What is in Kelvin's Head?

Candidates for the Sin Against the Holy Ghost

03/12/2016
People sometimes ask me (and no doubt other clergy) what the sin against the Holy Ghost actually is – the one which cannot be forgiven.

Mark 3:28-29
Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:
But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.

Now, there is a great deal of confusion about this, but I think I have narrowed down the possibilities.

I’m pretty sure that it is one of the following:
- Brown Shoes in the Sanctuary
- The Sunday Before Lent/Sundays Before Advent/The Kingdom Season
- The Invention of the Christingle Service
- The Wrong Colour of Candles on the Advent Wreath
- Seafood

5 responses to “Diocesan Synod”

Mary Sue

13/03/2008

I fight this every stinkin’ time I’m in church. The average age of our Vestry is 47, the eldest is 69 and the youngest is 28 (*waves*).

However, all I hear about is how we are a ‘grey’ church in fear of dying.

I think it’s too much trust in statistics and not enough in the power of the Holy Spirit. And I will beat that through their heads if it KILLS ME.

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Eamonn

13/03/2008

Conversations about mission that assume the Church is dying are bad enough, but at least the subject is being talked about. It’s worse when the mere idea of having a conversation about mission causes consternation and retreat behind the brocaded curtains.

If such a conversation is to get going at all, however, we need to be prepared to rethink radically our ecclesiology. It may not be strictly inevitable that decline will continue, but we need to be realistic about the prospects (such as they are) for future provision of ordained ministers and stipends to sustain them. All churches are facing a decline in these areas.

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Eamonn

13/03/2008

P.S. – I’m not leaving the Holy Spirit out of the reckoning, simply saying that sober and realistic thinking is one of the less trumpeted gifts of the Spirit.

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Kirstin

13/03/2008

I was feeling much the same Kelvin, I was starting to believe all the doom and gloom merchants and wasn’t looking forward to another 3 days of it. I didn’t really think it was the case but when the dripping tap just keeps on going eventually you start to wonder. LYCIG gave me the kick up the backside I was needing to stop listening to the negative and concentrate on the positive and there is lots of that about. If we keep talking about decline we will talk ourselves into it, we need to stop it now!

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duncan

15/03/2008

Mary Sue,

Perhaps some parts of our church are glad to be grey.

But seriously, while I applaud the resistance to ‘sociological determinism’ (i.e. decline is inevitable), I think we can also think creatively about our demographics before we chuck out the baby, or the bathwater. It’s time to recycle the grey water.

Some recent thoughts I had are here:
http://www.dunc.info/?p=94

(I don’t know how to do that clever trackback thing…)

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