Arminianism The
teaching of
Jacob Arminius defined the unforgivable sin as "the rejection and refusing of Jesus Christ through determined malice and hatred against Christ". However, Arminius differed with Calvin in believing that sin could be committed by believers, a conclusion he reached through his interpretation of Hebrews 6:4–6.
John Wesley, the father of the
Methodist tradition, discussed the unforgivable sin in a sermon titled
A Call to Backsliders, in which he wrote that "this blasphemy is absolutely unpardonable; and that, consequently, for those who have been guilty of this, God 'will be no more entreated'." This
Wesleyan–Arminian interpretation of the unforgivable sin includes the deliberate labeling of good as evil, as rejecting the conviction of the Holy Spirit, of publicly attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan, and attributing the work of Jesus to Satan.
The United Methodist Church, a Methodist
connexion, thus teaches:
Mormonism Members of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, also nicknamed
Mormons, have a similar understanding of eternal sin.
Joseph Smith, the founder of the
Latter Day Saint movement, said in the
King Follett discourse:
Church apostle and later
President of the Church,
Spencer W. Kimball, stated that "the sin against the Holy Ghost requires such knowledge that it is manifestly impossible for the rank and file [of the church] to commit such a sin".
Reformed John Calvin, the founder of the
Reformed tradition of Christianity (which includes the
Continental Reformed,
Presbyterian,
Congregationalist and
Reformed Anglican denominations) wrote:
Catholicism The
Church Fathers considered additional interpretations other than it being to attribute the Holy Spirit's works to Satan;
Augustine of Hippo called it one of the more difficult passages of Scripture.
Thomas Aquinas summarized the Church Fathers' treatments and proposed three possible explanations: • That an insult directed against any of the Three Divine Persons may be considered a sin against the Holy Spirit; and/or; • That persisting in mortal sin till death, with final impenitence, as Augustine proposed, frustrates the work of the Holy Spirit, to whom is appropriated the remission of sins; and/or; • That sins against the quality of the Third Divine Person, being charity and goodness, are conducted in malice, in that they resist the inspirations of the Holy Spirit to turn away from or be delivered from evil. Such sin may be considered graver than those committed against the Father through frailty, and those committed against the Son through ignorance. The Catholic Encyclopedia cites Matthew 12:22–32; Mark 3:22–30; Luke 12:10 (cf. 11:14–23) and gives one definition of "the unforgivable sin"—or sin against the Holy Ghost—as "to sin against the Holy Ghost is to confound Him with the spirit of evil, it is to deny, from pure malice, the Divine character of works manifestly Divine." The article further states that "sin against the Son of Man" may be forgiven because it is committed against the human person of Christ, which veils the Divine with a "humble and lowly appearance," and therefore such sin is excusable because it is committed through "man's ignorance and misunderstanding." According to the Catechism of the
Council of Trent, referencing
Ambrose's
Concerning Repentance, the Church believes there is no offence, however serious, that cannot be taken away by Baptism, or absolved from in the Confessional—that no one, however wicked and guilty, may not confidently hope for forgiveness.
Thomas Aquinas lists, or responds to, six sins that go against the Holy Spirit: • Despair: which consists in thinking that one's own malice is greater than Divine Goodness, as
Peter Lombard (Aquinas cites him under the title of "Master of the
Sentences") teaches, • Presumption: if a person wants to obtain
glory without
merits or pardon without
repentance • Resistance to the known truth • Envy of a brother's spiritual good, i.e., of the increase of
Divine grace in the world • Impenitence, i.e., the specific purpose of not repenting a sin • Obstinacy, "whereby a person hardens his purpose by clinging to sin". Thomas Aquinas explains that the unforgivability of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit means that it removes the entrance to these means of salvation; however, it cannot hinder God in taking away this obstacle by way of a miracle. The
Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that, while no sin is absolutely "unforgivable", dying unrepentant represents a deliberate refusal to
repent and accept the infinite mercy of God; a person committing such a sin refuses God's forgiveness, which can lead to self-condemnation to
Hell. In other words, one damns oneself by final impenitence (refusal to repent), as taught by
John Paul II: The Catechism says that Christ desires "the gates of forgiveness should always be open to anyone who turns away from sin." As did St. Augustine, the Catholic Church today teaches that dying unrepentant for one's sins is the only unforgivable sin. In , Pope John Paul II writes "According to such an exegesis, 'blasphemy' does not properly consist in offending against the Holy Spirit in words; it consists rather in the refusal to accept the salvation which God offers to man through the Holy Spirit, working through the power of the Cross", and "If Jesus says that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven either in this life or in the next, it is because this "non-forgiveness" is linked, as to its cause, to "non-repentance," in other words to the radical refusal to be converted. This means the refusal to come to the sources of Redemption, which nevertheless remain "always" open in the economy of salvation in which the mission of the Holy Spirit is accomplished."
Russian Orthodox Church The importance of prayer (
1 Thessalonians 5:17: "pray without ceasing") and humility (
Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner") in Christianity is reflected by an Orthodox
catechism as follows:
Southern Baptists According to Southern Baptist pastor
Billy Graham, continuing to reject Jesus is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. ==In Judaism==