I still remember well, as a young Christian, listening to The Bible Answer Man radio show. I don’t remember much of what was said, but I distinctly recall the occasional poor troubled souls who’d call in hoping for consolation, despair in their voice, fearful they’d committed the unforgivable sin—blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.
Little did I know at the time, those late 20th-century callers were only the latest in 2,000 years to worry about whether they’d indeed committed the blasphemy of the Spirit. We know this was an issue in the early church, and different branches of the church had different opinions. For many, it was understood that a falling away under persecution, for example, was this kind of unforgivable sin. And we know different portions of the church split over whether a relapsed Christian could re-enter the church.
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