Podcasts about Serapion

Psalm 8Psalm 33Reading 1: 1 Corinthians 2Reading 2: From the first letter to Serapion by St. Athanasius, bishopSt. Helena Ministries is a registered 501(c)3 non-profit. Your donations are tax-deductibleSupport us at: sthelenaministries.com/supportPresentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

Even in the agony, humility and suffering Jesus experienced in his crucifixion, Jesus' heart was/is still for the people, including his executioners. As his followers, we are called to love the people as Jesus loved. Make it practical this week. I. How can I have the Heart of Jesus, and who is he calling me to love? II. Choose what to do with Jesus! Choose Him today and grow in a right relationship with Him! III. If you need outside biblical references for the truth of the crucifixion of Jesus, google and read: A) a letter written by Mara bar Serapion to his son (73 AD) (B) the works of Josephus, the Jewish Historian (90 AD) (C) Tacitus, the Roman Historian (110-120 AD) (D) The Babylonian Talmud (AD 200)

He is also called 'Mark the Athenian' because he was born in Athens. When his parents died, he pondered the transience of all earthly things, gave his goods to the poor, and embarked on a plank in the sea, asking God to lead him wherever He desired. By God's providence, Mark was cast up on the shores of Libya, where he settled as a hermit on a mountain called Trache. (Some say it was in Ethiopia, but this seems less likely.) There he lived for ninety-five years, never seeing another human being.   Saint Serapion visited him before his death and recorded his life. Serapion asked Mark if there were any Christians whose faith was so great that they could say to a mountain 'Get up and cast yourself into the sea,' and it would be so. Immediately the mountain on which they stood began to move like a wave, but Mark raised his hand and stilled it.   On his deathbed, St Mark prayed for the salvation of all men and gave up his soul to God. Saint Serapion saw an angel carrying Mark's soul, and a hand extended from heaven to receive it. Saint Mark was about 130 years old when he reposed.

Sambata, Aprilie 5 - Sf. Mc. Teodul, Agatopod, Claudie, Diodor, Serapion si Nichifor

Vineri, Martie 21 - Cuv. Iacob Marturisitorul; Sfintii Toma si Serapion

Title: Measuring Spiritual Success Text: Acts 11:19-24 FCF: We often struggle in our responsibilities to make disciples because we place too much or wrong responsibilities on ourselves. Prop: Because God's sovereignty and human responsibility work in perfect concert in evangelism and discipleship, we must go and make disciples of all nations. Scripture Intro: [Slide 1] Turn in your bible to Acts chapter 11. In a moment we will read from the scriptures beginning in verse 19 from the Legacy Standard Bible. You can follow along in the pew bible on page 1244 or in whatever version you prefer. After officially concluding the episode of Corenlius, a God-Fearer now received into the body of Christ, Luke now continues his record of the unified and triumphant church. The Gospel continues to spread far and wide, geographically and culturally. And today we will see another first for the gospel. Up to this point, we have only seen people come to the Messiah of the Jews, Jesus of Nazareth, with a previous affiliation or familiarity with the faith of the Jews. Even Cornelius, a God-Fearer, maintained a level of intimacy with the practice of the Jewish faith. But what about outright pagans? What about those who worship false deities? Is God able to save them directly through Christ? Would they even be able to believe on the Jewish Messiah while not being connected to Judaism at all? This question and its answer will change the trajectory of the book of Acts and the ministry of the church… forever. Please stand with me to give honor to and to focus on the reading of the Word of God. Prayer for Illumination: Father, make your Word a swift Word, passing from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip and conversation; that, as the rain returns not empty, so neither may your Word, but accomplish that for which it was given. I ask this in Jesus name… Amen. Transition: [Slide 2] Every morning my girls go out and do chores. They feed chickens and ducks and cats. But before they go out they always consult our temperature gage to determine if they need to bundle up or not. Imagine if they go to read the gage and it says 30 degrees. So predictably they go out in their winter gear. Only to find out that the temperature is actually 30 degrees Celsius. Just in case you don't know that 9/5 of the Celsius temperature plus 32 is the Fahrenheit, let me just tell you that 30 degrees is 86 degrees Fahrenheit. See what can happen when we start using the wrong tool to measure things? In the church we know that we are to go and make disciples. We know that. We know that God has given us certain responsibilities for His Kingdom on earth. But if we are measuring our success by Celsius when we should be measuring by Fahrenheit… we are bound to be disappointed or overwhelmed. What is our scale to measure whether we are successful or not? Let's see if the text today can answer this for us. I.) God's sovereignty and human responsibly work in concert together in evangelism, so we must go and make disciples of all nations. (19-21) a. [Slide 3] 19 – So then those who were scattered because of the persecution that occurred in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. i. The emphatic particle here that is translated “So then” in the LSB consists of 3 words in the Greek. ii. It is used to emphasize a stark change of scene. Many other translations use the word “Now” with the NLT choosing “Meanwhile” iii. What we are to gather from this is that the episode with Cornelius is over and that Luke is shifting to another episode in the narrative. iv. Luke points back to the stoning of Stephen to provide the backdrop for the gospel going forward beyond Judea and Samaria. v. [Slide 4] On the map behind me we see Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. vi. Phoenicia refers to a region along the coast north of Israel. vii. Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean Sea about 100 miles from the nearest coast. viii. Antioch is the capital city in Syria which is in the south east of modern Turkey. 1. Antioch is 3rd most strategic city in the Roman empire behind Rome and Alexandria 2. Josephus estimates that Antioch is around 500,000 people strong at this time. 3. It was inhabited by around 25,000 Jews and many other Proselytes and God-Fearing Gentiles. 4. On its coins, it called itself “Antioch, metropolis, sacred, and unbreakable, and autonomous, and sovereign, and capital of the East.” 5. Though culturally and ethnically diverse, Moral and religious laxity abounded. 6. It is the center for worship of Artemis and Apollo 7. But quickly it becomes the hub of much of Christianity's westward expansion. ix. What we need to recognize immediately is that we are well outside of Israel at this point. As you can see from the map, Judea and Samaria are several hundred miles south of the setting of this next episode. x. Even Caesarea, which is where Cornelius lived, is several hundred miles south of this. xi. Here we see the effect that the stoning of Stephen had on the church. The Christians fled far and wide to escape Saul's persecution. xii. And although at the time, Damascus seemed to be stretching Saul's limit of authority – look how far these Christians escaped? God's church was never truly in danger. xiii. We also learn from this verse that the common practice for these Christians, since they were all Jewish, was to share the gospel with Jewish people in these various places. xiv. Up to the end of verse 19, we should probably see all that is said as a “pre-Cornelius”. b. [Slide 5] 20 – But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, proclaiming the good news of the Lord Jesus. i. The way this reads, it does leave the possibility that evangelism to Gentiles was being successfully done prior to or concurrent with Cornelius and the outpouring of God's Spirit. ii. However, since Luke is writing this account of the spread of the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth, it seems likely that Cornelius and his house coming to Christ was the ground zero of Gentile evangelistic endeavors. iii. [Slide 6] Cyprus we've discussed already but Cyrene is on the North African coast of the Mediterranean sea, west of Egypt. iv. We can see it on this map which zooms out even further. v. Cyrene is the furthest point to date that we've seen the gospel of Christ go. vi. It is unclear if these men came to Antioch to proclaim the good news, like missionaries, or if they came to Antioch for another reason and began then speaking the gospel. vii. But in any case, we see that with Cornelius, people now have concluded that the gospel should not be preached only to certain nationalities or cultures. c. [Slide 7] 21 – And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. i. The Lord's hand was with them. His power, His guidance, and His will. ii. Without the Lord's hand going forward and empowering and enabling, no man can be saved. iii. How remarkable then to see God do so for those who have had no background in Jewish teachings or religion. iv. As a result of the Lord's empowering… a great number who believed turned to the Lord. v. This brings up a difficult but doctrinally significant thought. 1. Some translations attempt to solve the difficulty by changing this to read something like “and a large number believed and turned to the Lord.” 2. However, the word believe here is a participle and not a verb. Furthermore, it has an article with it, the Greek text says “The believed” which makes it necessary for this particular participle to act like an adjective. 3. Well, what is this word modifying? 4. It modifies the word “number” and the phrase “a great number”. 5. It defines the great number as being those who believe. 6. The verb in the sentence is the word “turned”. 7. So what? This isn't English class, Chris. Speak plainly! 8. This is not saying all who believed turned. Rather it is saying a great number who believed turned. 9. In other words… there were some who believed who didn't turn to the Lord. 10. What are some implications of this? a. There are different kinds of faith or belief. b. Last week we pointed out that there were different kinds of repentance. There are repentances that lead to life and that are gifts from God. There are also repentances that lead to death and are not from God. c. In a similar way there are kinds of faith that are from God and truly unite us to Christ. But there are also kinds of belief that seem genuine but ultimately do not save and are not from God. i. We see this as the kind of belief that Demons possess in the book of James. ii. We also see from the book of John, disciples believe on Christ as the Messiah and then abandon Him. d. What we see here is that of all the people who believed in Jesus, with at least a confession of their mouth, a great number of them also turned to Jesus as Lord. e. And to turn to Jesus as Lord is to turn from other Lords. It is to repent. f. In other words, this is Luke's way of further clarifying the 3 points of genuine conversion. Someone who believed and turned to the Lord… has repentance, belief, and the indwelling of the Spirit. g. Remember…It is all or nothing. h. For a great many, they had it all. i. But for some, they only had belief. Therefore, they had nothing. d. [Slide 8] Summary of the Point: In this new episode we see familiar themes repeat themselves yet again. A new group of people in a new place take the gospel to people who had never heard and the Lord's hand goes with them. And what happens? Conversion. We see men and women, who have never had any association with Judaism at all, believing and turning to Christ as Lord. Would we have dived into this text alone; we might be tempted to conclude that God's hand is only necessary to save the hard cases. His hand is needed to save those who are unruly, unclean, unkept, and irreligious. But we don't need His hand to save the moral and the religious. A British monk named Pelagius, the heretic, would have agreed with this thought. However, because we've walked through verse by verse the first 10 chapters of Acts, we know beyond doubt, that the moral and religious need just as much of the Lord's sovereign intervention to save them as these pagans did. The truth of the matter is… that God's sovereign intervention is necessary to save every single individual from their sin. The only way a man receives repentance, faith, and the Holy Spirit, is if God gives it to him. But notice that these men from Cyprus and Cyrene did not sit around waiting to see God's hand move first. Instead, they preached to all the Greeks. And the Lord's Hand went with them. We too must make disciples of all nations, praying for and relying on the power of God to save them from their sin. Transition: [Slide 9 (blank)] So we see tension resolve in harmony. God's sovereign and and human responsibility work together to bring the gospel to all kinds of people. While true that God's hand must be present for any to come, God has given His people the honor of being a conduit of His saving power. Buy is this harmony maintained in discipleship too? Is discipleship purely man's responsibility or does God have sovereignty over this as well? II.) God's sovereignty and human responsibly work in concert together in discipleship, so we must go and make disciples of all nations. (22-24) a. [Slide 10] 22 – Now the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. i. Similar to the events following Philip preaching in Samaria, we see the church at Jerusalem acting not as an administrative check but rather as a support to the work. ii. They send Barnabas, a man we have seen several times so far in the book of Acts. iii. He was from Cyprus, probably a wealthy man who sold his possessions to help poorer members of the church. iv. When Saul was rejected by the Christians at Jerusalem because they didn't trust him, Barnabas was the one who took Saul to the apostles and vouched for him. v. Now we see Barnabas sent, not to correct, but to aid and guide the development of the church in Antioch. b. [Slide 11] 23 – who when he arrived and saw the grace of God, rejoiced and began to encourage them all with a purposeful heart to remain true to the Lord. i. Barnabas when he arrived was overjoyed. Why? ii. The grace of God was on full display. iii. What might we expect to see from the grace of God if it is indeed present in the lives of true converts? This verse actually tells us. iv. The instruction of Barnabas was that they remain true to the Lord. v. Therefore, we can see that one expression of God's grace on someone who is truly converted, is that they are true to the Lord. They are loyal and faithful to Him. vi. So, Barnabas, seeing no need for correction began to encourage them to remain faithful in what they were doing. vii. There are two items in this verse we need to address. One is textual the other is theological. viii. Textually, we really don't know where the concept of a “purposeful heart” goes. 1. The phrase “with a purposeful heart” describes devotion and determination. 2. But here is the question. 3. Is Barnabas' encouragement to them achieved by devotion and determination or is their remaining faithful to the Lord achieved by devotion and determination? 4. While many translations put this phrase at the end of the verse implying the latter, the LSB has put this in the middle, probably to maintain the necessary ambiguity. 5. In a moment, we'll see good reason for this devotion and determination to be applied to Barnabas' encouragement and not to the loyalty of these new converts. ix. Theologically we have something else to point out here regarding God's grace and human responsibility. 1. Although God's grace is displayed in the loyalty and faithfulness of His people, that does not mean that Barnabas could walk away from the situation. 2. God's true people will never walk away or stop being true to the Lord. But the means of that happening comes about through God's people encouraging and teaching one another to stay faithful. 3. While God's grace makes it possible and assured that His true people will remain in Him forever… That does not mean that God's people do nothing. 4. Instead, they must strive to remain loyal to the Lord. As His grace has already predisposed them to be and as His grace will assure them to be. 5. Both extremes favoring God's sovereign grace or Human effort take us down theologically untenable options. We must maintain this balance. 6. We call it, theologically, the ordinary means of Grace. God uses ordinary means, i.e. humans encouraging and instructing other humans in the Word of God, to dispense grace to His people to enable and assure their growth and faithfulness. 7. God's Word will not return to Him void. We often use this in evangelism to indicate that either we plant a seed or reap a harvest. But really this principle is most readily true in discipleship and preservation. God's Word when given to His true people is guaranteed to render results. 8. This is why in Church discipline, when someone refuses to respond to the Word of God correcting their sin behavior, we ultimately treat them like unbelievers. Because God's Word should have an effect on believers. It should grow and preserve them and they should respond in obedience. c. [Slide 12] 24 – for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a considerable crowd was brought to the Lord. i. The beginning of this verse is the reason I believe that the purposeful or steadfast heart belongs to Barnabas in his encouragement. ii. He was determined and devoted to encouraging them in their faithfulness to Christ. iii. If not, what does this description about Barnabas being a good man, full of the Spirit and faith help to explain? iv. His joy? He was joyful because he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and Faith? v. His encouragement? He encouraged them because he was a good man and full of the Holy Spirit and Faith? vi. His joy and encouragement could be explained simply because he was sent by the Jerusalem church and was a fellow believer. But the fact that his encouragement was devoted and determined to ensure their faithfulness to Jesus… that would certainly need explaining. Why was this man so devoted and determined to encourage these new Christians to be faithful? vii. Because he was a good man who was full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. viii. Truly like his nickname suggests, he was the son of encouragement. ix. As a result of the Spirit's power in Him and His dedication and determination to encourage strong disciples of Christ, many more were brought to the Lord there in Antioch. x. Strong disciples who are faithful to the Lord are the beginning of many more coming to Christ. d. [Slide 13] Summary of the Point: God calls on His people to participate in both His saving and preserving work of grace. Not to aid Him or because He could not do it Himself, but because He has afforded us the opportunity to serve Him in this way. Barnabas did not need to go to Antioch to make sure the new converts stayed true to Christ. God's grace would have been more than sufficient to keep them sealed until the day of redemption. But God has chosen ordinary means to dispense His grace to His people. So, Barnabas goes and as a determined encourager becomes a conduit of God's grace to these new believers. And these new believers strive to remain faithful to the Lord as a result of that grace being given. God's grace sets us to action not to passivity. So, knowing God is sovereign over salvation does absolutely nothing to dampen the passion we must have for evangelism. In fact, it ignites it, because we know that God is the one who saves and that we are simply that conduit for His grace to flow through. And that is true in discipleship as well. I stand up here and teach you each week, knowing that God is the one who grows you and preserves you in His grace. But I hope that He may use me for that end. That is why I preach. The notes of God's sovereignty and human responsibility play in perfect harmony because that is how God has composed them in His grand opus called Redemption. Conclusion: So CBC, what must we learn from this text and how then shall we live? What doctrinal truths do we see here and how does that affect us? Doctrinal Takeaway: [Slide 14] God's sovereignty over the saving, growing, preserving and glorifying of His people should not be disregarded or diminished. Jesus is the one who will present us faultless before the throne of God. He will not lose one single sheep that the Father has given Him. And all that the Father have given Him will hear His voice and follow Him. And even though all this is true, God has commanded His people to go and make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the triune God and teaching them to observe everything He has commanded. God saves and keeps His people. But God's people have a responsibility to share the gospel and disciple one another toward faithfulness to the Lord. Rather than seeing these two items as contradictory or at odds, we must instead see them as a glorious gift to us. In our work we are guaranteed success without fear of failure. And in His work, we are afforded usefulness and participation. God the ultimate delegator has assured His work will be completed and then calls, empowers, and equips His people to see it done. My friends… what an amazing and loving God we serve. He has secured our end, paid our way, but is training us for greater things. He will not fail, so we must obey. Now let me break this down into some more practical ways. 1.) [Slide 15] Mind Transformation: “What truth must we believe from this text?” or “What might we not naturally believe that we must believe because of what this text has said?” We must believe that evangelism and discipleship are spiritual battles we cannot win without a special work of God's grace. a. Evangelism is telling someone who is blind to look at the beautiful colors of mercy and grace. It is commanding those who are crippled to stand and run the race toward Christ. It is telling the dead to rise and breathe in the breath of God's love. b. Discipleship is teaching someone to crucify themselves every single day. To offer themselves up as a living sacrifice. To cast themselves upon a God they cannot see, hear, smell, or taste. c. Can men do this? How did we ever get convinced we could? Why do we naturally assume that we are equipped for this work? d. We read in the scriptures God's people doing these things but ignore God's hand in it all! e. What a despicable thing it is. It is borderline blasphemy. f. We do not wrestle against flesh and blood my friends. The battles we face are not ones that can be won by logic, reason, kindness or tolerance. g. Every single heart that is to be saved must have the impossible done to it first. It must be overthrown. h. Every single believer that grows must intentionally and joyfully endure pain and hardship to cut away sin from their lives and obey the Lord. i. This is not a fight we can win. j. And the New Testament writers continue to show us that in every individual salvation and in every believer's growth, God is actively pouring out grace to accomplish it. k. God did not sacrifice His Son enabling all men to somehow be able to convince other men to be saved. For all men are still dead in sin. l. No, my friends. God's grace, God's hand, God's sovereign intervention is necessary for each individual's salvation and each believer's individual growth. For evangelism and discipleship. m. But that can't mean we do nothing! 2.) [Slide 16] Exhortation: “What actions should we take?” or “What is this passage specifically commanding us to do that we don't naturally do or aren't currently doing?” We must make disciples of all nations, not because they won't be saved or preserved without us, but because our God has commanded and afforded us this privilege. a. Just because we cannot do it and God does – doesn't mean we should not do anything at all. b. Just because God can do it by Himself, doesn't mean that we sit like bumps on a log and watch from the bench. c. No, my friends. d. God has called us up and put us in the game. Knowing that only He can carry the team. e. Though God does all to save and keep His people with His sovereign grace… He has called us to go and make disciples to the best of our ability. f. To share the gospel with passion and care and to disciple His people with determined encouragement. g. The results are up to Him… this is sure… but knowing He is in control of the results only propels us to give our utmost. h. Because we are no longer striving for an outcome but for His glory and out of love for Him. i. If we believe the results are up to us, the highest motivation we can possibly attain for evangelism and discipleship is the good of our fellow man. j. But if the results of evangelism and discipleship are up to God, then our motivation is for the glory of God. Is this not the chief end of man? Would it not make sense to have this motive at the core of all God has called us to do here on earth? k. Believe that God is in absolute control over saving and keeping His children! And allow that to encourage your hearts to obey Him passionately… to make disciples… for His glory. 3.) [Slide 17] De-Exhortation: “What actions should we stop doing” or “What behaviors do we naturally practice that this passage tells us to stop doing?” We must stop measuring success or failure by human metrics. a. My friends so often we get so caught up in measuring our success. b. Butts in pews. Professions of faith. Attenders of this function or that function. c. My friends, I succumb to this as well. d. Oh it is so easy to look out and see light attendance as a personal failure. The last few weeks our attendance at church has been fairly light. e. And I confess to you that even though I know there are sicknesses and things preventing folks from coming to worship - standing in front of you my flesh rebukes me and calls me a failure. f. Why? Because I am just prideful enough to think that what I am doing here can be measured in this way. As if I am responsible for you being here or not. g. My friends, I struggle with metrics. I do. This little church has not grown numerically since I've been here. h. People have come. i. People have gone. j. People have gone home to glory. k. And for the most part… our numbers have stayed the same. l. A few have been saved. m. A few have been baptized. n. Compared to many businesses and even other churches… it would be easy to call this church… a failure. o. But my friends, this church is a success. p. Do you know why? q. Every week we as a body faithfully worship God, study His Word, pray to Him, serve one another, and love each other. r. That is success. s. Friends, if I died tomorrow and next Sunday rolled around… would you come to church? t. Of course you would. Why? Because in reality no one wakes up on Sunday and says… oh goody I get to go learn from Chris today! u. Nobody wakes up on Sunday and says… well, I don't really want to go to church today, but I don't want to miss what Chris has to say! v. Because evangelism and discipleship are spiritual battles that we need God's power and grace to wage… measuring success and failure is a completely different metric altogether. w. Success is no longer how many souls are saved or how many people are growing. That is a metric we can observe but it is not one we can reliably equate to our success or failure. Why? Because those items belong to God not us. x. So, what is success? y. Success is… have I poured out myself to deliver the teaching, counseling, care, and service to His people this week? Have I done all of this out of Love for God and love for His people? The answers to those questions determine whether I have been successful or not. z. And it is the same for you. aa. Success is not leading your children to Christ, nor is it insuring they grow up to be a godly man or woman. For in reality – you can't do any of that anyway. bb. Success is faithfully teaching them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Teaching them His ways and demonstrating them in your life… not perfectly… but consistently and progressively. That is success. cc. The same goes for your grandkids, the same goes for the person who sits in your pew. The same goes for your neighbors down the road. dd. That is how we should measure success. Not by results… but by obedience. ee. So how are you doing? 4.) Comfort: “What comfort can we find here?” or “What peace does the Lord promise us in light of this passage of scripture?” God goes with us to save, grow, and preserve His elect, our brothers and sisters! And He will not lose one of them. a. This thought is of immeasurable comfort to me my friends. And I hope it is to you also. b. Combining the truths of God's sovereignty and human responsibility in saving and keeping His people we might feel the overwhelming and daunting task of our responsibility. c. Even though there is an initial load lifted from our shoulders when we realize that success doesn't mean numbers… that weight was no doubt partially reapplied when I spoke of measuring success by our obedience. d. Even the question – so how are you doing… may have been quite rebuking to you. e. That's good. It is good to feel rebuked. f. But let me soften that slightly by reminding you again that God goes with us in all of this. g. He has not left us alone with what is our responsibility. That is why His Sovereignty and our responsibility must be held together. His Sovereign and powerful hand aids us in our monumental task to go and make disciples. h. So maybe after the question, so how are you doing, you felt hopeless. i. I'm doing terribly you might have said. And along with that you may have said, and I'll never do any better. j. Let me encourage you friend that you are only half right. k. Yes, you are doing terribly, and yes, YOU'LL never do any better. But my friends… when the hand of the Lord goes with you… You cannot help but succeed. l. Be comforted and cry out in dependance for God's mighty hand to do all He requires of you. Let me close with a prayer by a monk named Serapion (Ser-ah-pee-on) Scholasticus. A scholar who not only was banished by Emperor Constantius (Con-stan-tea-us) II for his orthodox views against Arianism, but who wrote a prayer handbook called the Euchologion (Yook – oh- log- eon) of Serapion. Father of the only-begotten, you are good and compassionate. You care for us, lover of humanity and lover of our souls. You are the benefactor of all who turn to you. Now would you hear this prayer, and give us knowledge and faith, piety, and holiness. Bring to nothing every passion, every lust, and every sin from among this people. Make us all clean. Have patience with our faults, for we kneel before you, uncreated Father, through the Only-Begotten One. Give to us your holy understanding and complete support. Enable us to seek and love you, to search and seek out your divine answers. Master, give us your hand and raise us up. Raise us up, God of compassions, and cause us to look up. Uncover our eyes and help us to speak. Do not allow us to be ashamed or embarrassed, or to accuse ourselves. Blot out the charge of the debt that is against us (Colossians 2:14) and write our names in the book of life (Philippians 4:3). Include us among your holy prophets and apostles, through Your only-begotten Jesus Christ, through whom to you is the glory and the strength both now and to all the ages of the ages. It is for His sake we ask this... Amen. Benediction: May He who guides our feet through this vain world, To lead us to His heavenly seat; Whose mercies shall ever endure, When this frail world shall be no more, Help you to contend in the cause of the Gospel with your fellows whose names are written in the book of life. Until we meet again… Go in Peace.

He is also called 'Mark the Athenian' because he was born in Athens. When his parents died, he pondered the transience of all earthly things, gave his goods to the poor, and embarked on a plank in the sea, asking God to lead him wherever He desired. By God's providence, Mark was cast up on the shores of Libya, where he settled as a hermit on a mountain called Trache. (Some say it was in Ethiopia, but this seems less likely.) There he lived for ninety-five years, never seeing another human being.   Saint Serapion visited him before his death and recorded his life. Serapion asked Mark if there were any Christians whose faith was so great that they could say to a mountain 'Get up and cast yourself into the sea,' and it would be so. Immediately the mountain on which they stood began to move like a wave, but Mark raised his hand and stilled it.   On his deathbed, St Mark prayed for the salvation of all men and gave up his soul to God. Saint Serapion saw an angel carrying Mark's soul, and a hand extended from heaven to receive it. Saint Mark was about 130 years old when he reposed.

He is also called 'Mark the Athenian' because he was born in Athens. When his parents died, he pondered the transience of all earthly things, gave his goods to the poor, and embarked on a plank in the sea, asking God to lead him wherever He desired. By God's providence, Mark was cast up on the shores of Libya, where he settled as a hermit on a mountain called Trache. (Some say it was in Ethiopia, but this seems less likely.) There he lived for ninety-five years, never seeing another human being.   Saint Serapion visited him before his death and recorded his life. Serapion asked Mark if there were any Christians whose faith was so great that they could say to a mountain 'Get up and cast yourself into the sea,' and it would be so. Immediately the mountain on which they stood began to move like a wave, but Mark raised his hand and stilled it.   On his deathbed, St Mark prayed for the salvation of all men and gave up his soul to God. Saint Serapion saw an angel carrying Mark's soul, and a hand extended from heaven to receive it. Saint Mark was about 130 years old when he reposed.

Vineri, Aprilie 5 - Sf. Mc. Teodul, Agatopod, Claudie, Diodor, Serapion si Nichifor

Joi, Martie 21 - Cuv. Iacob Marturisitorul; Sfintii Toma si Serapion

The Synaxarion calls him "Our Father Cassian, chosen by God to bring the illumination of Eastern monasticism to the West". He was born in Scythia of noble parents, and was well educated in secular things. But, thirsting for perfection, he left all behind and travelled with his friend Germanus to the Holy Land, where he became a monk in Bethlehem. After becoming established in the monastic life for several years, St John felt a desire for greater perfection, and sought out the Fathers of the Egyptian Desert. He spent seven years in the Desert, learning from such Fathers as Moses, Serapion, Theonas, Isaac and Paphnutius. Through long struggles in his cell, St John developed from personal experience a divinely-inspired doctrine of spiritual combat. Many say that it was he who first listed the eight basic passions: gluttony, fornication, avarice, anger, sadness, acedia, vainglory and pride.   In time, struggles in the Alexandrian Church made life so difficult for the Egyptian monks that St John (still accompanied by his friend Germanus), sought refuge in Constantinople, where they came under the care and protection of St John Chrysostom. When the holy Archbishop was exiled, St John once again fled, this time to Rome, where he came under the protection of Pope Innocent I. This proved to be providential for the Western Church, for it was St John who brought the treasures of Desert spirituality to the monasteries of the West. He founded the monastery of St Victor in Marseilles, then, at the request of his bishop, wrote the Cenobitic Institutions, in which he adapted the austere practices of the Egyptian Fathers to the conditions of life in Gaul. He went on to write his famous Conferences, which became the main channel by which the wisdom of the desert East was passed to the monastics of the West. Saint Benedict developed much of his Rule (which at one time governed most monasteries in the Latin world) from St John's Institutions,, and ordered that the Conferences be read in all monasteries.   Saint John reposed in peace in 435, and has been venerated by the monks of the West as their Father and one of their wisest teachers. His relics are still venerated at the Abbey of St Victor in Marseilles.   St John's writings were soon attacked by extreme Augustinians and, as Augustinianism became the official doctrine of the Latin Church, his veneration fell out of favor in the West. Outside the Orthodox Church, his commemoration is now limited to the diocese of Marseilles.

The Synaxarion calls him "Our Father Cassian, chosen by God to bring the illumination of Eastern monasticism to the West". He was born in Scythia of noble parents, and was well educated in secular things. But, thirsting for perfection, he left all behind and travelled with his friend Germanus to the Holy Land, where he became a monk in Bethlehem. After becoming established in the monastic life for several years, St John felt a desire for greater perfection, and sought out the Fathers of the Egyptian Desert. He spent seven years in the Desert, learning from such Fathers as Moses, Serapion, Theonas, Isaac and Paphnutius. Through long struggles in his cell, St John developed from personal experience a divinely-inspired doctrine of spiritual combat. Many say that it was he who first listed the eight basic passions: gluttony, fornication, avarice, anger, sadness, acedia, vainglory and pride.   In time, struggles in the Alexandrian Church made life so difficult for the Egyptian monks that St John (still accompanied by his friend Germanus), sought refuge in Constantinople, where they came under the care and protection of St John Chrysostom. When the holy Archbishop was exiled, St John once again fled, this time to Rome, where he came under the protection of Pope Innocent I. This proved to be providential for the Western Church, for it was St John who brought the treasures of Desert spirituality to the monasteries of the West. He founded the monastery of St Victor in Marseilles, then, at the request of his bishop, wrote the Cenobitic Institutions, in which he adapted the austere practices of the Egyptian Fathers to the conditions of life in Gaul. He went on to write his famous Conferences, which became the main channel by which the wisdom of the desert East was passed to the monastics of the West. Saint Benedict developed much of his Rule (which at one time governed most monasteries in the Latin world) from St John's Institutions,, and ordered that the Conferences be read in all monasteries.   Saint John reposed in peace in 435, and has been venerated by the monks of the West as their Father and one of their wisest teachers. His relics are still venerated at the Abbey of St Victor in Marseilles.   St John's writings were soon attacked by extreme Augustinians and, as Augustinianism became the official doctrine of the Latin Church, his veneration fell out of favor in the West. Outside the Orthodox Church, his commemoration is now limited to the diocese of Marseilles.

Hey, friends! Today's Saint Friend fought in the Third Crusade for two different kings before joining a religious order. Then he was attacked by pirates! Let's find out why all treasure is not silver and gold with our new friend: Saint Serapion of Algiers.

For additional notes and resources check out Douglas' website.HistoricityThree possibilitiesMythologicalExisted, but the Bible has reinvented himExisted, portrayed accurately in the BibleJesus (2 BC-33 AD) v. Tiberius (emperor 14-37 AD), within 150 years of their lives.Jesus: 42 sources – 9 secular + 33 ChristianTiberius: 10 sources, including Gospel of Luke. (To be fair, there are also dozens of coins of Tiberius, naming him or portraying his image.)Historical facts accepted by most scholars (whether or not they believe in Christ)Born shortly before 1 BC (date of death of Herod the Great)From a large and poor family in the tribe of JudahRemained singleSkilled in manual labor and physically tough (though of normal appearance)Critical of established religion, he aroused the wrath of the priesthoodExecuted by crucifixion (virtually no one survived this punishment) under Pontius Pilatus (26-36 AD)His first followers believed he'd been raised from the dead, and was the Messiah (anointed one)Insider testimonyNew TestamentWritten approximately 50-100 AD.Sources of the New Testament (like 1 Cor 15:3-5, as well as various hymns, like Phil 2:5-11 and Eph 5:14, and sayings, like Acts 20:35)Numerous aspects argue against fabrication.Conversion of skeptics like James the brother of Jesus and Saul of TarsusHostile testimony (see below)Criterion of embarrassmentAdmission of ignorance in Mark 13:32Rejection by his own family (Mark 3:20; John 7:5).Having the Messiah go to the Cross -- a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks!Patristic writings (extrabiblical)1st C: 1 Clement (96 AD)2nd C: Ignatius (107 AD), 7 letters; Polycarp (69-155), letter to Philippians & martyrdom account; Justin Martyr (100-165), Apology [Defense]; and many more!Thousands of pages during the early church period (30-325 AD)We could virtually reconstruct the entire NT from quotations in early sources.Outsider testimonyJosephus (37-100 AD) – brother of James; claimed of MessiahshipMara bar-Serapion (73) – Syrian Stoic, writing to son from Romans prison: crucifixion of Jews' wise king; loss of kingdomThallus (52) – commented on daytime darkness at time of death of JesusPhlegon (80-150?) – crucifixion; darkness; earthquakeSuetonius (69-122) – instigation by “Chrestos” in time of Claudius (41-54)Tacitus (56-120) – Nero's persecution, July 64Pliny the Younger (61-112) – asked emperor Trajan how to deal with Christians (112)Lucian (115-200) – wise man; crucified in PalestineCelsus (2nd) – ridiculed Christianity -- a foolish religion for foolish peopleTalmud (200-500) -- trial and crucifixion; charges Jesus with sorcery (Sanhedrin 43a).ConclusionMyth? – No, since Jesus is rooted in history.“Good teacher”? – No, for this teacher claimed divinity. Unless that was true, he would have been dishonest – and hence not a good teacher.Same as other religious founders? – not at all!Confucius – civil servant who made shrewd observations; a sage, not a religious leaderBuddha – agnostic / atheist; no individual existence; at the end, no relationshipsMuhammad – did not claim to be God; did not do miracles (so the Qur'an)Jesus was neither myth nor fabrication. The possibility that makes the most sense is that he existed, and his remarkable life was fairly and accurately portrayed in the Bible.

Tuesday Liturgy. August 8, 2023.

We tend to believe that the prosperity gospel is a modern dilemma for the true churches. The reality is that the Early Church Battled this mindset long before we did. On this episode of FACTS, Dr. Stephen Boyce investigates the writings of Apollonius and Serapion on this heresy of Phrygia. Here are the links that were mentioned in the episode. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/250105.htm https://www.christianpost.com/news/pope-francis-denounces-prosperity-gospel-preachers-who-worship-money.html https://churchleaders.com/news/329453-the-prosperity-gospel-criticized-by-the-vatican.html

Solemnity of Trinity Sunday: Office of Readings Hymn First Antiphon: Come and Stay with us, O God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit Psalm 8 Second Antiphon: The Father is Love, the Son is grace, the Holy Spirit is their bond of fellowship; O blessed Trinity Psalm 33 Third Antiphon: The Father utters the Truth, the Son is the Truth he utters, and the Holy Spirit is Truth; O blessed Trinity Psalm 33 Verse: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made. Resp: By the breath of his mouth, he created the hosts of heaven. First Reading: 2 Cor 2:1-16 Response: May he enlighten the eyes of our minds to see the great hope of our calling, the wealth of glory he has laid up for the saints. Second Reading: From the first letter to Serapion by St Athanasius, bishop Response: Let us praise and exalt God above all for ever. Te Deum Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) © 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975 Visit: https://sthelenaministries.com Donate: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/StHelena

He is also called 'Mark the Athenian' because he was born in Athens. When his parents died, he pondered the transience of all earthly things, gave his goods to the poor, and embarked on a plank in the sea, asking God to lead him wherever He desired. By God's providence, Mark was cast up on the shores of Libya, where he settled as a hermit on a mountain called Trache. (Some say it was in Ethiopia, but this seems less likely.) There he lived for ninety-five years, never seeing another human being.   Saint Serapion visited him before his death and recorded his life. Serapion asked Mark if there were any Christians whose faith was so great that they could say to a mountain 'Get up and cast yourself into the sea,' and it would be so. Immediately the mountain on which they stood began to move like a wave, but Mark raised his hand and stilled it.   On his deathbed, St Mark prayed for the salvation of all men and gave up his soul to God. Saint Serapion saw an angel carrying Mark's soul, and a hand extended from heaven to receive it. Saint Mark was about 130 years old when he reposed.

He is also called 'Mark the Athenian' because he was born in Athens. When his parents died, he pondered the transience of all earthly things, gave his goods to the poor, and embarked on a plank in the sea, asking God to lead him wherever He desired. By God's providence, Mark was cast up on the shores of Libya, where he settled as a hermit on a mountain called Trache. (Some say it was in Ethiopia, but this seems less likely.) There he lived for ninety-five years, never seeing another human being.   Saint Serapion visited him before his death and recorded his life. Serapion asked Mark if there were any Christians whose faith was so great that they could say to a mountain 'Get up and cast yourself into the sea,' and it would be so. Immediately the mountain on which they stood began to move like a wave, but Mark raised his hand and stilled it.   On his deathbed, St Mark prayed for the salvation of all men and gave up his soul to God. Saint Serapion saw an angel carrying Mark's soul, and a hand extended from heaven to receive it. Saint Mark was about 130 years old when he reposed.

Bible Study Don't just take our word for it . . . take His! We would encourage you to spend time examining the following Scriptures that shaped this sermon: Ezekiel 39:25–29; 1 Corinthians 2:6–16; John 6:63. Sermon Outline Who and What the Holy Spirit IsThe person of the Holy Spirit The translucence of the Holy Spirit What the Holy Spirit DoesIn creation In redemption Encountering the Holy SpiritEnjoying "fellowship with Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Cor. 1:7) Sermon Questions Who is God the Holy Spirit? This sermon discussed the Spirit's work in two realms: in creation and in redemption. Briefly sketch the Spirit's role in both. Why is the Holy Spirit sometimes called the "imageless" or the "nameless" person of the Holy Trinity? Do you believe that God is intimately near to us? What is encouraging about this truth? What's unsettling? This sermon contends that what St Paul calls "the fellowship of the Holy Spirit" (2 Cor 13:14) is nothing other than the fellowship with Jesus that is brought about by the Spirit (compare 2 Cor 13:14 and 1 Cor. 1:7). What practical difference would it make to your life if there were no such person as the Holy Spirit? How would your faith look different? ... Would it look different at all? Select Resources Consulted Biblical: Daniel Block, "The Prophet of the Spirit: The Use of Rûaḥ in the Book of Ezekiel," in By the River Chebar: Historical, Literary, and Theological Studies in the Book of Ezekiel (Eugene, OR: Cascade, 2013), 140–68; Gordon Fee, Paul, the Spirit, and the People of God (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 1996). Patristic: Athanasius of Alexandria, Letters to Serapion; Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit Reformation: T.F. Torrance, The School of Faith: Catechisms of the Reformed Church, xcv–cxxvi; The Trinitarian Faith: The Evangelical Theology of the Ancient Catholic Church, 191–51. Living It Out: Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Joy Unspeakable: Power and Renewal in the Holy Spirit (Wheaton: Harold Shaw, 2000); Sam Storms, The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Gifts (Minneapolis: Bethany House, 2012). Questions? Do you have a question about today's sermon? Email Sam Fornecker (SFornecker@StAndrews.Church).

Radio Show [Proud Eagle] #455 (Mixed by Nelver) [Pirate Station Online] (15-02-2023) ✅ Subscribe to Telegram channel: https://t.me/nelvermusic All episodes: https://fanlink.to/proudeagle YouTube Video: https://youtu.be/J_KYoRKkDO0 Tracklist: 01. Voicians & Frameshift - Tell Me 02. Dizrupt - Clocks 03. Urbanstep & Kleu - Drugs From Amsterdam 04. Telomic - Rumbler 05. Geostatic & Screamarts - Angel Eyes 06. Gabriel - Overgrown 07. Sub:liminal & Nelver - Free Your Mind (feat. Gemma Rose) 08. Dossa & Locuzzed - Glow 09. Revaux - The Tunnel 10. Beeson - Come To Mind 11. Screamarts - Hide and Seek 12. Drumsik - Don't Play 13. Artificial Intelligence - State of Mind (Spheres of Life) 14. ESKR - Other Worlds 15. Atlantic Connection - Robust (Sequences Remix) 16. Rockwell - Vent 17. Break & Fox - Code Red 18. Rift - Ego Death 19. NC-17 & Dauntless - Vertigo City 20. Nelver - Obsession 21. Xenofish - Solstice 22. Telomic - Lesson Learned 23. EastColors - Could Be (Konak Remix) 24. Hologram - Old Piano Vibe 25. Iris - Not Even a Big Up 26. Airglo - Sandstorm 27. Emba - Mirrors (Kove Remix) 28. Zombie Cats - Let Go 29. Phadix - Always 30. Elder - Scream 31. Osprey - Timeless 32. Dawn Wall - Movies 33. Artificial Intelligence - No Fun 34. Serapion & PLTX - Thinking Spaces 35. Nelver - Nothing Left 36. Syren Rivers & Command Strange - Source Energy 37. Metal Work & Just Mack - Baby (In Love) 38. HK Sage - Do You Love Me 39. M-Church - Birds of Summer 40. Metal Work & Just Mack - In Deep 41. BCee - Worship (feat. Javeon) 42. Nelver - Vikky's Song Weekly updated Playlist "Proud Eagle" on Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2W5vkVa Follow Nelver: https://www.instagram.com/nelvermusic/ https://vk.com/nelver https://spoti.fi/2ThGKDT https://soundcloud.com/nelver https://www.facebook.com/nelverdnb/ https://www.mixcloud.com/Nelver/ https://twitter.com/Nelvermusic

08:01 https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/hiddensaints/serapion_of_zarzma_oct_29 feeds@ancient

This Syrian writes to his son and talks about the senselessness and ramifications of Jesus death. Thank you for listening! Please share and subscribe! Please leave a 5 star review!

Solemnity of Trinity Sunday Hymn Antiphon: Come and Stay with us, O God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit Psalm 8 Antiphon: The Father is Love, the Son is grace, the Holy Spirit is their bond of fellowship; O blessed Trinity Psalm 33 Antiphon: The Father utters the Truth, the Son is the Truth he utters, and the Holy Spirit is Truth; O blessed Trinity Psalm 33 Verse: By the word of the Lord the heavens were made. Resp: By the breath of his mouth, he created the hosts of heaven. First reading: 2 Cor 2:1-16 Responsory: Eph 1:17,18; 1 Cor 2:12 Resp: May he enlighten the eyes of our minds to see the great hope of our calling, the wealth of glory he has laid up for the saints. Second reading: From the first letter to Serapion by St Athanasius, bishop Responsory: Resp: Let us praise and exalt God above all for ever. Te Deum Presentation of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) from The Liturgy of the Hours (Four Volumes) (c) 1975, International Commission on English in the Liturgy Corporation. The texts of Biblical Readings are reproduced from the New American Bible © 1975

" 'Sindon' means 'linen cloth,' and this saint was called 'the Sindonite' because he covered his naked body only with a linen cloth. He carried the Gospels in his hand. Serapion lived like the birds, with no roof and no cares, moving from one place to another. He gave his linen cloth to a poor wretch who was shivering with cold, and himself remained completely naked. When someone asked him: 'Serapion, who made you naked?', he indicated the Gospels and said: 'This!' But, after that, he gave away the Gospels also for the money needed by a man who was being hounded to prison by a creditor in debt. [note: Gospel books were all hand-written, and were uncommon and valuable.] At one time in Athens, he did not eat for four days, having nothing, and began to cry out with hunger. When the Athenian philosophers asked him what he was shouting about, he replied: 'There were three to whom I was in debt: two have quietened down, but the third is still tormenting me. The first creditor is carnal lust, who has tormented me from my youth; the second is love of money, and the third is the stomach. The first two have left me alone, but the third one still torments me.' The philosophers gave him some gold to buy bread. He went to a baker, bought a single loaf, put down all the gold and went out. He went peacefully to the Lord in old age, in the 5th century." (Prologue)

" 'Sindon' means 'linen cloth,' and this saint was called 'the Sindonite' because he covered his naked body only with a linen cloth. He carried the Gospels in his hand. Serapion lived like the birds, with no roof and no cares, moving from one place to another. He gave his linen cloth to a poor wretch who was shivering with cold, and himself remained completely naked. When someone asked him: 'Serapion, who made you naked?', he indicated the Gospels and said: 'This!' But, after that, he gave away the Gospels also for the money needed by a man who was being hounded to prison by a creditor in debt. [note: Gospel books were all hand-written, and were uncommon and valuable.] At one time in Athens, he did not eat for four days, having nothing, and began to cry out with hunger. When the Athenian philosophers asked him what he was shouting about, he replied: 'There were three to whom I was in debt: two have quietened down, but the third is still tormenting me. The first creditor is carnal lust, who has tormented me from my youth; the second is love of money, and the third is the stomach. The first two have left me alone, but the third one still torments me.' The philosophers gave him some gold to buy bread. He went to a baker, bought a single loaf, put down all the gold and went out. He went peacefully to the Lord in old age, in the 5th century." (Prologue)

Marti, Aprilie 5 - Sf. Mc. Teodul, Agatopod, Claudie, Diodor, Serapion si Nichifor

This morning, as we study the death of Jesus from the Gospel of Matthew it is important you know there are several ancient documents that record the death of Jesus - Mara bar Serapion (ca. A.D. 73), Josephus, Antiquities 18.3.3 §64, Agapius, Book of the Title (summarizing Josephus), Tacitus, Annals 15.44 (ca. a.d. 110–20), Babylonian Talmud, tractate Sanhedrin 43a. It is important this crucial event that stands at the center of our faith can be shown to have historical evidence in addition to the historical accounts we have in the Gospels.

He is also called 'Mark the Athenian' because he was born in Athens. When his parents died, he pondered the transience of all earthly things, gave his goods to the poor, and embarked on a plank in the sea, asking God to lead him wherever He desired. By God's providence, Mark was cast up on the shores of Libya, where he settled as a hermit on a mountain called Trache. (Some say it was in Ethiopia, but this seems less likely.) There he lived for ninety-five years, never seeing another human being.   Saint Serapion visited him before his death and recorded his life. Serapion asked Mark if there were any Christians whose faith was so great that they could say to a mountain 'Get up and cast yourself into the sea,' and it would be so. Immediately the mountain on which they stood began to move like a wave, but Mark raised his hand and stilled it.   On his deathbed, St Mark prayed for the salvation of all men and gave up his soul to God. Saint Serapion saw an angel carrying Mark's soul, and a hand extended from heaven to receive it. Saint Mark was about 130 years old when he reposed.

Luni, Aprilie 5 - Sf. Mc. Teodul, Agatopod, Claudie, Diodor, Serapion si Nichifor

This episode is also available as a blog post: http://nelsonmcbs.com/2021/03/21/%e0%b4%85%e0%b4%a8%e0%b5%81%e0%b4%a6%e0%b4%bf%e0%b4%a8-%e0%b4%b5%e0%b4%bf%e0%b4%b6%e0%b5%81%e0%b4%a6%e0%b5%8d%e0%b4%a7%e0%b5%bc-saint-of-the-day-march-21st-st-serapion-st-nicholas-of-flue/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/nelsonmcbs/support

Duminica, Martie 21 - Cuv. Iacob Marturisitorul; Sfintii Toma si Serapion

Holy Wonderworkers and Unmercenaries Cyrus and John, and those with them ................................................... 262 Venerable Nikita of the Kiev Caves, Far Caves, Bishop of Novgorod ................................................................... 263 Martyrs Victorinus, Victor, Nicephorus, Claudius, Diodorus, Serapion, and Papias, of Egypt .............................. 264 Martyr Tryphaina at Cyzicus ................................................................................................................................... 264 Saint Arsenius of Paros ........................................................................................................................................... 265 --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/an-orthodox/message

While we can definitely learn a lot from the Bible and early Christians about what happened in the first century, it's also very important to see what we can learn from non-Christian sources. First of all, we can learn far more than most skeptics realize, and also, it ends up shedding a lot of light on the situation of early Christianity. We even end up learning a lot about the context that isn't found in the Bible. In this episode, we continue to look at the ancient non-Christian sources of Lucian of Samosata, the Babylonian Talmud, and Mara bar Serapion. For more from Jon Topping, check out www.jontopping.com for his blog, podcast, articles, and other videos. Music from www.bensound.com. Audio of the Ultimate Questions Podcast is found anywhere podcasts are available.

Homily on the Parable of the Sower (Lk 8:4-15) by His Eminence Metropolitan Serapion (Sunday, November 15, 2020)

He is also called 'Mark the Athenian' because he was born in Athens. When his parents died, he pondered the transience of all earthly things, gave his goods to the poor, and embarked on a plank in the sea, asking God to lead him wherever He desired. By God's providence, Mark was cast up on the shores of Libya, where he settled as a hermit on a mountain called Trache. (Some say it was in Ethiopia, but this seems less likely.) There he lived for ninety-five years, never seeing another human being.   Saint Serapion visited him before his death and recorded his life. Serapion asked Mark if there were any Christians whose faith was so great that they could say to a mountain 'Get up and cast yourself into the sea,' and it would be so. Immediately the mountain on which they stood began to move like a wave, but Mark raised his hand and stilled it.   On his deathbed, St Mark prayed for the salvation of all men and gave up his soul to God. Saint Serapion saw an angel carrying Mark's soul, and a hand extended from heaven to receive it. Saint Mark was about 130 years old when he reposed.

Today's Topics: 1) Finding the Fallacy: Judgmental Language Meet the Early Church Fathers: Sacramental of Serapion 2, 3, 4) Interview

8/5/2020

7/29/2020

7/22/2020

7/15/2020

Like all the sacraments, holy anointing was instituted by Jesus Christ during his earthly ministry. “This sacred anointing of the sick was instituted by Christ our Lord as a true and proper sacrament of the New Testament. It is alluded to indeed by Mark, but is recommended to the faithful and promulgated by James the apostle and brother of the Lord” (CCC 1511; Mark 6:13; Jas. 5:14-15). The anointing of the sick conveys several graces and imparts gifts of strengthening in the Holy Spirit against anxiety, discouragement, and temptation, and conveys peace and fortitude (CCC 1520). These graces flow from the atoning death of Jesus Christ, for “this was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, ‘He took our infirmities and bore our diseases’” (Matt. 8:17).   Friends of the Show get all Premium Content! Thank you to my newest Friends of the Show: Antonia R; Holly R; Sheila J; Maribeth S; Michele V-W; Theresa V; Erin C; Jason R; Muriel C; Lynda S; Jody R; Melissa O'N; and Keith E, for loving and lifting me! LOVE the Word® is a Bible study method based on Mary's own practice: lectio without the Latin. Get the book based on Sonja's method in the right margin, How to Pray Like Mary. L - Listen (Receive the Word.)  O - Observe (Connect the passage to your life and recent events.) Has this series on sacraments as covenants and their roots in the Bible made you more likely than before to receive one or more sacraments? What was the most significant thing you learned throughout the series? What do you want to say to the Lord about that? V - Verbalize (Pray about your thoughts and emotions.) Remembering that He loves you and that you are in His presence, talk to God about the particulars of your O – Observe step. You may want to write your reflections in your LOVE the Word® journal. Or, get a free journal page and guide in the right-hand margin. E - Entrust (May it be done to me according to your word!) “We beseech you, Savior of all men, you that have all virtue and power, Father of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and we pray that you send down from heaven the healing power of the only-begotten [Son] upon this oil, so that for those who are anointed . . . it may be effected for the casting out of every disease and every bodily infirmity . . . for good grace and remission of sins.” Amen + (The Sacramentary of Serapion 29:1; 350 AD). Bible Study Evangelista is on the Laudate app! Share the LOVE Share the LOVE on the Facebook community. Tell me your #LOVEtheWordtakeaway for this week's show.   Read the Transcript You can download a complete, word-for-word transcript here, when it becomes available, courtesy of Dora Donovan and Karen Cross who do our transcripts for you.

Coptic Cafe Live

Kommentare bitte unter https://manglaubtesnicht.wordpress.com/?p=3543 Christen bringen immer wieder vor, dass die Existenz von Jesus Christus historisch bewiesen sei. Oliver ist skeptisch und geht anhand des Buches „Falsche Zeugen“ von Hermann Detering die vorhandenen „Beweise“ durch. Till kann sich vor Lachen kaum halten — Wie kann es sein, dass so viele Menschen sich über so lange Zeit hinweg von derart dümmlichen Argumenten überzeugen lassen? 06m59s: 1. Thallus (nicht) 07m14s: 2. Mara bar Serapion 09m36s: 3. Tacitus 20m40s: 4. Plinius der Jüngere 27m42s: 5. Flavius Josephus 40m24s: 6. Sueton 50m05s: Zusammenfassung

Duminica, Aprilie 5 - Sf. Mc. Teodul, Agatopod, Claudie, Diodor, Serapion si Nichifor

The Synaxarion calls him "Our Father Cassian, chosen by God to bring the illumination of Eastern monasticism to the West". He was born in Scythia of noble parents, and was well educated in secular things. But, thirsting for perfection, he left all behind and travelled with his friend Germanus to the Holy Land, where he became a monk in Bethlehem. After becoming established in the monastic life for several years, St John felt a desire for greater perfection, and sought out the Fathers of the Egyptian Desert. He spent seven years in the Desert, learning from such Fathers as Moses, Serapion, Theonas, Isaac and Paphnutius. Through long struggles in his cell, St John developed from personal experience a divinely-inspired doctrine of spiritual combat. Many say that it was he who first listed the eight basic passions: gluttony, fornication, avarice, anger, sadness, acedia, vainglory and pride.   In time, struggles in the Alexandrian Church made life so difficult for the Egyptian monks that St John (still accompanied by his friend Germanus), sought refuge in Constantinople, where they came under the care and protection of St John Chrysostom. When the holy Archbishop was exiled, St John once again fled, this time to Rome, where he came under the protection of Pope Innocent I. This proved to be providential for the Western Church, for it was St John who brought the treasures of Desert spirituality to the monasteries of the West. He founded the monastery of St Victor in Marseilles, then, at the request of his bishop, wrote the Cenobitic Institutions, in which he adapted the austere practices of the Egyptian Fathers to the conditions of life in Gaul. He went on to write his famous Conferences, which became the main channel by which the wisdom of the desert East was passed to the monastics of the West. Saint Benedict developed much of his Rule (which at one time governed most monasteries in the Latin world) from St John's Institutions,, and ordered that the Conferences be read in all monasteries.   Saint John reposed in peace in 435, and has been venerated by the monks of the West as their Father and one of their wisest teachers. His relics are still venerated at the Abbey of St Victor in Marseilles.   St John's writings were soon attacked by extreme Augustinians and, as Augustinianism became the official doctrine of the Latin Church, his veneration fell out of favor in the West. Outside the Orthodox Church, his commemoration is now limited to the diocese of Marseilles.

The Synaxarion calls him "Our Father Cassian, chosen by God to bring the illumination of Eastern monasticism to the West". He was born in Scythia of noble parents, and was well educated in secular things. But, thirsting for perfection, he left all behind and travelled with his friend Germanus to the Holy Land, where he became a monk in Bethlehem. After becoming established in the monastic life for several years, St John felt a desire for greater perfection, and sought out the Fathers of the Egyptian Desert. He spent seven years in the Desert, learning from such Fathers as Moses, Serapion, Theonas, Isaac and Paphnutius. Through long struggles in his cell, St John developed from personal experience a divinely-inspired doctrine of spiritual combat. Many say that it was he who first listed the eight basic passions: gluttony, fornication, avarice, anger, sadness, acedia, vainglory and pride.   In time, struggles in the Alexandrian Church made life so difficult for the Egyptian monks that St John (still accompanied by his friend Germanus), sought refuge in Constantinople, where they came under the care and protection of St John Chrysostom. When the holy Archbishop was exiled, St John once again fled, this time to Rome, where he came under the protection of Pope Innocent I. This proved to be providential for the Western Church, for it was St John who brought the treasures of Desert spirituality to the monasteries of the West. He founded the monastery of St Victor in Marseilles, then, at the request of his bishop, wrote the Cenobitic Institutions, in which he adapted the austere practices of the Egyptian Fathers to the conditions of life in Gaul. He went on to write his famous Conferences, which became the main channel by which the wisdom of the desert East was passed to the monastics of the West. Saint Benedict developed much of his Rule (which at one time governed most monasteries in the Latin world) from St John's Institutions,, and ordered that the Conferences be read in all monasteries.   Saint John reposed in peace in 435, and has been venerated by the monks of the West as their Father and one of their wisest teachers. His relics are still venerated at the Abbey of St Victor in Marseilles.   St John's writings were soon attacked by extreme Augustinians and, as Augustinianism became the official doctrine of the Latin Church, his veneration fell out of favor in the West. Outside the Orthodox Church, his commemoration is now limited to the diocese of Marseilles.

Today's Bible reading for January 12 is Genesis 13, Nehemiah 2, Matthew 12 and Acts 12. Our focus passage will be Matthew 12, and we are asking a big Bible question today: What is the Blasphemy of the Spirit, the unforgivable sin? SHOUT OUT TO THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE COMMENTED AND LEFT REVIEWS!!! On Apple Podcasts: Monte O, Kerri P, Cortney and Angel. And also people who have commented on the blog that they were listening: Angie from Knoxville, Og from Salinas, Cortney J. from Birmingham and Ms. Judy Bloom from parts unknown. THANK YOU! So - let's read our first chapter, and then get into our discussion. What is the Unforgivable sin??  It's a terrifying reality: Jesus warned His disciples and the Pharisees that there was a sin that could be committed that was unpardonable – unforgivable for all eternity. People have speculated and worried about this teaching of Jesus for hundreds of years. What precisely is the unpardonable sin? How can we know whether or not we've done it? Let's dive in! The Didache First century – RIGHT after the NT: Now concerning the apostles and prophets, deal with them as follows in accordance with the rule of the gospel. (4) Let every apostle who comes to you be welcomed as if he were the Lord. (5) But he is not to stay for more than one day, unless there is need, in which case he may stay another. But if he stays three days, he is a false prophet. (6) And when the apostle leaves, he is to take nothing except bread until he finds his next night's lodging. But if he asks for money, he is a false prophet. (7) Also, do not test or evaluate any prophet who speaks in the spirit, for every sin will be forgiven, but this sin will not be forgiven.35 Michael William Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, Updated ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 263–265. ANDREAS Andreas of Caesarea (Greek: Ἀνδρέας Καισαρείας; 563 – 637) : It is the sin of heresy, or of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which leads to death. If one man sins against another, pray for him. But if he sins against God, who is there who can pray on his behalf? And if even after all this, our opponents are still unwilling to learn and still unable to understand, they should at least stop speaking evil. They should not divide the Trinity lest they be divided from life.82 They should not classify the Holy Spirit with the creatures, lest, like the Pharisees of old who ascribed the works of the Spirit to Beelzebul,83 they too, on account of equal audacity, incur along with them the punishment which is unpardonable both now and in the future. Athanasius Works on the Spirit: Athanasius's Letters to Serapion on the Holy Spirit,  Grave-robbing, or the opening of graves, is divided into two kinds too, like theft, according to the present Canon, to wit, into pardonable and into unpardonable grave-robbing. For if the fellow opening the grave does not denude the dead person's body, thus refraining from dishonoring (for that is what is meant by the expression “sparing devoutness”) the dead, but only takes the stones found in the grave, in order to use them in the building of any other work that is preferable and more beneficial to the community, though this too is by no means anything to be praised, yet custom has made it pardonable.2 St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain – 1700s, Greek Orthodox church.  Swearing is a dreadful and harmful thing; it is a destructive drug, a bane and a danger, a hidden wound, a sore unseen, an obscure ulcer spreading its poison in the soul; it is an arrow of Satan, a flaming javelin, a two-edged sword, a sharp-honed scimitar, an unpardonable sin, an indefensible transgression, a deep gulf, a precipitous crag, a strong trap, a taut-stretched net, a fetter that cannot be broken, a noose from which no one escapes. 19. Are these enough, and do you believe that swearing is a dreadful thing and the most harmful of all sins? Believe me, I beg you, believe me! But if someone does not believe me, I now offer proof. This sin has what no other sin possesses. If we do not violate the other commandments, we escape punishment; on the other hand, in the matter of oaths, we are punished just the same both when we guard against transgressing and when we transgress. St. John Chrysostom, 300s AD St. John Chrysostom: Baptismal Instructions,  Hilary of Poitiers actually points us in a more biblical direction, in discussing the unpardonable sin: Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven.67 With a very grave qualification, he condemns the view of the Pharisees and the perversion of those who also think like them. He promises pardon of all sins but refuses pardon for blasphemy of the Spirit. While other words and deeds are treated with a generous pardon, there is no mercy if it is denied that God is in Christ. 68 And in whatever way one sins without pardon, he is gracious to us and reminds us again that sins of every kind can be completely forgiven, though blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven. For who is so completely beyond pardon as one who denies that Christ is of God, or repudiates that the substance of the Spirit of the Father resides in him Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matthew, ed.  Spurgeon – Nobody knows what that sin is. I believe that even God's Word does not tell us, and it is very proper that it does not. As I have often said, it is like the notice we sometimes see put up, “Man-traps and spring gun set here.” We do not know whereabouts the traps and guns are, but we have no business over the hedge at all. So, “there is a sin unto death;” we are not told what that sin is, but we have no business to go over the hedge into any transgression at all. That “sin unto death” may be different in different people; but, whoever commits it, from that very moment, loses all spiritual desires. He has no wish to be saved, no care to repent, no longing after Christ; so dreadful is the spiritual death that comes over the man who has committed it that he never craves eternal life. C. H. Spurgeon, Pictures from Pilgrim's Progress: A Commentary on Portions of John Bunyan's Immortal Allegory (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 73–74. Billy Graham:   The sin of the religious leaders, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, was a refusal to accept the witness of the Holy Spirit to who Jesus was and what He had come to do, and then submit their lives to Him… Once again, the unpardonable sin is not some particularly grievous sin committed by a Christian before or after accepting Christ, nor is it thinking or saying something terrible about the Holy Spirit. Rather, it is deliberately resisting the Holy Spirit's witness and invitation to turn to Jesus until death ends all opportunity. Billy Graham is echoing the Augustinian (300s AD) view: Now the man who, not believing that sins are remitted in the Church, despises this great gift of God's mercy, and persists to the last day of his life in his obstinacy of heart, is guilty of the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost, in whom Christ forgives sins. Augustine of Hippo, “The Enchiridion,” in St. Augustin: On the Holy Trinity, Doctrinal Treatises, Moral Treatises, ed.  Augustine was reflecting the Origen view (early 300s): The Spirit dwells in those who live by faith. But those who once having been counted worthy to share in the Holy Spirit and then having finally and decisively turned their backs from grace are by this act said to have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit (ORIGEN  Who, then, is not amazed at the exceeding majesty of the Holy Spirit when he hears that he who speaks a word against the Son of man may hope for forgiveness, but that he who is guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness—either in the present world or in that which is to come. Origen What then is it? The unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an act of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws forever with his convicting power so that we are never able to repent and be forgiven. – John Piper.  Lee ann penick MODERN: There is only one “unpardonable sin” that can separate us from God for eternity. It is the ongoing, willful refusal to accept Christ as Lord and Savior and the forgiveness He offers. Jacob Arminius defined it as “the rejection and refusing of Jesus Christ through determined malice and hatred against Christ”. Nancy Hardesty  “Ultimately the refusal to allow women to fully use their gifts in the church and in the world is a form of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.”   Pope John Paul II writes “‘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. SO – What is The unforgivable sin?? – is it, as Origen, Augustine, Billy Graham, Pope John Paul 2 Lee Ann Penick suggest – the rejection of the Holy Spirit/not becoming a follower of Jesus?? Is it, as John Chrysostom claimed, swearing oaths?  Is it the robbing of graves in a thieving manner? Is it not letting women use their spiritual gifts in the church? Is it Heresy? Is it, as Athanasius and many other church fathers declared, being wrong on the Trinity and calling the Holy Spirit a created being, rather than God Himself?  Is it testing prophetic utterances of prophets?? (NO! – 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 Don't stifle the Spirit. 20 Don't despise prophecies, 21 but test all things. Hold on to what is good.) Confused? You should be!! People talk about this issue all of the time, but it doesn't appear that all of them get their views from the Bible, so let's begin there in seeking our answer.  Matthew 12:24 24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 29 How can someone enter a strong man's house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. 30 Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters.31 Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Mark 3: 22 The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul in Him!” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons!” 23 So He summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished! 27 “On the other hand, no one can enter a strong man's house and rob his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he will rob his house. 28 I assure you: People will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they may blaspheme. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” Luke 12: 8 “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God, 9 but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.10 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. So, I see two major ways we need to answer this question. Contextually and grammatically.  What does the CONTEXT of the usage of ‘unpardonable sin' tell us, and what does the grammar/word meanings tell us?   We find a massively important clue in Mark 3:30, where Mark tells us precisely WHY Jesus warned the Pharisees and Scribes about this sin. “Because they were saying, He has an unclean spirit.”   The exact same situation is described in Matthew 12:31 “31 Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven”  The scribes and pharisees are accusing Jesus of doing miraculous things – specifically driving out demons – by the power of Beelzebul rather than by the power of God.  Therefore, we know at least this: Ascribing something like an exorcism that is factually done by the power of God and His Holy Spirit to Demonic influence is AT BEST dangerously close to Blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and could, in fact, be blaspheming the Holy Spirit. (Jesus does not make it crystal clear that the scribes and pharisees were actually committing this sin, or merely getting close to committing it. It would seem like the latter is the best option.)  Practically speaking, what does this mean?? It means we need to be extremely careful about stating confident opinions on spiritual matters that we don't have 100 percent clarity from Scripture on. Let me give a couple of examples:  Pushed over at Brownsville.  Charles Carrin praying for us at GVAG.  Flamboyant preachers on tv wadding up their coats and throwing them on people, who pass out. Blowing on people, who pass out. Etc.  Most of this is probably fraudulent, some of it horribly so. BUT – we should be incredibly careful about pronouncing opinions on what God's spirit would do, and wouldn't do.   For instance, there was a revival going on in the 90s that became very well known and reached a lot of people. I heard about some of the things going on at that revival that were disturbing, and sounded – quite frankly – ridiculous. So, I assumed that the movement wasn't of God, but was just flaky people doing flaky things – at best. HOWEVER…a few years later, I met the leader of the movement, and spent some time with him. He struck me as a genuine follower of God – a man who loved Jesus, and who was humble.  I still don't know what to think about that revival. God does, and I leave it to Him. It's outside of my realm of influence. According to Jesus – there is grave danger in ascribing the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan. You better be 100 percent sure you're right before doing such thing…and you'd better ask the question – HOW Do i Know FOR SURE that my opinion is right on this matter? If you can't answer that question with extreme clarity, then be careful saying what the Holy Spirit will or will not do, and be careful saying whether or not something is of Satan, or not. Contextually, that is at least a large part of what blaspheming the Holy Spirit is about.  What is blasphemy, exactly? More on that in a moment…. Side question – is Beelzebul = Satan?? It's a great question, and I have a fairly lame answer…'maybe.'  Beelzebub (“Lord of the flies”) and Beelzebul (“Lord of the skies/heavenly realms”) both refer to the same entity.  In the Testament of Solomon, 1st century, non-Scripture, pseudoepigraphic text.  Beelzebul (not Beelzebub) appears as prince of the demons and says (6.2) that he was formerly a leading heavenly angel who was (6.7) associated with the star Hesperus (which is the normal Greek name for the planet Venus (Αφροδíτη) as evening star). Seemingly, Beelzebul here is synonymous with Lucifer. the text describes how Solomon was enabled to build his temple by commanding demons by means of a magical ringthat was entrusted to him by the archangel Michael.  The Bible reference comes from 2 Kings 1: 1 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Ahaziah had fallen through the latticed window of his upper room in Samaria and was injured. So he sent messengers instructing them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this injury.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?' 4 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not get up from your sickbed—you will certainly die.'” Then Elijah left.The name also appears in Luke 11, where we can see the clearest connection between Beelzebul and Satan: Luke 11:14 Now He was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon came out, the man who had been mute, spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul,the ruler of the demons!” 16 And others, as a test, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. 17 Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls.18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. 20 If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. So, Jesus mentions Satan and Beelzebul in the same context, but not in a way that indicates that they are the same entities.  My best guess is that Beelzebul is a separate entity from Satan, but I confess that I do not know, and my guess is based on the fact that the Bible never clearly identifies the two as the same entity.  What exactly is Blasphemy?  Luke 12:10 points us in the right direction – anyone who ‘speaks a word against the son of man will be forgiven.' but the one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Matthew 12:32 makes it even more clear: 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Similarly: Isaiah 37:23 Isaiah 37:23 Who is it you have mocked and blasphemed? Who have you raised your voice against and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! The Word itself, Greek Blasphemos, is a combo of two words. Blaptō, which means, ‘to HURT' and Pheemay, which means fame, report, or something like ‘reputation.' So, etymologically, the word  has a root meaning of injuring somebody's fame, or good name. The word can mean ‘defame' or ‘revile' and isn't always used of a deity. Paul speaks of being ‘defamed' or blasphemed by people for being an apostle. Paul commands the church in Titus 3:2 not to slander/Speak evil of (or BLASPHEME) any person, which is a command that Christians would do well to take far more seriously than we do.  2 Peter 2:10 and Jude vs 8 both warn against blaspheming angels, demons, and other spiritual beings.  So- blasphemy is speaking evil of someone. Hurting them with your words, harming their reputation. Thus, blaspheming the Holy Spirit is speaking evil of Him, reviling Him, defaming Him, seeking to harm His reputation. The Pharisees and Scribes were doing that – or coming dangerously close – when they said that it was Satan/Beelzebul empowering Jesus, when it was factually the Spirit of God Himself.  R.C. Sproul: Their statements were directed against Jesus. So, He said to them: “You can blaspheme Me and be forgiven, but when you question the work of the Spirit, you are coming perilously close to the unforgivable sin. You are right at the line. You are looking down into the abyss of hell. One more step and there will be no hope for you.” He was warning them to be very careful not to insult or mock the Spirit. Is it really unforgivable, and WHAT IF I HAVE COMMITTED IT?!  AUGUSTINE: It is not that this was a blasphemy which under no circumstances could be forgiven, for even this shall be forgiven if right repentance follows it Thomas C. Oden and Christopher A. Hall, eds., Mark, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 48. I'm worried that I have committed the unforgivable sin??  Graham: Many Christians have heard that there is an unpardonable sin and live in dread that something grave they have done before or after conversion might be that sin. Their fears are unfounded. While there is an unforgivable sin, it is not one that a true believer in Jesus Christ can commit. Sproul:  Humanly speaking, everyone who is a Christian is capable of committing the unforgivable sin. However, I believe that the Lord of glory who has saved us and sealed us in the Holy Spirit will never let us commit that sin. I do not believe that any Christians in the history of the church have blasphemed the Spirit. As for those who are not sure they are saved and are worried they may have committed the unpardonable sin, I would say that worrying about it is one of the clearest evidences that they have not committed this sin, for those who commit it are so hardened in their hearts they do not care that they commit it. Thanks be to God that the sin that is unpardonable is not a sin He allows His people to commit. I don't share Graham and Sproul's assurances, though I respect them both deeply. The Bible NEVER says a believer is unable to commit the unpardonable sin. Jesus NEVER indicates that, and I see no other passage that promises such…just a sober warning.  I think Piper strikes a better balance when talking about it:  Piper: The fact that there is an unforgivable sin — that there comes a point in a life of sin after which the Holy Spirit will no longer grant repentance — that fact should drive us from sin with fear and trembling. None of us knows when our toying with sin will pass over into irrevocable hardness of heart. Very few people feel how serious sin is. Very few people are on the same wavelength with Jesus when he said in Mark 9:43, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.” Instead, many professing Christians today have such a sentimental view of God's justice that they never feel terror and horror at the thought of being utterly forsaken by God because of their persistence in sin. They have the naïve notion that God's patience has no end and that they can always return from any length and depth of sin, forgetting that there is a point of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws forever with his convicting power, leaving them never able to repent and be forgiven. They are like the buzzard who spots a carcass on a piece of ice floating in the river. He lands and begins to eat. He knows it is dangerous because the falls are just ahead. But he looks at his wings and says to himself, “I can fly to safety in an instant.” And he goes on eating. Just before the ice goes over the falls he spreads his wings to fly but his claws are frozen in the ice and there is no escape — neither in this age nor the age to come. The Spirit of holiness has forsaken the arrogant sinner forever. Another of the devil's fiery darts is this, “You have committed the unpardonable sin.” Ah! this arrow has rankled in many a heart, and it is very difficult to deal with such cases. The only way in which I argue with a person thus assailed is to say, “I am quite certain that, if you desire salvation, you have not committed the unpardonable sin, and I am absolutely sure that, if you will now come and trust Christ, you have not committed that sin, for every soul that trusts Christ is forgiven, according to God's Word, and therefore you cannot have committed that sin.” C. H. Spurgeon, Pictures from Pilgrim's Progress:  My close – God the Holy Spirit is all powerful. Tremble:  I don't want to blunt the warnings of Jesus with false assurance. It is likely that – if you are worried you've committed the unpardonable sin, that you haven't because only the Spirit's work in your life would make you fear the Lord. But the way that Jesus addressed this is with the highest level of seriousness…so must we. This passage RIGHTLY inspires fear in us, and that's ok, it should. It is obviously recorded in the Scripture for that purpose.  Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 2:5 you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. Rev 14:6  6 Then I saw another angel flying high overhead,(I) having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.(J)7 He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” The word for fear there has the same meaning as our word fear. It means FEAR.   Luke 12: In the same breath that Jesus speaks about the unpardonable sin, He says this:  4 “And I say to you, My friends, don't fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. 5 But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear! 6 Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. 7 Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows! Treat the Holy Spirit with great – remarkable sobriety – fear and wisdom. Fear the Lord, as Jesus said, and don't be afraid to trust Him – He who knows all of the sparrows and numbers our hairs, counts us as of great worth and Loves the World enough to send His son to rescue it.  Here's the good news: GREEAR: False gods mutilate us; the true God mutilated himself for us. The prophets of Ba'al begin by dancing around their altar. They end by slashing at themselves until their blood runs (1 Kings 18:28). False gods always push us toward destruction: “Work harder. Do better. Obtain more. You still aren't getting my attention. Slash yourself!” So we slash at our bodies by going through crash diets to attain that perfect figure. We slash at our families by overworking to make extra money. We slash at our souls by compromising our integrity to get someone's affection. False gods push us to mutilate ourselves, because we desperately want to win their approval. But only one God was ever mutilated for us—Jesus Christ. This story ends with a magnificent fire coming from heaven, but as Jesus himself points out to his first disciples, the fire was not intended for sinful humanity (Luke 9:51–56). It was ultimately intended for him: of all the characters in this story, Jesus is not Elijah, calling down fire; he is the sacrifice who receives the fire of judgment. At the cross, Jesus took into his body the fire of God's justice so that we could take into our lives the fire of God's love. Other gods demand dancing, slashing, mutilation. But Jesus Christ is the only God who was slashed and mutilated for us. As Tim Keller has said, “Every other god will make your blood run; only the true God bleeds for you.”

Today's Bible reading for January 12 is Genesis 13, Nehemiah 2, Matthew 12 and Acts 12. Our focus passage will be Matthew 12, and we are asking a big Bible question today: What is the Blasphemy of the Spirit, the unforgivable sin? SHOUT OUT TO THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE COMMENTED AND LEFT REVIEWS!!! On Apple Podcasts: Monte O, Kerri P, Cortney and Angel. And also people who have commented on the blog that they were listening: Angie from Knoxville, Og from Salinas, Cortney J. from Birmingham and Ms. Judy Bloom from parts unknown. THANK YOU! So - let's read our first chapter, and then get into our discussion. What is the Unforgivable sin??  It's a terrifying reality: Jesus warned His disciples and the Pharisees that there was a sin that could be committed that was unpardonable – unforgivable for all eternity. People have speculated and worried about this teaching of Jesus for hundreds of years. What precisely is the unpardonable sin? How can we know whether or not we've done it? Let's dive in! The Didache First century – RIGHT after the NT: Now concerning the apostles and prophets, deal with them as follows in accordance with the rule of the gospel. (4) Let every apostle who comes to you be welcomed as if he were the Lord. (5) But he is not to stay for more than one day, unless there is need, in which case he may stay another. But if he stays three days, he is a false prophet. (6) And when the apostle leaves, he is to take nothing except bread until he finds his next night's lodging. But if he asks for money, he is a false prophet. (7) Also, do not test or evaluate any prophet who speaks in the spirit, for every sin will be forgiven, but this sin will not be forgiven.35 Michael William Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, Updated ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 263–265. ANDREAS Andreas of Caesarea (Greek: Ἀνδρέας Καισαρείας; 563 – 637) : It is the sin of heresy, or of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which leads to death. If one man sins against another, pray for him. But if he sins against God, who is there who can pray on his behalf? And if even after all this, our opponents are still unwilling to learn and still unable to understand, they should at least stop speaking evil. They should not divide the Trinity lest they be divided from life.82 They should not classify the Holy Spirit with the creatures, lest, like the Pharisees of old who ascribed the works of the Spirit to Beelzebul,83 they too, on account of equal audacity, incur along with them the punishment which is unpardonable both now and in the future. Athanasius Works on the Spirit: Athanasius's Letters to Serapion on the Holy Spirit,  Grave-robbing, or the opening of graves, is divided into two kinds too, like theft, according to the present Canon, to wit, into pardonable and into unpardonable grave-robbing. For if the fellow opening the grave does not denude the dead person's body, thus refraining from dishonoring (for that is what is meant by the expression “sparing devoutness”) the dead, but only takes the stones found in the grave, in order to use them in the building of any other work that is preferable and more beneficial to the community, though this too is by no means anything to be praised, yet custom has made it pardonable.2 St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain – 1700s, Greek Orthodox church.  Swearing is a dreadful and harmful thing; it is a destructive drug, a bane and a danger, a hidden wound, a sore unseen, an obscure ulcer spreading its poison in the soul; it is an arrow of Satan, a flaming javelin, a two-edged sword, a sharp-honed scimitar, an unpardonable sin, an indefensible transgression, a deep gulf, a precipitous crag, a strong trap, a taut-stretched net, a fetter that cannot be broken, a noose from which no one escapes. 19. Are these enough, and do you believe that swearing is a dreadful thing and the most harmful of all sins? Believe me, I beg you, believe me! But if someone does not believe me, I now offer proof. This sin has what no other sin possesses. If we do not violate the other commandments, we escape punishment; on the other hand, in the matter of oaths, we are punished just the same both when we guard against transgressing and when we transgress. St. John Chrysostom, 300s AD St. John Chrysostom: Baptismal Instructions,  Hilary of Poitiers actually points us in a more biblical direction, in discussing the unpardonable sin: Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven.67 With a very grave qualification, he condemns the view of the Pharisees and the perversion of those who also think like them. He promises pardon of all sins but refuses pardon for blasphemy of the Spirit. While other words and deeds are treated with a generous pardon, there is no mercy if it is denied that God is in Christ. 68 And in whatever way one sins without pardon, he is gracious to us and reminds us again that sins of every kind can be completely forgiven, though blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven. For who is so completely beyond pardon as one who denies that Christ is of God, or repudiates that the substance of the Spirit of the Father resides in him Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matthew, ed.  Spurgeon – Nobody knows what that sin is. I believe that even God's Word does not tell us, and it is very proper that it does not. As I have often said, it is like the notice we sometimes see put up, “Man-traps and spring gun set here.” We do not know whereabouts the traps and guns are, but we have no business over the hedge at all. So, “there is a sin unto death;” we are not told what that sin is, but we have no business to go over the hedge into any transgression at all. That “sin unto death” may be different in different people; but, whoever commits it, from that very moment, loses all spiritual desires. He has no wish to be saved, no care to repent, no longing after Christ; so dreadful is the spiritual death that comes over the man who has committed it that he never craves eternal life. C. H. Spurgeon, Pictures from Pilgrim's Progress: A Commentary on Portions of John Bunyan's Immortal Allegory (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 73–74. Billy Graham:   The sin of the religious leaders, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, was a refusal to accept the witness of the Holy Spirit to who Jesus was and what He had come to do, and then submit their lives to Him… Once again, the unpardonable sin is not some particularly grievous sin committed by a Christian before or after accepting Christ, nor is it thinking or saying something terrible about the Holy Spirit. Rather, it is deliberately resisting the Holy Spirit's witness and invitation to turn to Jesus until death ends all opportunity. Billy Graham is echoing the Augustinian (300s AD) view: Now the man who, not believing that sins are remitted in the Church, despises this great gift of God's mercy, and persists to the last day of his life in his obstinacy of heart, is guilty of the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost, in whom Christ forgives sins. Augustine of Hippo, “The Enchiridion,” in St. Augustin: On the Holy Trinity, Doctrinal Treatises, Moral Treatises, ed.  Augustine was reflecting the Origen view (early 300s): The Spirit dwells in those who live by faith. But those who once having been counted worthy to share in the Holy Spirit and then having finally and decisively turned their backs from grace are by this act said to have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit (ORIGEN  Who, then, is not amazed at the exceeding majesty of the Holy Spirit when he hears that he who speaks a word against the Son of man may hope for forgiveness, but that he who is guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness—either in the present world or in that which is to come. Origen What then is it? The unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an act of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws forever with his convicting power so that we are never able to repent and be forgiven. – John Piper.  Lee ann penick MODERN: There is only one “unpardonable sin” that can separate us from God for eternity. It is the ongoing, willful refusal to accept Christ as Lord and Savior and the forgiveness He offers. Jacob Arminius defined it as “the rejection and refusing of Jesus Christ through determined malice and hatred against Christ”. Nancy Hardesty  “Ultimately the refusal to allow women to fully use their gifts in the church and in the world is a form of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.”   Pope John Paul II writes “‘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. SO – What is The unforgivable sin?? – is it, as Origen, Augustine, Billy Graham, Pope John Paul 2 Lee Ann Penick suggest – the rejection of the Holy Spirit/not becoming a follower of Jesus?? Is it, as John Chrysostom claimed, swearing oaths?  Is it the robbing of graves in a thieving manner? Is it not letting women use their spiritual gifts in the church? Is it Heresy? Is it, as Athanasius and many other church fathers declared, being wrong on the Trinity and calling the Holy Spirit a created being, rather than God Himself?  Is it testing prophetic utterances of prophets?? (NO! – 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 Don't stifle the Spirit. 20 Don't despise prophecies, 21 but test all things. Hold on to what is good.) Confused? You should be!! People talk about this issue all of the time, but it doesn't appear that all of them get their views from the Bible, so let's begin there in seeking our answer.  Matthew 12:24 24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 29 How can someone enter a strong man's house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. 30 Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters.31 Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Mark 3: 22 The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul in Him!” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons!” 23 So He summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished! 27 “On the other hand, no one can enter a strong man's house and rob his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he will rob his house. 28 I assure you: People will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they may blaspheme. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” Luke 12: 8 “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God, 9 but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.10 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. So, I see two major ways we need to answer this question. Contextually and grammatically.  What does the CONTEXT of the usage of ‘unpardonable sin' tell us, and what does the grammar/word meanings tell us?   We find a massively important clue in Mark 3:30, where Mark tells us precisely WHY Jesus warned the Pharisees and Scribes about this sin. “Because they were saying, He has an unclean spirit.”   The exact same situation is described in Matthew 12:31 “31 Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven”  The scribes and pharisees are accusing Jesus of doing miraculous things – specifically driving out demons – by the power of Beelzebul rather than by the power of God.  Therefore, we know at least this: Ascribing something like an exorcism that is factually done by the power of God and His Holy Spirit to Demonic influence is AT BEST dangerously close to Blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and could, in fact, be blaspheming the Holy Spirit. (Jesus does not make it crystal clear that the scribes and pharisees were actually committing this sin, or merely getting close to committing it. It would seem like the latter is the best option.)  Practically speaking, what does this mean?? It means we need to be extremely careful about stating confident opinions on spiritual matters that we don't have 100 percent clarity from Scripture on. Let me give a couple of examples:  Pushed over at Brownsville.  Charles Carrin praying for us at GVAG.  Flamboyant preachers on tv wadding up their coats and throwing them on people, who pass out. Blowing on people, who pass out. Etc.  Most of this is probably fraudulent, some of it horribly so. BUT – we should be incredibly careful about pronouncing opinions on what God's spirit would do, and wouldn't do.   For instance, there was a revival going on in the 90s that became very well known and reached a lot of people. I heard about some of the things going on at that revival that were disturbing, and sounded – quite frankly – ridiculous. So, I assumed that the movement wasn't of God, but was just flaky people doing flaky things – at best. HOWEVER…a few years later, I met the leader of the movement, and spent some time with him. He struck me as a genuine follower of God – a man who loved Jesus, and who was humble.  I still don't know what to think about that revival. God does, and I leave it to Him. It's outside of my realm of influence. According to Jesus – there is grave danger in ascribing the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan. You better be 100 percent sure you're right before doing such thing…and you'd better ask the question – HOW Do i Know FOR SURE that my opinion is right on this matter? If you can't answer that question with extreme clarity, then be careful saying what the Holy Spirit will or will not do, and be careful saying whether or not something is of Satan, or not. Contextually, that is at least a large part of what blaspheming the Holy Spirit is about.  What is blasphemy, exactly? More on that in a moment…. Side question – is Beelzebul = Satan?? It's a great question, and I have a fairly lame answer…'maybe.'  Beelzebub (“Lord of the flies”) and Beelzebul (“Lord of the skies/heavenly realms”) both refer to the same entity.  In the Testament of Solomon, 1st century, non-Scripture, pseudoepigraphic text.  Beelzebul (not Beelzebub) appears as prince of the demons and says (6.2) that he was formerly a leading heavenly angel who was (6.7) associated with the star Hesperus (which is the normal Greek name for the planet Venus (Αφροδíτη) as evening star). Seemingly, Beelzebul here is synonymous with Lucifer. the text describes how Solomon was enabled to build his temple by commanding demons by means of a magical ringthat was entrusted to him by the archangel Michael.  The Bible reference comes from 2 Kings 1: 1 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Ahaziah had fallen through the latticed window of his upper room in Samaria and was injured. So he sent messengers instructing them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this injury.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?' 4 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not get up from your sickbed—you will certainly die.'” Then Elijah left.The name also appears in Luke 11, where we can see the clearest connection between Beelzebul and Satan: Luke 11:14 Now He was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon came out, the man who had been mute, spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul,the ruler of the demons!” 16 And others, as a test, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. 17 Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls.18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. 20 If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. So, Jesus mentions Satan and Beelzebul in the same context, but not in a way that indicates that they are the same entities.  My best guess is that Beelzebul is a separate entity from Satan, but I confess that I do not know, and my guess is based on the fact that the Bible never clearly identifies the two as the same entity.  What exactly is Blasphemy?  Luke 12:10 points us in the right direction – anyone who ‘speaks a word against the son of man will be forgiven.' but the one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Matthew 12:32 makes it even more clear: 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Similarly: Isaiah 37:23 Isaiah 37:23 Who is it you have mocked and blasphemed? Who have you raised your voice against and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! The Word itself, Greek Blasphemos, is a combo of two words. Blaptō, which means, ‘to HURT' and Pheemay, which means fame, report, or something like ‘reputation.' So, etymologically, the word  has a root meaning of injuring somebody's fame, or good name. The word can mean ‘defame' or ‘revile' and isn't always used of a deity. Paul speaks of being ‘defamed' or blasphemed by people for being an apostle. Paul commands the church in Titus 3:2 not to slander/Speak evil of (or BLASPHEME) any person, which is a command that Christians would do well to take far more seriously than we do.  2 Peter 2:10 and Jude vs 8 both warn against blaspheming angels, demons, and other spiritual beings.  So- blasphemy is speaking evil of someone. Hurting them with your words, harming their reputation. Thus, blaspheming the Holy Spirit is speaking evil of Him, reviling Him, defaming Him, seeking to harm His reputation. The Pharisees and Scribes were doing that – or coming dangerously close – when they said that it was Satan/Beelzebul empowering Jesus, when it was factually the Spirit of God Himself.  R.C. Sproul: Their statements were directed against Jesus. So, He said to them: “You can blaspheme Me and be forgiven, but when you question the work of the Spirit, you are coming perilously close to the unforgivable sin. You are right at the line. You are looking down into the abyss of hell. One more step and there will be no hope for you.” He was warning them to be very careful not to insult or mock the Spirit. Is it really unforgivable, and WHAT IF I HAVE COMMITTED IT?!  AUGUSTINE: It is not that this was a blasphemy which under no circumstances could be forgiven, for even this shall be forgiven if right repentance follows it Thomas C. Oden and Christopher A. Hall, eds., Mark, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 48. I'm worried that I have committed the unforgivable sin??  Graham: Many Christians have heard that there is an unpardonable sin and live in dread that something grave they have done before or after conversion might be that sin. Their fears are unfounded. While there is an unforgivable sin, it is not one that a true believer in Jesus Christ can commit. Sproul:  Humanly speaking, everyone who is a Christian is capable of committing the unforgivable sin. However, I believe that the Lord of glory who has saved us and sealed us in the Holy Spirit will never let us commit that sin. I do not believe that any Christians in the history of the church have blasphemed the Spirit. As for those who are not sure they are saved and are worried they may have committed the unpardonable sin, I would say that worrying about it is one of the clearest evidences that they have not committed this sin, for those who commit it are so hardened in their hearts they do not care that they commit it. Thanks be to God that the sin that is unpardonable is not a sin He allows His people to commit. I don't share Graham and Sproul's assurances, though I respect them both deeply. The Bible NEVER says a believer is unable to commit the unpardonable sin. Jesus NEVER indicates that, and I see no other passage that promises such…just a sober warning.  I think Piper strikes a better balance when talking about it:  Piper: The fact that there is an unforgivable sin — that there comes a point in a life of sin after which the Holy Spirit will no longer grant repentance — that fact should drive us from sin with fear and trembling. None of us knows when our toying with sin will pass over into irrevocable hardness of heart. Very few people feel how serious sin is. Very few people are on the same wavelength with Jesus when he said in Mark 9:43, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.” Instead, many professing Christians today have such a sentimental view of God's justice that they never feel terror and horror at the thought of being utterly forsaken by God because of their persistence in sin. They have the naïve notion that God's patience has no end and that they can always return from any length and depth of sin, forgetting that there is a point of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws forever with his convicting power, leaving them never able to repent and be forgiven. They are like the buzzard who spots a carcass on a piece of ice floating in the river. He lands and begins to eat. He knows it is dangerous because the falls are just ahead. But he looks at his wings and says to himself, “I can fly to safety in an instant.” And he goes on eating. Just before the ice goes over the falls he spreads his wings to fly but his claws are frozen in the ice and there is no escape — neither in this age nor the age to come. The Spirit of holiness has forsaken the arrogant sinner forever. Another of the devil's fiery darts is this, “You have committed the unpardonable sin.” Ah! this arrow has rankled in many a heart, and it is very difficult to deal with such cases. The only way in which I argue with a person thus assailed is to say, “I am quite certain that, if you desire salvation, you have not committed the unpardonable sin, and I am absolutely sure that, if you will now come and trust Christ, you have not committed that sin, for every soul that trusts Christ is forgiven, according to God's Word, and therefore you cannot have committed that sin.” C. H. Spurgeon, Pictures from Pilgrim's Progress:  My close – God the Holy Spirit is all powerful. Tremble:  I don't want to blunt the warnings of Jesus with false assurance. It is likely that – if you are worried you've committed the unpardonable sin, that you haven't because only the Spirit's work in your life would make you fear the Lord. But the way that Jesus addressed this is with the highest level of seriousness…so must we. This passage RIGHTLY inspires fear in us, and that's ok, it should. It is obviously recorded in the Scripture for that purpose.  Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 2:5 you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. Rev 14:6  6 Then I saw another angel flying high overhead,(I) having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.(J)7 He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” The word for fear there has the same meaning as our word fear. It means FEAR.   Luke 12: In the same breath that Jesus speaks about the unpardonable sin, He says this:  4 “And I say to you, My friends, don't fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. 5 But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear! 6 Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. 7 Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows! Treat the Holy Spirit with great – remarkable sobriety – fear and wisdom. Fear the Lord, as Jesus said, and don't be afraid to trust Him – He who knows all of the sparrows and numbers our hairs, counts us as of great worth and Loves the World enough to send His son to rescue it.  Here's the good news: GREEAR: False gods mutilate us; the true God mutilated himself for us. The prophets of Ba'al begin by dancing around their altar. They end by slashing at themselves until their blood runs (1 Kings 18:28). False gods always push us toward destruction: “Work harder. Do better. Obtain more. You still aren't getting my attention. Slash yourself!” So we slash at our bodies by going through crash diets to attain that perfect figure. We slash at our families by overworking to make extra money. We slash at our souls by compromising our integrity to get someone's affection. False gods push us to mutilate ourselves, because we desperately want to win their approval. But only one God was ever mutilated for us—Jesus Christ. This story ends with a magnificent fire coming from heaven, but as Jesus himself points out to his first disciples, the fire was not intended for sinful humanity (Luke 9:51–56). It was ultimately intended for him: of all the characters in this story, Jesus is not Elijah, calling down fire; he is the sacrifice who receives the fire of judgment. At the cross, Jesus took into his body the fire of God's justice so that we could take into our lives the fire of God's love. Other gods demand dancing, slashing, mutilation. But Jesus Christ is the only God who was slashed and mutilated for us. As Tim Keller has said, “Every other god will make your blood run; only the true God bleeds for you.”

Today's Topics: 1) Finding the Fallacy: Judgmental Language Meet the Early Church Fathers: The Sacramentary of Serapion 2, 3, 4) Interview

St. Serapion the Sindonite St. Jerome St. Hildegard of Bingen Sts. Luigi Versiglia and Callisto Caravario Bl. Sara Salkahazi

Spiritual Growth of a Servant by H.E. Metropolitan Serapion (April 2016) by St. Gregory American Coptic Orthodox Church

Chapter One, Verse Twelve (1:12)My guest today is my old friend from St. Andrews days, Dr. Steve Guthrie, who teaches theology at Bellmont University in Nashville and is also a wonderful musician. On this episode, while trying to avoid various police activity, we talk about creativity, the arts, and Holy Spirit. Thanks for tuning in!+ Books and authors we mentioned in the episode:• Steve Guthrie, The Creator Spirit and the Art of Becoming Human – https://amzn.to/2Izfh75 • Jeremy Begbie, A Peculiar Orthodoxy: Reflections on Theology and the Arts – https://amzn.to/2WtZoJb• Jeremy Begbie and Steve Guthrie, Resonant Witness: Conversations between Music and Theology – https://amzn.to/2MArlKF • Athanasius, Letters to Serapion on the Holy Spirit – https://amzn.to/2IteO6H• Miroslav Volf, Free of Charge – https://amzn.to/2WqM4QL- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Credits:Produced by Jonathan Pennington and Scott SlucherAudio Engineering and Music: Mandy PenningtonFollow CCT on social media:+ Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/carscoffeetheology/+ Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/cars_coffee_theology/?hl=en+ Twitterhttps://twitter.com/CarsTheologyFollow Mandy Pennington here:+ Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/mandy.pennington.music/+ Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/mandypenningtonmusic/+ Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/6v16YnjTPOryfyUjccyDDc?si=dUK4RCynSp2L0hx2AjQZ_w+ YouTubehttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTbQYQno1u5wn-Y80n17szgCheck out Scott Slucher's legit hiking vlog, Slucherville:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAeRwgydVIlCFvrMIma5K9A

In this episode, we continue our analysis of the second part of Marcus Grodi's evidence from the early church fathers that led to his conversion to Roman Catholicism: the Eucharist. We provide evidence from the early church that “the Eucharist” referred to the tithe offering for the poor and prayers of gratitude to the Lord, and not to the Lord’s Supper. Bread and wine were then taken from the offering and consecrated for use in the Supper. Contrary to the Roman Catholic claim that the consecration turns the bread and wine into the Eucharist, the early writers believed the consecration turned the Eucharist into the body and blood of Christ. The Eucharist came first, and when the offering was over, the consecration was spoken, followed by the meal. What was offered in the liturgy was the sacrifice of gratitude in the tithe, and the sacrifice was over before the words of consecration were spoken and Lord’s Supper began. And even after the consecration, the bread and wine were still said to be figures, types, antitypes and symbols of Christ’s body and blood. This liturgical order prevailed for 300 until the end of the 4th century when the liturgical sacrifice began to occur after the consecration, and the Roman Catholic Sacrifice of the Mass was born. The liturgical sacrifice of Christ’s body and blood during the Lord’s Supper is a late fourth century novelty, nothing more. It was neither instituted by Christ nor practiced by the early church.Show Notes:Marcus Grodi: The Early Church Fathers I Never Saw - The Journey Home (3-19-2007)Irenæus, Against Heresies, Book I, chapter 13, paragraph 2 (174-189 AD)“Pretending to offer the eucharist (εὐχαριστείν) in cups mingled with wine, and extending the word of invocation (ὲπικλήσεως) to unusual length…” (A Library of the Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church, Anterior to the Division of the East and West, volume 42, Five Books of S. Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons Against Heresies, Rev. John Keble, M.A., translator, James Parker & Col, 1872, 41) [We will discuss the variance between Keble’s translation and Schaff’s translation in the next episode]Irenæus, Against Heresies, Book IV, Chapter 17 (174-189 AD)Irenæus, Against Heresies, Book IV, Chapter 18, paragraph 5 (174-189 AD)“…that as bread from the earth, receiving the summons (έκκλησιν) of God, is no longer common bread but an Eucharist composed of two things, both an earthly and an heavenly one; so also our bodies, partaking of the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, having the hope of Eternal Resurrection.” (Keble, 361) [Here Irenæus says we partake of the Eucharist, but by, implication only after the Eucharist is consecrated (see Book V, chapter 2, below), but that it was already the Eucharist when it was first summoned by the Lord for the tithe. Irenæus has established a parallel to make a point—when the bread is summoned for a tithe, it becomes heavenly, and not just earthly, for, though earthly, it is now set apart for heavenly purposes; so too, we though earthly, are set apart for a heavenly destiny when we receive the consecrated bread. Notable, indeed, that the bread becomes the Eucharist when it is summoned for a tithe, not when it is consecrated. We will discuss the variance between Keble’s translation and Schaff’s translation in the next episode.]Irenæus, Against Heresies, Book V, Chapter 2, paragraph 3 (174-189 AD)“Since therefore both the cup which is mingled and the bread which is made receiveth the Word of God, and the Eucharist becometh the body of Christ, and of these the substance of our flesh groweth and subsisteth: … even as the wood of the vine arched down into the ground beareth fruit in its due time, and the corn of wheat falling into the earth, and mouldering, is raised up by the Spirit of God, Who upholdeth all things: and afterwards by the Wisdom of God cometh to be used by men, and having received to itself the Word of God, becometh an Eucharist, i.e., the body and blood of Christ: so also our bodies, nourished thereby, and put into the ground, and dissolved therein, shall rise again in their own time, the Word of God giving them resurrection to the glory of God and His Father:…” (Keble, 453-54) [Here Irenæus makes a play on words — just as the bread of the tithe becomes the body of Christ when it receives the word of God {“this is My body; this is My blood”} at the consecration, so we will be raised up by the Word of God at the resurrection. Notable, indeed, that the bread was already the Eucharist when before it was consecrated. We will discuss the variance between Keble’s translation and Schaff’s translation in the next episode]Five Books of S. Irenaeus Bishop of Lyons Against Heresies, Rev. John Keble, M.A., translator, James Parker & Co., 1872Clement of Alexandria, Stromata, Book I (202 AD)Tertullian, On Prayer (208 AD)Tertullian, Against Marcion, Book IV (208 AD)Hippolytus of Rome, the Apostolic Tradition (c. 215 AD)The Didascalia (230 AD)Origen, Against Celsus, Book VIIICornelius, Bishop of Rome, letter to Fabian of Antioch (251-253 AD) [Recorded in Eusebius, Church History, Book 6, chapter 43]Dionysius, bishop of Alexandria, letter [9] to Bishop Sixtus of Rome (254-258 AD) [Note: it is epistle IV in Migne’s series on the greek fathers; the letter is also recorded in Eusebius, Church History, Book 7, Chapter 9, where he refers to it as epistle VI]The Canons of the Council of Nicæa (325 AD)The Canons of the Council of Nicæa (Greek and Latin) (325 AD)Julius, Bishop of Rome, to the Accusers of Athanasius (341 AD) [Recorded in Athanasius, Apology Against the Arians, Part 1]Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 19 (c. 350 AD)Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 23 (c. 350 AD)Euchologion of Serapion of Thmuis (350-356 AD)Gregory Nazianzen, Oration 2 (361 AD)Gregory Nazianzen, Oration 18 (374 AD)Gregory Nazianzen, Oration 45 (381 AD)Gregory of Nyssa, On the Space of Three Days between the Death and the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (382 AD)Ambrose of Milan, Commentaries on Twelve Psalms of David, Psalm 38 (389 AD)John Chrysostom, Treatise on the Priesthood, Book III (387 AD)John Chrysostom, Homilies on Hebrews, Homily 17Divine Liturgy of John Chrysostom (398 AD)

Episode 4: What is the Unforgivable sin??  It's a terrifying reality: Jesus warned His disciples and the Pharisees that there was a sin that could be committed that was unpardonable - unforgivable for all eternity. People have speculated and worried about this teaching of Jesus for hundreds of years. What precisely is the unpardonable sin? How can we know whether or not we've done it? Let's dive in! The Didache First century - RIGHT after the NT: Now concerning the apostles and prophets, deal with them as follows in accordance with the rule of the gospel. (4) Let every apostle who comes to you be welcomed as if he were the Lord. (5) But he is not to stay for more than one day, unless there is need, in which case he may stay another. But if he stays three days, he is a false prophet. (6) And when the apostle leaves, he is to take nothing except bread until he finds his next night's lodging. But if he asks for money, he is a false prophet. (7) Also, do not test or evaluate any prophet who speaks in the spirit, for every sin will be forgiven, but this sin will not be forgiven.35 Michael William Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, Updated ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 263–265. ANDREAS Andreas of Caesarea (Greek: Ἀνδρέας Καισαρείας; 563 – 637) : It is the sin of heresy, or of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which leads to death. If one man sins against another, pray for him. But if he sins against God, who is there who can pray on his behalf? And if even after all this, our opponents are still unwilling to learn and still unable to understand, they should at least stop speaking evil. They should not divide the Trinity lest they be divided from life.82 They should not classify the Holy Spirit with the creatures, lest, like the Pharisees of old who ascribed the works of the Spirit to Beelzebul,83 they too, on account of equal audacity, incur along with them the punishment which is unpardonable both now and in the future. Athanasius Works on the Spirit: Athanasius's Letters to Serapion on the Holy Spirit,  Grave-robbing, or the opening of graves, is divided into two kinds too, like theft, according to the present Canon, to wit, into pardonable and into unpardonable grave-robbing. For if the fellow opening the grave does not denude the dead person's body, thus refraining from dishonoring (for that is what is meant by the expression “sparing devoutness”) the dead, but only takes the stones found in the grave, in order to use them in the building of any other work that is preferable and more beneficial to the community, though this too is by no means anything to be praised, yet custom has made it pardonable.2 St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain - 1700s, Greek Orthodox church.  Swearing is a dreadful and harmful thing; it is a destructive drug, a bane and a danger, a hidden wound, a sore unseen, an obscure ulcer spreading its poison in the soul; it is an arrow of Satan, a flaming javelin, a two-edged sword, a sharp-honed scimitar, an unpardonable sin, an indefensible transgression, a deep gulf, a precipitous crag, a strong trap, a taut-stretched net, a fetter that cannot be broken, a noose from which no one escapes. 19. Are these enough, and do you believe that swearing is a dreadful thing and the most harmful of all sins? Believe me, I beg you, believe me! But if someone does not believe me, I now offer proof. This sin has what no other sin possesses. If we do not violate the other commandments, we escape punishment; on the other hand, in the matter of oaths, we are punished just the same both when we guard against transgressing and when we transgress. St. John Chrysostom, 300s AD St. John Chrysostom: Baptismal Instructions,  Hilary of Poitiers actually points us in a more biblical direction, in discussing the unpardonable sin: Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven.67 With a very grave qualification, he condemns the view of the Pharisees and the perversion of those who also think like them. He promises pardon of all sins but refuses pardon for blasphemy of the Spirit. While other words and deeds are treated with a generous pardon, there is no mercy if it is denied that God is in Christ. 68 And in whatever way one sins without pardon, he is gracious to us and reminds us again that sins of every kind can be completely forgiven, though blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven. For who is so completely beyond pardon as one who denies that Christ is of God, or repudiates that the substance of the Spirit of the Father resides in him Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matthew, ed.  Spurgeon - Nobody knows what that sin is. I believe that even God's Word does not tell us, and it is very proper that it does not. As I have often said, it is like the notice we sometimes see put up, “Man-traps and spring gun set here.” We do not know whereabouts the traps and guns are, but we have no business over the hedge at all. So, “there is a sin unto death;” we are not told what that sin is, but we have no business to go over the hedge into any transgression at all. That “sin unto death” may be different in different people; but, whoever commits it, from that very moment, loses all spiritual desires. He has no wish to be saved, no care to repent, no longing after Christ; so dreadful is the spiritual death that comes over the man who has committed it that he never craves eternal life. C. H. Spurgeon, Pictures from Pilgrim's Progress: A Commentary on Portions of John Bunyan's Immortal Allegory (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 73–74. Billy Graham:   The sin of the religious leaders, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, was a refusal to accept the witness of the Holy Spirit to who Jesus was and what He had come to do, and then submit their lives to Him… Once again, the unpardonable sin is not some particularly grievous sin committed by a Christian before or after accepting Christ, nor is it thinking or saying something terrible about the Holy Spirit. Rather, it is deliberately resisting the Holy Spirit's witness and invitation to turn to Jesus until death ends all opportunity. Billy Graham is echoing the Augustinian (300s AD) view: Now the man who, not believing that sins are remitted in the Church, despises this great gift of God's mercy, and persists to the last day of his life in his obstinacy of heart, is guilty of the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost, in whom Christ forgives sins. Augustine of Hippo, “The Enchiridion,” in St. Augustin: On the Holy Trinity, Doctrinal Treatises, Moral Treatises, ed.  Augustine was reflecting the Origen view (early 300s): The Spirit dwells in those who live by faith. But those who once having been counted worthy to share in the Holy Spirit and then having finally and decisively turned their backs from grace are by this act said to have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit (ORIGEN  Who, then, is not amazed at the exceeding majesty of the Holy Spirit when he hears that he who speaks a word against the Son of man may hope for forgiveness, but that he who is guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness—either in the present world or in that which is to come. Origen What then is it? The unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an act of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws forever with his convicting power so that we are never able to repent and be forgiven. - John Piper.  Lee ann penick MODERN: There is only one “unpardonable sin” that can separate us from God for eternity. It is the ongoing, willful refusal to accept Christ as Lord and Savior and the forgiveness He offers. Jacob Arminius defined it as "the rejection and refusing of Jesus Christ through determined malice and hatred against Christ". Nancy Hardesty  “Ultimately the refusal to allow women to fully use their gifts in the church and in the world is a form of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.”   Pope John Paul II writes "'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. SO - What is The unforgivable sin?? - is it, as Origen, Augustine, Billy Graham, Pope John Paul 2 Lee Ann Penick suggest - the rejection of the Holy Spirit/not becoming a follower of Jesus?? Is it, as John Chrysostom claimed, swearing oaths?  Is it the robbing of graves in a thieving manner? Is it not letting women use their spiritual gifts in the church? Is it Heresy? Is it, as Athanasius and many other church fathers declared, being wrong on the Trinity and calling the Holy Spirit a created being, rather than God Himself?  Is it testing prophetic utterances of prophets?? (NO! - 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 Don't stifle the Spirit. 20 Don't despise prophecies, 21 but test all things. Hold on to what is good.) Confused? You should be!! People talk about this issue all of the time, but it doesn't appear that all of them get their views from the Bible, so let's begin there in seeking our answer.  Matthew 12:24 24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 29 How can someone enter a strong man's house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. 30 Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters.31 Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Mark 3: 22 The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul in Him!” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons!” 23 So He summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished! 27 “On the other hand, no one can enter a strong man's house and rob his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he will rob his house. 28 I assure you: People will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they may blaspheme. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” Luke 12: 8 “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God, 9 but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.10 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. So, I see two major ways we need to answer this question. Contextually and grammatically.  What does the CONTEXT of the usage of ‘unpardonable sin' tell us, and what does the grammar/word meanings tell us?   We find a massively important clue in Mark 3:30, where Mark tells us precisely WHY Jesus warned the Pharisees and Scribes about this sin. “Because they were saying, He has an unclean spirit.”   The exact same situation is described in Matthew 12:31 “31 Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven”  The scribes and pharisees are accusing Jesus of doing miraculous things - specifically driving out demons - by the power of Beelzebul rather than by the power of God.  Therefore, we know at least this: Ascribing something like an exorcism that is factually done by the power of God and His Holy Spirit to Demonic influence is AT BEST dangerously close to Blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and could, in fact, be blaspheming the Holy Spirit. (Jesus does not make it crystal clear that the scribes and pharisees were actually committing this sin, or merely getting close to committing it. It would seem like the latter is the best option.)  Practically speaking, what does this mean?? It means we need to be extremely careful about stating confident opinions on spiritual matters that we don't have 100 percent clarity from Scripture on. Let me give a couple of examples:  Pushed over at Brownsville. Charles Carrin praying for us at GVAG. Flamboyant preachers on tv wadding up their coats and throwing them on people, who pass out. Blowing on people, who pass out. Etc.  Most of this is probably fraudulent, some of it horribly so. BUT - we should be incredibly careful about pronouncing opinions on what God's spirit would do, and wouldn't do.   For instance, there was a revival going on in the 90s that became very well known and reached a lot of people. I heard about some of the things going on at that revival that were disturbing, and sounded - quite frankly - ridiculous. So, I assumed that the movement wasn't of God, but was just flaky people doing flaky things - at best. HOWEVER...a few years later, I met the leader of the movement, and spent some time with him. He struck me as a genuine follower of God - a man who loved Jesus, and who was humble.  I still don't know what to think about that revival. God does, and I leave it to Him. It's outside of my realm of influence. According to Jesus - there is grave danger in ascribing the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan. You better be 100 percent sure you're right before doing such thing...and you'd better ask the question - HOW Do i Know FOR SURE that my opinion is right on this matter? If you can't answer that question with extreme clarity, then be careful saying what the Holy Spirit will or will not do, and be careful saying whether or not something is of Satan, or not. Contextually, that is at least a large part of what blaspheming the Holy Spirit is about.  What is blasphemy, exactly? More on that in a moment…. Side question - is Beelzebul = Satan?? It's a great question, and I have a fairly lame answer…'maybe.'  Beelzebub (“Lord of the flies”) and Beelzebul (“Lord of the skies/heavenly realms”) both refer to the same entity.  In the Testament of Solomon, 1st century, non-Scripture, pseudoepigraphic text.  Beelzebul (not Beelzebub) appears as prince of the demons and says (6.2) that he was formerly a leading heavenly angel who was (6.7) associated with the star Hesperus (which is the normal Greek name for the planet Venus (Αφροδíτη) as evening star). Seemingly, Beelzebul here is synonymous with Lucifer. the text describes how Solomon was enabled to build his temple by commanding demons by means of a magical ring that was entrusted to him by the archangel Michael.  The Bible reference comes from 2 Kings 1: 1 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Ahaziah had fallen through the latticed window of his upper room in Samaria and was injured. So he sent messengers instructing them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this injury.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?' 4 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not get up from your sickbed—you will certainly die.'” Then Elijah left. The name also appears in Luke 11, where we can see the clearest connection between Beelzebul and Satan: Luke 11:14 Now He was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon came out, the man who had been mute, spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul,the ruler of the demons!” 16 And others, as a test, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. 17 Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls.18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. 20 If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. So, Jesus mentions Satan and Beelzebul in the same context, but not in a way that indicates that they are the same entities.  My best guess is that Beelzebul is a separate entity from Satan, but I confess that I do not know, and my guess is based on the fact that the Bible never clearly identifies the two as the same entity. What exactly is Blasphemy?  Luke 12:10 points us in the right direction - anyone who ‘speaks a word against the son of man will be forgiven.' but the one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Matthew 12:32 makes it even more clear: 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Similarly: Isaiah 37:23 Isaiah 37:23 Who is it you have mocked and blasphemed? Who have you raised your voice against and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! The Word itself, Greek Blasphemos, is a combo of two words. Blaptō, which means, ‘to HURT' and Pheemay, which means fame, report, or something like ‘reputation.' So, etymologically, the word  has a root meaning of injuring somebody's fame, or good name. The word can mean ‘defame' or ‘revile' and isn't always used of a deity. Paul speaks of being ‘defamed' or blasphemed by people for being an apostle. Paul commands the church in Titus 3:2 not to slander/Speak evil of (or BLASPHEME) any person, which is a command that Christians would do well to take far more seriously than we do.  2 Peter 2:10 and Jude vs 8 both warn against blaspheming angels, demons, and other spiritual beings.  So- blasphemy is speaking evil of someone. Hurting them with your words, harming their reputation. Thus, blaspheming the Holy Spirit is speaking evil of Him, reviling Him, defaming Him, seeking to harm His reputation. The Pharisees and Scribes were doing that - or coming dangerously close - when they said that it was Satan/Beelzebul empowering Jesus, when it was factually the Spirit of God Himself.  R.C. Sproul: Their statements were directed against Jesus. So, He said to them: “You can blaspheme Me and be forgiven, but when you question the work of the Spirit, you are coming perilously close to the unforgivable sin. You are right at the line. You are looking down into the abyss of hell. One more step and there will be no hope for you.” He was warning them to be very careful not to insult or mock the Spirit. Is it really unforgivable, and WHAT IF I HAVE COMMITTED IT?!  AUGUSTINE: It is not that this was a blasphemy which under no circumstances could be forgiven, for even this shall be forgiven if right repentance follows it Thomas C. Oden and Christopher A. Hall, eds., Mark, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 48. I'm worried that I have committed the unforgivable sin??  Graham: Many Christians have heard that there is an unpardonable sin and live in dread that something grave they have done before or after conversion might be that sin. Their fears are unfounded. While there is an unforgivable sin, it is not one that a true believer in Jesus Christ can commit. Sproul:  Humanly speaking, everyone who is a Christian is capable of committing the unforgivable sin. However, I believe that the Lord of glory who has saved us and sealed us in the Holy Spirit will never let us commit that sin. I do not believe that any Christians in the history of the church have blasphemed the Spirit. As for those who are not sure they are saved and are worried they may have committed the unpardonable sin, I would say that worrying about it is one of the clearest evidences that they have not committed this sin, for those who commit it are so hardened in their hearts they do not care that they commit it. Thanks be to God that the sin that is unpardonable is not a sin He allows His people to commit. I don't share Graham and Sproul's assurances, though I respect them both deeply. The Bible NEVER says a believer is unable to commit the unpardonable sin. Jesus NEVER indicates that, and I see no other passage that promises such...just a sober warning.  I think Piper strikes a better balance when talking about it:  Piper: The fact that there is an unforgivable sin — that there comes a point in a life of sin after which the Holy Spirit will no longer grant repentance — that fact should drive us from sin with fear and trembling. None of us knows when our toying with sin will pass over into irrevocable hardness of heart. Very few people feel how serious sin is. Very few people are on the same wavelength with Jesus when he said in Mark 9:43, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.” Instead, many professing Christians today have such a sentimental view of God's justice that they never feel terror and horror at the thought of being utterly forsaken by God because of their persistence in sin. They have the naïve notion that God's patience has no end and that they can always return from any length and depth of sin, forgetting that there is a point of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws forever with his convicting power, leaving them never able to repent and be forgiven. They are like the buzzard who spots a carcass on a piece of ice floating in the river. He lands and begins to eat. He knows it is dangerous because the falls are just ahead. But he looks at his wings and says to himself, “I can fly to safety in an instant.” And he goes on eating. Just before the ice goes over the falls he spreads his wings to fly but his claws are frozen in the ice and there is no escape — neither in this age nor the age to come. The Spirit of holiness has forsaken the arrogant sinner forever. Another of the devil's fiery darts is this, “You have committed the unpardonable sin.” Ah! this arrow has rankled in many a heart, and it is very difficult to deal with such cases. The only way in which I argue with a person thus assailed is to say, “I am quite certain that, if you desire salvation, you have not committed the unpardonable sin, and I am absolutely sure that, if you will now come and trust Christ, you have not committed that sin, for every soul that trusts Christ is forgiven, according to God's Word, and therefore you cannot have committed that sin.” C. H. Spurgeon, Pictures from Pilgrim's Progress:  My close - God the Holy Spirit is all powerful. Tremble:  I don't want to blunt the warnings of Jesus with false assurance. It is likely that - if you are worried you've committed the unpardonable sin, that you haven't because only the Spirit's work in your life would make you fear the Lord. But the way that Jesus addressed this is with the highest level of seriousness...so must we. This passage RIGHTLY inspires fear in us, and that's ok, it should. It is obviously recorded in the Scripture for that purpose.  Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 2:5 you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. Rev 14:6  6 Then I saw another angel flying high overhead,(I) having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.(J) 7 He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” The word for fear there has the same meaning as our word fear. It means FEAR.   Luke 12: In the same breath that Jesus speaks about the unpardonable sin, He says this:  4 “And I say to you, My friends, don't fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. 5 But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear! 6 Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. 7 Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows! Treat the Holy Spirit with great - remarkable sobriety - fear and wisdom. Fear the Lord, as Jesus said, and don't be afraid to trust Him - He who knows all of the sparrows and numbers our hairs, counts us as of great worth and Loves the World enough to send His son to rescue it.  Here's the good news: GREEAR: False gods mutilate us; the true God mutilated himself for us. The prophets of Ba'al begin by dancing around their altar. They end by slashing at themselves until their blood runs (1 Kings 18:28). False gods always push us toward destruction: “Work harder. Do better. Obtain more. You still aren't getting my attention. Slash yourself!” So we slash at our bodies by going through crash diets to attain that perfect figure. We slash at our families by overworking to make extra money. We slash at our souls by compromising our integrity to get someone's affection. False gods push us to mutilate ourselves, because we desperately want to win their approval. But only one God was ever mutilated for us—Jesus Christ. This story ends with a magnificent fire coming from heaven, but as Jesus himself points out to his first disciples, the fire was not intended for sinful humanity (Luke 9:51–56). It was ultimately intended for him: of all the characters in this story, Jesus is not Elijah, calling down fire; he is the sacrifice who receives the fire of judgment. At the cross, Jesus took into his body the fire of God's justice so that we could take into our lives the fire of God's love. Other gods demand dancing, slashing, mutilation. But Jesus Christ is the only God who was slashed and mutilated for us. As Tim Keller has said, “Every other god will make your blood run; only the true God bleeds for you.”

Episode 4: What is the Unforgivable sin??  It's a terrifying reality: Jesus warned His disciples and the Pharisees that there was a sin that could be committed that was unpardonable - unforgivable for all eternity. People have speculated and worried about this teaching of Jesus for hundreds of years. What precisely is the unpardonable sin? How can we know whether or not we've done it? Let's dive in! The Didache First century - RIGHT after the NT: Now concerning the apostles and prophets, deal with them as follows in accordance with the rule of the gospel. (4) Let every apostle who comes to you be welcomed as if he were the Lord. (5) But he is not to stay for more than one day, unless there is need, in which case he may stay another. But if he stays three days, he is a false prophet. (6) And when the apostle leaves, he is to take nothing except bread until he finds his next night's lodging. But if he asks for money, he is a false prophet. (7) Also, do not test or evaluate any prophet who speaks in the spirit, for every sin will be forgiven, but this sin will not be forgiven.35 Michael William Holmes, The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English Translations, Updated ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1999), 263–265. ANDREAS Andreas of Caesarea (Greek: Ἀνδρέας Καισαρείας; 563 – 637) : It is the sin of heresy, or of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which leads to death. If one man sins against another, pray for him. But if he sins against God, who is there who can pray on his behalf? And if even after all this, our opponents are still unwilling to learn and still unable to understand, they should at least stop speaking evil. They should not divide the Trinity lest they be divided from life.82 They should not classify the Holy Spirit with the creatures, lest, like the Pharisees of old who ascribed the works of the Spirit to Beelzebul,83 they too, on account of equal audacity, incur along with them the punishment which is unpardonable both now and in the future. Athanasius Works on the Spirit: Athanasius's Letters to Serapion on the Holy Spirit,  Grave-robbing, or the opening of graves, is divided into two kinds too, like theft, according to the present Canon, to wit, into pardonable and into unpardonable grave-robbing. For if the fellow opening the grave does not denude the dead person's body, thus refraining from dishonoring (for that is what is meant by the expression “sparing devoutness”) the dead, but only takes the stones found in the grave, in order to use them in the building of any other work that is preferable and more beneficial to the community, though this too is by no means anything to be praised, yet custom has made it pardonable.2 St. Nicodemus of the Holy Mountain - 1700s, Greek Orthodox church.  Swearing is a dreadful and harmful thing; it is a destructive drug, a bane and a danger, a hidden wound, a sore unseen, an obscure ulcer spreading its poison in the soul; it is an arrow of Satan, a flaming javelin, a two-edged sword, a sharp-honed scimitar, an unpardonable sin, an indefensible transgression, a deep gulf, a precipitous crag, a strong trap, a taut-stretched net, a fetter that cannot be broken, a noose from which no one escapes. 19. Are these enough, and do you believe that swearing is a dreadful thing and the most harmful of all sins? Believe me, I beg you, believe me! But if someone does not believe me, I now offer proof. This sin has what no other sin possesses. If we do not violate the other commandments, we escape punishment; on the other hand, in the matter of oaths, we are punished just the same both when we guard against transgressing and when we transgress. St. John Chrysostom, 300s AD St. John Chrysostom: Baptismal Instructions,  Hilary of Poitiers actually points us in a more biblical direction, in discussing the unpardonable sin: Every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven to men, but blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven.67 With a very grave qualification, he condemns the view of the Pharisees and the perversion of those who also think like them. He promises pardon of all sins but refuses pardon for blasphemy of the Spirit. While other words and deeds are treated with a generous pardon, there is no mercy if it is denied that God is in Christ. 68 And in whatever way one sins without pardon, he is gracious to us and reminds us again that sins of every kind can be completely forgiven, though blasphemy against the Holy Spirit cannot be forgiven. For who is so completely beyond pardon as one who denies that Christ is of God, or repudiates that the substance of the Spirit of the Father resides in him Hilary of Poitiers, Commentary on Matthew, ed.  Spurgeon - Nobody knows what that sin is. I believe that even God's Word does not tell us, and it is very proper that it does not. As I have often said, it is like the notice we sometimes see put up, “Man-traps and spring gun set here.” We do not know whereabouts the traps and guns are, but we have no business over the hedge at all. So, “there is a sin unto death;” we are not told what that sin is, but we have no business to go over the hedge into any transgression at all. That “sin unto death” may be different in different people; but, whoever commits it, from that very moment, loses all spiritual desires. He has no wish to be saved, no care to repent, no longing after Christ; so dreadful is the spiritual death that comes over the man who has committed it that he never craves eternal life. C. H. Spurgeon, Pictures from Pilgrim's Progress: A Commentary on Portions of John Bunyan's Immortal Allegory (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 73–74. Billy Graham:   The sin of the religious leaders, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, was a refusal to accept the witness of the Holy Spirit to who Jesus was and what He had come to do, and then submit their lives to Him… Once again, the unpardonable sin is not some particularly grievous sin committed by a Christian before or after accepting Christ, nor is it thinking or saying something terrible about the Holy Spirit. Rather, it is deliberately resisting the Holy Spirit's witness and invitation to turn to Jesus until death ends all opportunity. Billy Graham is echoing the Augustinian (300s AD) view: Now the man who, not believing that sins are remitted in the Church, despises this great gift of God's mercy, and persists to the last day of his life in his obstinacy of heart, is guilty of the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost, in whom Christ forgives sins. Augustine of Hippo, “The Enchiridion,” in St. Augustin: On the Holy Trinity, Doctrinal Treatises, Moral Treatises, ed.  Augustine was reflecting the Origen view (early 300s): The Spirit dwells in those who live by faith. But those who once having been counted worthy to share in the Holy Spirit and then having finally and decisively turned their backs from grace are by this act said to have blasphemed against the Holy Spirit (ORIGEN  Who, then, is not amazed at the exceeding majesty of the Holy Spirit when he hears that he who speaks a word against the Son of man may hope for forgiveness, but that he who is guilty of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit has no forgiveness—either in the present world or in that which is to come. Origen What then is it? The unforgivable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is an act of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws forever with his convicting power so that we are never able to repent and be forgiven. - John Piper.  Lee ann penick MODERN: There is only one “unpardonable sin” that can separate us from God for eternity. It is the ongoing, willful refusal to accept Christ as Lord and Savior and the forgiveness He offers. Jacob Arminius defined it as "the rejection and refusing of Jesus Christ through determined malice and hatred against Christ". Nancy Hardesty  “Ultimately the refusal to allow women to fully use their gifts in the church and in the world is a form of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.”   Pope John Paul II writes "'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. SO - What is The unforgivable sin?? - is it, as Origen, Augustine, Billy Graham, Pope John Paul 2 Lee Ann Penick suggest - the rejection of the Holy Spirit/not becoming a follower of Jesus?? Is it, as John Chrysostom claimed, swearing oaths?  Is it the robbing of graves in a thieving manner? Is it not letting women use their spiritual gifts in the church? Is it Heresy? Is it, as Athanasius and many other church fathers declared, being wrong on the Trinity and calling the Holy Spirit a created being, rather than God Himself?  Is it testing prophetic utterances of prophets?? (NO! - 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21 Don't stifle the Spirit. 20 Don't despise prophecies, 21 but test all things. Hold on to what is good.) Confused? You should be!! People talk about this issue all of the time, but it doesn't appear that all of them get their views from the Bible, so let's begin there in seeking our answer.  Matthew 12:24 24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. 29 How can someone enter a strong man's house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can rob his house. 30 Anyone who is not with Me is against Me, and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters.31 Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Mark 3: 22 The scribes who had come down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul in Him!” and, “He drives out demons by the ruler of the demons!” 23 So He summoned them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan rebels against himself and is divided, he cannot stand but is finished! 27 “On the other hand, no one can enter a strong man's house and rob his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he will rob his house. 28 I assure you: People will be forgiven for all sins and whatever blasphemies they may blaspheme. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.” Luke 12: 8 “And I say to you, anyone who acknowledges Me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of God, 9 but whoever denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.10 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. So, I see two major ways we need to answer this question. Contextually and grammatically.  What does the CONTEXT of the usage of ‘unpardonable sin' tell us, and what does the grammar/word meanings tell us?   We find a massively important clue in Mark 3:30, where Mark tells us precisely WHY Jesus warned the Pharisees and Scribes about this sin. “Because they were saying, He has an unclean spirit.”   The exact same situation is described in Matthew 12:31 “31 Because of this, I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven”  The scribes and pharisees are accusing Jesus of doing miraculous things - specifically driving out demons - by the power of Beelzebul rather than by the power of God.  Therefore, we know at least this: Ascribing something like an exorcism that is factually done by the power of God and His Holy Spirit to Demonic influence is AT BEST dangerously close to Blaspheming the Holy Spirit, and could, in fact, be blaspheming the Holy Spirit. (Jesus does not make it crystal clear that the scribes and pharisees were actually committing this sin, or merely getting close to committing it. It would seem like the latter is the best option.)  Practically speaking, what does this mean?? It means we need to be extremely careful about stating confident opinions on spiritual matters that we don't have 100 percent clarity from Scripture on. Let me give a couple of examples:  Pushed over at Brownsville. Charles Carrin praying for us at GVAG. Flamboyant preachers on tv wadding up their coats and throwing them on people, who pass out. Blowing on people, who pass out. Etc.  Most of this is probably fraudulent, some of it horribly so. BUT - we should be incredibly careful about pronouncing opinions on what God's spirit would do, and wouldn't do.   For instance, there was a revival going on in the 90s that became very well known and reached a lot of people. I heard about some of the things going on at that revival that were disturbing, and sounded - quite frankly - ridiculous. So, I assumed that the movement wasn't of God, but was just flaky people doing flaky things - at best. HOWEVER...a few years later, I met the leader of the movement, and spent some time with him. He struck me as a genuine follower of God - a man who loved Jesus, and who was humble.  I still don't know what to think about that revival. God does, and I leave it to Him. It's outside of my realm of influence. According to Jesus - there is grave danger in ascribing the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan. You better be 100 percent sure you're right before doing such thing...and you'd better ask the question - HOW Do i Know FOR SURE that my opinion is right on this matter? If you can't answer that question with extreme clarity, then be careful saying what the Holy Spirit will or will not do, and be careful saying whether or not something is of Satan, or not. Contextually, that is at least a large part of what blaspheming the Holy Spirit is about.  What is blasphemy, exactly? More on that in a moment…. Side question - is Beelzebul = Satan?? It's a great question, and I have a fairly lame answer…'maybe.'  Beelzebub (“Lord of the flies”) and Beelzebul (“Lord of the skies/heavenly realms”) both refer to the same entity.  In the Testament of Solomon, 1st century, non-Scripture, pseudoepigraphic text.  Beelzebul (not Beelzebub) appears as prince of the demons and says (6.2) that he was formerly a leading heavenly angel who was (6.7) associated with the star Hesperus (which is the normal Greek name for the planet Venus (Αφροδíτη) as evening star). Seemingly, Beelzebul here is synonymous with Lucifer. the text describes how Solomon was enabled to build his temple by commanding demons by means of a magical ring that was entrusted to him by the archangel Michael.  The Bible reference comes from 2 Kings 1: 1 After the death of Ahab, Moab rebelled against Israel. 2 Ahaziah had fallen through the latticed window of his upper room in Samaria and was injured. So he sent messengers instructing them: “Go inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, if I will recover from this injury.” 3 But the angel of the Lord said to Elijah the Tishbite, “Go and meet the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is it because there is no God in Israel that you are going to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron?' 4 Therefore, this is what the Lord says: ‘You will not get up from your sickbed—you will certainly die.'” Then Elijah left. The name also appears in Luke 11, where we can see the clearest connection between Beelzebul and Satan: Luke 11:14 Now He was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon came out, the man who had been mute, spoke, and the crowds were amazed. 15 But some of them said, “He drives out demons by Beelzebul,the ruler of the demons!” 16 And others, as a test, were demanding of Him a sign from heaven. 17 Knowing their thoughts, He told them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and a house divided against itself falls.18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say I drive out demons by Beelzebul. 19 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges. 20 If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you. So, Jesus mentions Satan and Beelzebul in the same context, but not in a way that indicates that they are the same entities.  My best guess is that Beelzebul is a separate entity from Satan, but I confess that I do not know, and my guess is based on the fact that the Bible never clearly identifies the two as the same entity. What exactly is Blasphemy?  Luke 12:10 points us in the right direction - anyone who ‘speaks a word against the son of man will be forgiven.' but the one who blasphemes the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. Matthew 12:32 makes it even more clear: 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. Similarly: Isaiah 37:23 Isaiah 37:23 Who is it you have mocked and blasphemed? Who have you raised your voice against and lifted your eyes in pride? Against the Holy One of Israel! The Word itself, Greek Blasphemos, is a combo of two words. Blaptō, which means, ‘to HURT' and Pheemay, which means fame, report, or something like ‘reputation.' So, etymologically, the word  has a root meaning of injuring somebody's fame, or good name. The word can mean ‘defame' or ‘revile' and isn't always used of a deity. Paul speaks of being ‘defamed' or blasphemed by people for being an apostle. Paul commands the church in Titus 3:2 not to slander/Speak evil of (or BLASPHEME) any person, which is a command that Christians would do well to take far more seriously than we do.  2 Peter 2:10 and Jude vs 8 both warn against blaspheming angels, demons, and other spiritual beings.  So- blasphemy is speaking evil of someone. Hurting them with your words, harming their reputation. Thus, blaspheming the Holy Spirit is speaking evil of Him, reviling Him, defaming Him, seeking to harm His reputation. The Pharisees and Scribes were doing that - or coming dangerously close - when they said that it was Satan/Beelzebul empowering Jesus, when it was factually the Spirit of God Himself.  R.C. Sproul: Their statements were directed against Jesus. So, He said to them: “You can blaspheme Me and be forgiven, but when you question the work of the Spirit, you are coming perilously close to the unforgivable sin. You are right at the line. You are looking down into the abyss of hell. One more step and there will be no hope for you.” He was warning them to be very careful not to insult or mock the Spirit. Is it really unforgivable, and WHAT IF I HAVE COMMITTED IT?!  AUGUSTINE: It is not that this was a blasphemy which under no circumstances could be forgiven, for even this shall be forgiven if right repentance follows it Thomas C. Oden and Christopher A. Hall, eds., Mark, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 48. I'm worried that I have committed the unforgivable sin??  Graham: Many Christians have heard that there is an unpardonable sin and live in dread that something grave they have done before or after conversion might be that sin. Their fears are unfounded. While there is an unforgivable sin, it is not one that a true believer in Jesus Christ can commit. Sproul:  Humanly speaking, everyone who is a Christian is capable of committing the unforgivable sin. However, I believe that the Lord of glory who has saved us and sealed us in the Holy Spirit will never let us commit that sin. I do not believe that any Christians in the history of the church have blasphemed the Spirit. As for those who are not sure they are saved and are worried they may have committed the unpardonable sin, I would say that worrying about it is one of the clearest evidences that they have not committed this sin, for those who commit it are so hardened in their hearts they do not care that they commit it. Thanks be to God that the sin that is unpardonable is not a sin He allows His people to commit. I don't share Graham and Sproul's assurances, though I respect them both deeply. The Bible NEVER says a believer is unable to commit the unpardonable sin. Jesus NEVER indicates that, and I see no other passage that promises such...just a sober warning.  I think Piper strikes a better balance when talking about it:  Piper: The fact that there is an unforgivable sin — that there comes a point in a life of sin after which the Holy Spirit will no longer grant repentance — that fact should drive us from sin with fear and trembling. None of us knows when our toying with sin will pass over into irrevocable hardness of heart. Very few people feel how serious sin is. Very few people are on the same wavelength with Jesus when he said in Mark 9:43, “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire.” Instead, many professing Christians today have such a sentimental view of God's justice that they never feel terror and horror at the thought of being utterly forsaken by God because of their persistence in sin. They have the naïve notion that God's patience has no end and that they can always return from any length and depth of sin, forgetting that there is a point of resistance which belittles the Holy Spirit so grievously that he withdraws forever with his convicting power, leaving them never able to repent and be forgiven. They are like the buzzard who spots a carcass on a piece of ice floating in the river. He lands and begins to eat. He knows it is dangerous because the falls are just ahead. But he looks at his wings and says to himself, “I can fly to safety in an instant.” And he goes on eating. Just before the ice goes over the falls he spreads his wings to fly but his claws are frozen in the ice and there is no escape — neither in this age nor the age to come. The Spirit of holiness has forsaken the arrogant sinner forever. Another of the devil's fiery darts is this, “You have committed the unpardonable sin.” Ah! this arrow has rankled in many a heart, and it is very difficult to deal with such cases. The only way in which I argue with a person thus assailed is to say, “I am quite certain that, if you desire salvation, you have not committed the unpardonable sin, and I am absolutely sure that, if you will now come and trust Christ, you have not committed that sin, for every soul that trusts Christ is forgiven, according to God's Word, and therefore you cannot have committed that sin.” C. H. Spurgeon, Pictures from Pilgrim's Progress:  My close - God the Holy Spirit is all powerful. Tremble:  I don't want to blunt the warnings of Jesus with false assurance. It is likely that - if you are worried you've committed the unpardonable sin, that you haven't because only the Spirit's work in your life would make you fear the Lord. But the way that Jesus addressed this is with the highest level of seriousness...so must we. This passage RIGHTLY inspires fear in us, and that's ok, it should. It is obviously recorded in the Scripture for that purpose.  Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline. Proverbs 2:5 you will understand the fear of the Lord and discover the knowledge of God. Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked are cut short. Rev 14:6  6 Then I saw another angel flying high overhead,(I) having the eternal gospel to announce to the inhabitants of the earth—to every nation, tribe, language, and people.(J) 7 He spoke with a loud voice: “Fear God and give Him glory, because the hour of His judgment has come. Worship the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water.” The word for fear there has the same meaning as our word fear. It means FEAR.   Luke 12: In the same breath that Jesus speaks about the unpardonable sin, He says this:  4 “And I say to you, My friends, don't fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. 5 But I will show you the One to fear: Fear Him who has authority to throw people into hell after death. Yes, I say to you, this is the One to fear! 6 Aren't five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. 7 Indeed, the hairs of your head are all counted. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows! Treat the Holy Spirit with great - remarkable sobriety - fear and wisdom. Fear the Lord, as Jesus said, and don't be afraid to trust Him - He who knows all of the sparrows and numbers our hairs, counts us as of great worth and Loves the World enough to send His son to rescue it.  Here's the good news: GREEAR: False gods mutilate us; the true God mutilated himself for us. The prophets of Ba'al begin by dancing around their altar. They end by slashing at themselves until their blood runs (1 Kings 18:28). False gods always push us toward destruction: “Work harder. Do better. Obtain more. You still aren't getting my attention. Slash yourself!” So we slash at our bodies by going through crash diets to attain that perfect figure. We slash at our families by overworking to make extra money. We slash at our souls by compromising our integrity to get someone's affection. False gods push us to mutilate ourselves, because we desperately want to win their approval. But only one God was ever mutilated for us—Jesus Christ. This story ends with a magnificent fire coming from heaven, but as Jesus himself points out to his first disciples, the fire was not intended for sinful humanity (Luke 9:51–56). It was ultimately intended for him: of all the characters in this story, Jesus is not Elijah, calling down fire; he is the sacrifice who receives the fire of judgment. At the cross, Jesus took into his body the fire of God's justice so that we could take into our lives the fire of God's love. Other gods demand dancing, slashing, mutilation. But Jesus Christ is the only God who was slashed and mutilated for us. As Tim Keller has said, “Every other god will make your blood run; only the true God bleeds for you.”

On The Healing Of The Demon - Possessed, Blind, And Mute Man by Metropolitan Serapion by St. Gregory American Coptic Orthodox Church

Ignatius of Antioch in his writing showed knowledge of Matthew, 1 Corinthians, Romans, Ephesians, and Philippians. Papias introduces us to the four gospels and mentions 1 Peter, 1 John and Revelation. Consider that Polycarp is the link back to the apostolic era. Out of 112 biblical illusions, about 100 are from the New Testament. The Hebrew Scriptures were standard within the early years of Christianity. Polycarp began to shift in his citing of the Old Testament all the time to more citations of the New Testament. He showed familiarity with Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Hebrews, 1 John, 1 Peter, and alluded to the gospels of Luke and Matthew. Tatian was a pupil of Justin Martyr and wrote Diatessaron which means, “through the four” and weaves all four gospels into one document (He later became a heretic.) Serapion of Antioch, in answer to the argument of what to do with the Gospel of Peter, allowed it to be read. Upon reading it more carefully, he found Docetic tendencies and rescinded his approval to be read. Eusebius recounted Serapion’s words in “The Church History of Eusebius”(6.12.3-6). C. K. Barrett states, “To trace the influence of the Fourth Gospel upon Christian theology would be more than the task of a lifetime; to trace its influence upon the thought of the first half of the second century is easy, for it had none.” By the time of Irenaeus there were certain texts that clearly identified what was truth and what was not. Irenaeus saw that Scripture and apostolic preaching convey the economy of salvation. The church is a guarantor of proper interpretation. Synchronic is the mosaic of a King – each Scripture is a part of the mosaic. Diachronic is a symphony of salvation, bringing mankind to God. God brings humanity closer to himself. Irenaeus saw a consistency and harmony to the Gospels and the heretics follow neither Scripture nor tradition.

Explore extra canonical writings. Consider the story of the discovery of the Nag Hammadi Codices. A sample of non-canonical works include the Gospel of Judas (ca. 170 AD) which had Jesus saying to Judas, “You will sacrifice the man who clothes me.” Charles Hill states, “It is something of an irony then that one of the most telling contributions of the Gospel of Judas to our knowledge of early Christianity just might be its witness to the existence and authority to the canonical gospels before Irenaeus.” Another is the Gospel of Truth (mid-2nd Century?), which is a theological treatise. It is an attempt to draw non-Gnostics to their point of view. Also, there is the Gospel of Peter (ca. 150 AD?) which Serapion of Antioch deemed authentic but later felt it had been tainted by the Docetists in its denial of the humanity of Jesus. Serapion reversed his earlier decision. Explore how the Gospels originated and consider the Markan priority within the Gospels, “Q”, the Lukan source and Mathian source. The Gospel of Thomas (ca. 140 AD) was sometimes thought as “Q”. Early Church Fathers tended not to think it was canonical. The Gospel of Thomas demonstrates secret knowledge and a sense that there is a privileged message which Jesus gives to those “in the know.” The Infancy Gospels try to fill in the gap of the life of Jesus between his birth and ministry. We have the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. They are fanciful stories of Jesus as a miracle child. What is the value of these texts? They show a diversity of “Christian” thought and actually point to the veracity of the Gospels.

Athanasius followed Alexander as bishop of Alexandria (328 AD). He was a staunch defender for homoousios among eastern bishops. His life had major swings as he was at one point accused of black magic and murder, and accused of interfering with the sailing of corn ships from Alexandria to Rome. He was exiled by Constantine and eventually returned to the western empire after Constantine’s death. Constantine’s son Constantius was in the East and was an Arian sympathizer. His other two sons reigned over the Western Empire. Constans in the West was a pro-Nicaea leader. From 340 AD, the two halves of the empire and the Church were divided along Arian doctrines. In the East there were pro-Arian supporters and the West was not Arian. Eventually Constans convinced Constantius to reinstate Athanasius as bishop of Alexandria. Constantius later became the sole ruler of the empire and Athanasius was deposed again at the Council of Milan in 355 AD. He died in 373 AD. What defined his theology? In the Greek Church he is known as the “Father of Orthodoxy”. He advocated for faith over reason and had very little speculative theology. Consider his view on the Father and Son relationship as stated in The Letter to Serapion. For him, Christ is on the Creator side of the Creator/creature distinction. The Logos was not created, but “begotten” eternally. Athanasius believed the Son is of the Father’s substance (homoousious, not homoios). Redemption through the Logos was the root of Athanasius’ theology. The Logos was made man that we might be made God. True redemption does not work unless Christ is fully divine. His Pneumatology included that the Holy Spirit is also Divine and Consubstantial (homoousios). He stated, “For the Son does not merely partake of the Spirit, that therefore he too may be in the Father; nor does he receive the Spirit, but rather he supplies it himself to all; and the Spirit does not unite the Word to the Father, but rather the Spirit receives from the Word . . .” The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father.

Is learning the original Greek, Latin, and Hebrew truly essential in learning the meaning and context of the Bible? Bart Ehrman, in his Misquoting Jesus, says that the earlier the manuscript, the more errors you find. Which ones is he talking about? Please describe the process of translating Hebrew and Greek manuscripts into modern English. Is the Letter of Mara ben Serapion an independent attestation of a historical Jesus? What exactly does Daniel 9 mean to predict? Why does the Talmud curse anyone who reads Daniel 9:24-27 to calculate the coming of the Kingdom? What do you think are the best books/articles to read on Exodus? E.A. Speiser suggests that chapter 14 was an independent, foreign, "quasi-historical" document that was imported into the rest of the Genesis material, and he takes this as evidence that Abraham was a real historical figure "who was attested in contemporary sources." What do you think of this claim of historicity? Are there any theories about the identity of the "man carrying a jar of water" in Mark 14:13? Why does the pregnant Elizabeth stay in seclusion for 5 months (Luke 1:24)?

The group began Conference Ten, the high point of Cassian teaching on imageless and unceasing prayer.  Cassian sets the stage by seeking to put the notion of imageless prayer in highest possible relief through giving an account of the monk Serapion's fall into the anthropromorphite heresy.   Serapion's mind becomes cluttered with the erroneous and deadly image of a God with human contours; unable to let go of the confines of what the imagination and intellect can construct to be drawn by faith into the intimacy and mystery of the Triune God.  It is through the pathos of this story that Cassian brings his readers to see the beauty of pure prayer and the unbroken communion with God it promises. When such prayer is attained, everything a person does is God.  And this, which is the end of all perfection, is equivalent to transforming one's whole life into a single and continuous prayer.  A lengthy discussion then ensued regarding the simplicity of life that must be fostered in order for the silence of solitude to emerge in which such unceasing prayer can take place.  The group considered the types of pseudo contemplation that have arisen in the modern culture that sadly make genuine prayer more and more unlikely.

Mit Manfred Zapatka, Felix von Manteuffel, Stefan Wilkening, Werner Wölbern, Bernhard Schütz, Herbert Fritsch / Bearbeitung, Komposition und Regie: Klaus Buhlert / BR 2006 / Länge: 58'10 // Ein wahnsinniger Einsiedler, der im Wald lebt und sich für den Märtyrer Serapion hält, wird zum Namensgeber für ein literarisches Quartett der Fantasten: Zunächst sind es vier, später sechs Freunde, die sich als Serapions-Brüder bei abendlichen Treffen in einer Berliner Stadtwohnung ihre Erzählungen und Märchen vorlesen.

Mit Manfred Zapatka, Felix von Manteuffel, Stefan Wilkening, Werner Wölbern, Bernhard Schütz, Herbert Fritsch / Bearbeitung, Komposition und Regie: Klaus Buhlert / BR 2006 / Länge: 58'15 // Ein wahnsinniger Einsiedler, der im Wald lebt und sich für den Märtyrer Serapion hält, wird zum Namensgeber für ein literarisches Quartett der Fantasten: Zunächst sind es vier, später sechs Freunde, die sich als Serapions-Brüder bei abendlichen Treffen in einer Berliner Stadtwohnung ihre selbst verfassten Erzählungen und Märchen vorlesen.

Mit Manfred Zapatka, Felix von Manteuffel, Stefan Wilkening, Werner Wölbern, Bernhard Schütz, Herbert Fritsch / Bearbeitung, Komposition und Regie: Klaus Buhlert / BR 2006 / Länge: 58'02 // Ein wahnsinniger Einsiedler, der im Wald lebt und sich für den Märtyrer Serapion hält, wird zum Namensgeber für ein literarisches Quartett der Fantasten: Zunächst sind es vier, später sechs Freunde, die sich als Serapions-Brüder bei abendlichen Treffen in einer Berliner Stadtwohnung ihre selbst verfassten Erzählungen und Märchen vorlesen.

Mit Manfred Zapatka, Felix von Manteuffel, Stefan Wilkening, Werner Wölbern, Bernhard Schütz, Herbert Fritsch / Bearbeitung, Komposition und Regie: Klaus Buhlert / BR 2006 / Länge: 57'58 // Ein wahnsinniger Einsiedler, der im Wald lebt und sich für den Märtyrer Serapion hält, wird zum Namensgeber für ein literarisches Quartett der Fantasten: Zunächst sind es vier, später sechs Freunde, die sich als Serapions-Brüder bei abendlichen Treffen in einer Berliner Stadtwohnung ihre selbst verfassten Erzählungen und Märchen vorlesen.

Mit Manfred Zapatka, Felix von Manteuffel, Stefan Wilkening, Werner Wölbern, Bernhard Schütz, Herbert Fritsch / Bearbeitung, Komposition und Regie: Klaus Buhlert / BR 2006 / Länge: 57'46 // Ein wahnsinniger Einsiedler, der im Wald lebt und sich für den Märtyrer Serapion hält, wird zum Namensgeber für ein literarisches Quartett der Fantasten: Zunächst sind es vier, später sechs Freunde, die sich als Serapions-Brüder bei abendlichen Treffen in einer Berliner Stadtwohnung ihre selbst verfassten Erzählungen und Märchen vorlesen.

Mit Manfred Zapatka, Felix von Manteuffel, Stefan Wilkening, Werner Wölbern, Bernhard Schütz, Herbert Fritsch / Bearbeitung, Komposition und Regie: Klaus Buhlert / BR 2006 / Länge: 58'05 // Ein wahnsinniger Einsiedler, der im Wald lebt und sich für den Märtyrer Serapion hält, wird zum Namensgeber für ein literarisches Quartett der Fantasten: Zunächst sind es vier, später sechs Freunde, die sich als Serapions-Brüder bei abendlichen Treffen in einer Berliner Stadtwohnung ihre selbst verfassten Erzählungen und Märchen vorlesen.

Mit Manfred Zapatka, Felix von Manteuffel, Stefan Wilkening, Werner Wölbern, Bernhard Schütz, Herbert Fritsch / Bearbeitung, Komposition und Regie: Klaus Buhlert / BR 2006 / Länge: 58'25 // Ein wahnsinniger Einsiedler, der im Wald lebt und sich für den Märtyrer Serapion hält, wird zum Namensgeber für ein literarisches Quartett der Fantasten: Zunächst sind es vier, später sechs Freunde, die sich als Serapions-Brüder bei abendlichen Treffen in einer Berliner Stadtwohnung ihre selbst verfassten Erzählungen und Märchen vorlesen.

Mit Manfred Zapatka, Felix von Manteuffel, Stefan Wilkening, Werner Wölbern, Bernhard Schütz, Herbert Fritsch / Bearbeitung, Komposition und Regie: Klaus Buhlert / BR 2006 / Länge: 58'14 // Ein wahnsinniger Einsiedler, der im Wald lebt und sich für den Märtyrer Serapion hält, wird zum Namensgeber für ein literarisches Quartett der Fantasten: Zunächst sind es vier, später sechs Freunde, die sich als Serapions-Brüder bei abendlichen Treffen in einer Berliner Stadtwohnung ihre selbst verfassten Erzählungen und Märchen vorlesen.

Mit Manfred Zapatka, Felix von Manteuffel, Stefan Wilkening, Werner Wölbern, Bernhard Schütz, Herbert Fritsch / Bearbeitung, Komposition und Regie: Klaus Buhlert / BR 2006 / Länge: 58'10 // Ein wahnsinniger Einsiedler, der im Wald lebt und sich für den Märtyrer Serapion hält, wird zum Namensgeber für ein literarisches Quartett der Fantasten: Zunächst sind es vier, später sechs Freunde, die sich als Serapions-Brüder bei abendlichen Treffen in einer Berliner Stadtwohnung ihre selbst verfassten Erzählungen und Märchen vorlesen.

Mit Manfred Zapatka, Felix von Manteuffel, Stefan Wilkening, Werner Wölbern, Bernhard Schütz, Herbert Fritsch / Bearbeitung, Komposition und Regie: Klaus Buhlert / BR 2006 / Länge: 58'25 // Ein wahnsinniger Einsiedler, der im Wald lebt und sich für den Märtyrer Serapion hält, wird zum Namensgeber für ein literarisches Quartett der Fantasten: Zunächst sind es vier, später sechs Freunde, die sich als Serapions-Brüder bei abendlichen Treffen in einer Berliner Stadtwohnung ihre selbst verfassten Erzählungen und Märchen vorlesen.

Mit Manfred Zapatka, Felix von Manteuffel, Stefan Wilkening, Werner Wölbern, Bernhard Schütz, Herbert Fritsch / Bearbeitung, Komposition und Regie: Klaus Buhlert / BR 2006 / Länge: 57'55 // Ein wahnsinniger Einsiedler, der im Wald lebt und sich für den Märtyrer Serapion hält, wird zum Namensgeber für ein literarisches Quartett der Fantasten: Zunächst sind es vier, später sechs Freunde, die sich als Serapions-Brüder bei abendlichen Treffen in einer Berliner Stadtwohnung ihre selbst verfassten Erzählungen und Märchen vorlesen.

Mit Manfred Zapatka, Felix von Manteuffel, Stefan Wilkening, Werner Wölbern, Bernhard Schütz, Herbert Fritsch / Bearbeitung, Komposition und Regie: Klaus Buhlert / BR 2006 / Länge: 57'30 // Ein wahnsinniger Einsiedler, der im Wald lebt und sich für den Märtyrer Serapion hält, wird zum Namensgeber für ein literarisches Quartett der Fantasten: Zunächst sind es vier, später sechs Freunde, die sich als Serapions-Brüder bei abendlichen Treffen in einer Berliner Stadtwohnung ihre selbst verfassten Erzählungen und Märchen vorlesen.