I'll See You in Hell!

Has anyone heard of the Blasphemy Challenge? Check out the video:

Here's more from the so-called "Rational Response Squad's" website:

You may damn yourself to Hell however you would like, but somewhere in your video you must say this phrase: "I deny the Holy Spirit."

Why? Because, according to Mark 3:29 in the Holy Bible, "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." Jesus will forgive you for just about anything, but he won't forgive you for denying the existence of the Holy Spirit. Ever. This is a one-way road you're taking here.

And as it's gameshowy title implies, there's even a prize:

. . . record a short message damning yourself to Hell. . . upload it to YouTube, and then the Rational Response Squad will send you a free The God Who Wasn't There DVD. It's that easy.

A couple of caveats. First off, why must one use the exact words "I deny the Holy Spirit" in order to win? Why not simply say "I am an atheist?" which implies the statement "I deny the Holy Spirit"? By the logic of this "Rational Response Squad," if I were a Jew or Muslim or even a Unitarian, I could simply (and truthfully) claim that "I deny the Holy Sprit" and snatch one of those spiffy DVDs from the clutches of those evil atheists.

Second. . . I don't know about you, but I severely doubt the rationality of a group whose name seems more befitting of a legion of superheroes (albeit very rational and responsive superheroes). Normally, I'd write it off as a joke, but based on the posted video, I don't think these guys are trying to be funny.

In fact. . . I just plain don't like these people. Not only do they seem to be witlessly smug, but they also take what could, at best, be seen as a mildly satrical jab way too seriously:

"Initially we wanted to find a way to allow atheists to come out of the closet, speak up and show other people that there are people that think like this," Brian says.

"We wanted to do it in such a way where we stripped the power from religious institutions that instill fear in people," says Brian. "And we did that by blaspheming the Holy Spirit, by showing that we are not scared of this unforgiveable sin."

Yeah. . . those religious institutions are shakin' in their boots.

"Oh no!" says Religious Institution #1. "It's. . . The Rational Response Squad!"

"Look out!" says Religious Institution #2. "They're. . . sending themselves to hell."

"Um. . . oh no?"

Still, regardless (or perhaps because) of the silliness of this whole project, I would like to submit my own text-based, non-denying blasphemy (after all blasphemy is blasphemy regardless of its distribution medium. . . that and I don't photograph well). Here it goes:

Dear Holy Ghost,

You dumb fuck.

-- Jeremy K.

I'll see you in hell.