against the SON OF GOD may be forgiven, and blsphemy against the Holy Spirit may not. Those who were blaspheming Him saw before themselves a man, therefore, the Lord did not say against the SON OF GOD, but against the SON OF MAN. They saw Him as the Son of Man. Even the Holy Apostle Paul, the great missionary of Christianity, said blasphemous things in his time. But this sin of blasphemy was forgiven because he had blasphemed the SON OF MAN, not the SON OF GOD.
The sin against the Holy Spirit is terrible because when a person's spirit is so hardened that it goes against an obvious truth, he crosses a dreadful, lethal border after which there is no turning back. With this evil, with this opposition to the Light of the Lord, he becomes like the evil Satan who does nothing but blaspheme the Lord. That is why this sin is not to be forgiven. Saint Athanasius says, "there is no sin which can overcome the love of God — there is no such sin." But the thing is, a sin can be forgiven if a person repents of it, but a person who has allowed himself to get to this terrible condition is already not capable of repentance. He has become like the evil Satan who could repent, but as he (Satan) said himself, when he was talking to some saints about himself, if he wanted to repent he could, but in his malice DOES NOT WANT TO and fights against God and His truth. Likewise, a person in this most sorrowful spiritual state is already on the path of falsehood and by this takes his unfortunate soul over the border, past the point of no return, for he has already committed spiritual suicide and is not able to repent.
Remember, beloved brothers and sisters, Saint John Chrysostom, the great preacher of repentance always said, "Strictly speaking, the terrible mortal sin which is unforgivable is precisely that sin which a person did not and cannot repent." No matter how much a person has sinned, whatever he may have done, if only he is capable of repentance, there is still hope for him. Not in vain did the Holy Fathers say that when Satan came to a holy person leading an ascetic life who had fallen into a terrible and grave sin, he still could not rejoice because he knew all too well that repentance would destroy all his machinations and again return the person to God's mercy.
The enemy of our salvation knows this very well. Judas, the traitor, perished only when he ran off and hanged himself, that is, when he despaired and was not able to repent. The Apostle Peter also sinned gravely and disgracefully when he denied the Lord three times, but he did not despair, and even though he knew the gravity of his sin, he did not lost hope that the judgment of His beloved Teacher would be merciful. With this hope he did not despair, but wept and repented for his sin, and we know how he was forgiven.
Our Lord does not forgive sins like we who are sinners. We always say, "I forgive but cannot forget." But the Lord forgives in such a way that He completely OBLITERATES the sin, as if it never existed. He crosses it out completely from a person's deeds. Likewise, Saint Theophan the Recluse said, "If a person has a grave sin on his conscience and goes to his spiritual father and is given absolution in the name of the Lord, then at the moment that the absolution was made, the sin disappears as if it never happened. Only our Lord is able to forgive like this! This is how He forgave the Apostle Peter and all sinners who repented. As the Most-blessed Vladyka Anthony pointed out, the forgiveness granted at confession completely eliminates those sins from the human soul. They fly off into the abyss of non-existence and they ahve absolutely no effect on the eternal fate of man beyond the grave. This is how great God's mercy is!
I have to make sure that my soul does not begin to become evil and consciously oppose the truth. This sometimes happens! To a small extent we can take this example. A little child was naughty, but he knew that his kind parents would forgive him if he asked forgiveness. But he was stubborn and did not want to! This, of course, is a small example, but it shows what this is about and warns us that a person before God can get to the point, like this child before his parents, when he does not WANT TO REPENT.
May the Lord protect all of us from this terrible fate, from this terrible condition of the soul, for where there is repentance, the mercy of God cannot NOT be present, for as Saint John Chrysostom said, our Lord is compassionate and merciful, long-suffering and plenteous in mercy. Amen
__________________________________
Saint Philaret of New York, "Blasphemy Against the Holy Spirit," in Sermons & Teachings of Metropolitan Philaret, Volume II (Flushing: Russian Orthodox Youth Committee, 1989), 183–186
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