Rational Response Squad
The Rational Response Squad, or RRS, is a group of atheists who have taken on the mission of confronting what they consider irrational claims, most notably those made by Christianity. The Co-Founders of The Rational Response Squad are Brian Sapient and Rook Hawkins, but the team does include others with the title of Core Member. The Rational Response Squad, along with the filmmaker Brian Flemming, made headlines in December 2006/January 2007 with their Blasphemy Challenge, in which they invited non-believers to make brief videos of themselves denying the existence of the Holy Spirit, which the RRS points out is the one sin considered unforgivable in the Bible.[1] RRS Core Members Brian Sapient and his colleague, Kelly, (who choose not to disclose their real last names) also participated in a debate with evangelical Christians Kirk Cameron and Ray Comfort on May 5, 2007 that was moderated by Nightline correspondent Martin Bashir.
The Blasphemy Challenge
The Blasphemy Challenge[2] is an Internet-based atheism project started in December 2006. The challenge asks atheists to submit videos to the website YouTube, in which they record themselves blaspheming the Holy Spirit[3]. According to the Rational Response Squad's interperetation of the the Bible, this action is considered an unforgivable sin[4]. Thus, users who took the challenge placed themselves at a point of no return to prove that they truly did not believe in the biblical God and would "accept the consequences" when they died if God did exist. The first 1001 users who took the challenge received a DVD of Flemming's documentary film The God Who Wasn't There[5]. Publicly known persons such as the illusionist Penn Jillette[6] of Penn & Teller and Raël, founder of the Raëlian Church, participated in the project[7].
Response from Christian Groups
Many Christian groups have responded to the Challenge with "Challenge Blasphemy", "Praise the Lord Challenge" and "Truth Challenge". These projects are designed to directly counter the Blasphemy Challenge by encouraging individuals to show their faith in Jesus Christ[8] by posting videos of themselves praising God, or praying by name for the members of the Rational Response Squad or users participating in the Blasphemy Challenge. Already, many videos of such have been posted on YouTube, though far fewer than for the Blasphemy Challenge.
According to standard evangelical Christian theology the "unforgivable" sin mentioned in the text actually refers to the continual resistance of the Holy Spirit's work in regeneration and salvation (i.e. his conviction of sin). This belief states that "blasphemy of the Holy Spirit" is not a one time act, but occurs when those individuals who know the truth of the "Word" and the "Gospel" yet still deny its power to save (as the case is in Matthew's Gospel) blaspheme the Holy Spirit, who is called the "Spirit of Truth."[9][10] However, anyone who fits the definition of atheist actually is a "continual" disbeliever in the Holy Spirit.
A MySpace page has been set up with the name I Deny Brian Sapient, though its default picture is currently that of Richard Dawkins, and the other photos are of those mocking or criticizing evolution. The videos posted on it are those of Kirk Cameron engaging in his open-air preaching featured on his Way of the Master series, and similar material.[11]
Responses from Atheists
There have been mixed responses to the Rational Response Squad and the Blasphemy Challenge from the atheist community. The RRS has gained an internet following of supporters. At the same time, there have been negative atheist responses to the RRS that have been popularized over the internet. [12]
Response from YouTube
The YouTube account of the Rational Response Squad was suspended as of March 23 2007 [13] but has since been reinstated. The reason for the suspension was due to Uri Geller making a false claim that RRS had infringed his copyrights when posting a video featuring him. Uri Geller did not own the copyrights to the video.[14]
Debate
Sapient and Kelly participated in a debate with representatives from The Way of the Master, actor and evangelical Christian, Kirk Cameron, and his colleague, Ray Comfort, at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, on May 5, 2007. Nightline aired the debate online and included a short two-segment summary on its May 9th broadcast. At issue was the existence of God. Nightline correspondent Martin Bashir served as moderator at the event.[15]
Cameron and Comfort challenged the Rational Response Squad to the debate. They claimed that they could prove the existence of God scientifically without using the Bible, though Cameron and Comfort did reference the Bible several times throughout the debate and the debate did enter topics outside science including history and morality.
References
- ^ The Rational Response Squad official site accessed on February 18 2007
- ^ Beliefwatch: Blasphemy on Newsweek accessed at February 18 2007
- ^ Atheists challenge the religious right on The Christian Science Monitor accessed at February 18 2007
- ^ The Blasphemy Challenge Host of Internet Challenge Says God 'Most Likely Doesn't Exist' on ABC News accessed on February 18 2007
- ^ The Blasphemy Challenge Official site accessed on February 18 2007
- ^ Blasphemy Redux on Culture and Media Institute accessed on February 18 2007
- ^ Rael takes the Blasphemy Challenge on YouTube accessed at February 18 2007
- ^ Christian Youth Challenge YouTube Blasphemy on the Christian Post accessed at February 18 2007
- ^ MacArthur, John. (1997). The MacArthur Study Bible: Expanded and Updated. Thomas Nelson, Inc. page 1414.
- ^ Owen, John.(2004). The Holy Spirit: His Gifts and Powers. Christian Heritage Imprint. page 46.
- ^ I Deny Brian Sapient page at MySpace
- ^ "The Consolations", by Jim Lazarus, hosted a lengthy discussion where several atheists expressed criticisms toward the Rational Responders. Accessed March 3rd 2007
- ^ http://www.rationalresponders.com/forum/the_rational_response_squad_radio_show/5637 "Rational Squad deleted from Youtube"
- ^ "EFF Press Release". http://www.eff.org/. 9 May 2007.
{{cite news}}: External link in|publisher= - ^ Bashir, Martin; "Prepare for a Conflict: The Nightline 'Face-Off' No-Holds Barred Battle Over the Existence of God"; May 7, 2007