Online Journal Article: "Revisiting The Unpardonable Sin: Insight From An Unexpected Source" JETS 60/4 (2017): 713–32

https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/60/60-4/JETS_60_4-713-732_Liftin.pdf

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https://www.etsjets.org/files/JETS-PDFs/60/60-4/JETS_60_4-713-732_Liftin.pdf

From the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS)
JETS 60/4 (2017): 713–32
REVISITING THE UNPARDONABLE SIN:
INSIGHT FROM AN UNEXPECTED SOURCE
DUANE LITFIN*
Abstract: Jesus’s indictment of the “eternal sin” of blaspheming the Holy Spirit has perplexed his church from the beginning, leading to a variety of interpretations. Most of these interpretations have attempted to soften the harshness of Jesus’s indictment by redefining the unpardonable sin or by supplying the unwritten premise “unless they repent.” This article, by contrast, seeks to concede the sharpness of Jesus’s verdict and then asks what there was about the
Pharisees’ offense that prompted it. To answer this question, this article looks to the ancient
rhetorical treatment of apodeixis. Jesus’s opponents were the beneficiaries of an extraordinary
measure of both verbal and apodictic light. To this maximum light they responded with maximum rejection. This unique combination of maximum light and maximum rejection is what
prompted Jesus’s adamant verdict. Because these maximal conditions can no longer be met, the
“eternal sin” of the Pharisees cannot be reenacted today.
Key words: unpardonable sin, unforgivable sin, eternal sin, Pharisees, blaspheming the
Spirit, rhetoric, persuasion, evidence, demonstration, proof, faith