Expert: Edward Bode - 8/8/2010

Question
there wer times in the past where i have met crazy christians and they wer just obsessed with religon and seemed almost brainwashed. Its all they talked about, and they would just say how one sin will send you to hell and they seemed crazy to me, and i thought to myself, are these people posessed by satan? i believe in jesus i love jesus and god im 15 years old, but did i blaspheme the holy spirit by thinking that? can i be forgiven?

Answer
The difficult gospel saying [Mt 12:31] about the unforgivable sin of "blaspheming [reviling] the Holy Spirit" refers to  a person's persistent and obstinate opposition to the influence of the Holy Spirit; it involves a mindset against the Spirit; as long as such a mindset continues, God's forgiveness cannot be given.  One who sets himself against God's influence puts himself beyond accepting God's forgiveness.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church comments, paragraph 1864: There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept His mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of one's sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit.
The Catechism is available online at www.usccb.org/catechism/text/index.htm

Two thoughts for your “crazy Christians:”
1 -- God wants everyone to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth [1 Tim 2:9].  So, He gives us the help [grace] sufficient to attain heaven.  God does not force us – He does not take away our free will.  Our responsibility is to accept God’s grace and to act accordingly.
2 –  However, a  person may choose to reject God [mortal sin] and thereby lose sanctifying grace. Such sin, when unrepented and unforgiven at the time of death, does exclude one from God's presence in heaven.  
Therefore, God does not send a person to hell.  Rather, the person who rejects God thereby rejects the perfect and eternal happiness of heaven. So, such a person sends himself to hell.
To learn more about grace and sin, I refer you to The Catechism: for grace, paragraphs 1996-2005; for mortal [serious] sin, a sin whose object is grave matter and committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent, paragraphs 1854-1861.

Ronald, I recommend that you talk about your concerns with a local priest. If you would like more from me, please feel free to write again.
May God bless you, Ronald!
Keep on loving God and Jesus.