Q. If a person is angry and throws the Bible, would God consider that a form of blasphemy? If He would, then am I to assume this person is going to hell?
God takes extenuating circumstances into account. We know this because Jesus himself said on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Anger is an extenuating circumstance. When people become very angry, they say and do things that they don’t really mean. God would recognize that a person who threw a Bible in anger was not making a definitive choice to reject him or his word. People go to hell for choosing—consciously, deliberately, and definitively—against God. They don’t go to hell for losing their temper.
Jesus also said, “People will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.” It’s important to understand what Jesus meant by both parts of this statement.
As for “blasphemy against the Spirit,” as I say in this post, that phrase refers to “the act of attributing the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan. The reason this sin ‘can’t be forgiven’ is not because the person has done something so bad that it’s beyond the reach of God’s forgiveness. The Bible stresses that Jesus’ death on the cross is sufficient for the forgiveness of any and all sins that any human being might commit. Rather, if we attribute the work of the Holy Spirit to Satan, then this will make us resist the work of the Holy Spirit, and His gracious influences will not be able to bring us to repentance and salvation. In other words, Jesus isn’t saying that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. He’s saying that it can not be forgiven, because it separates us from the very influence that’s meant to lead us to forgiveness.” I don’t feel that this describes a person who throws a Bible in anger.
The other part of Jesus’ statement, about “speaking a word against the Son of Man,” refers to people, both in his time and in later times, who don’t realize at first who Jesus is and so deny that the is the Savior. Jesus is saying that he will not hold this (or any other word or deed of disrespect) against them. Instead, he will always seek to draw them to himself as the Savior. I think there is a valid analogy here. If blasphemy against the living Word of God, Jesus, can be forgiven, then words or deeds against the written word of God, the Bible, can also be forgiven. So there is not a danger here of an “unpardonable sin” that would inevitably make a person go to hell.
The Bible does say further, however, “Be angry but do not sin.” Anger, in and of itself, is simply an emotion. There are many good reasons to become angry (at injustice, for example), and the powerful emotion of anger can serve as motivation to help us make changes in the world and in our own lives. (People sometimes say, “I got good and mad at myself and finally did something about it.”) So the real issue is what we do with our anger. If we “lose our temper” (that is, we let our anger get out of control) and we say and do things that we don’t really mean and that we regret afterwards, then that is probably the kind of anger that the Bible considers sinful. That is certainly the case if we say or do things that are hurtful or harmful to other people.
But there is a remedy for sin. The Bible promises us, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So I would encourage someone who had thrown a Bible in anger to apologize to God and ask forgiveness. That person could be confident of God’s forgiveness based on the promise I just quoted. It would then be good to ask “how did this happen?” and try to establish new patterns in life that would keep anger from getting out of control.
One final observation. As a wise person once told me, when it comes to human expressions of emotions toward God, “God can take it.” God isn’t going to overreact to his own creatures’ blustering. In fact, God wants us to express our emotions to him, across the entire range. The Scriptures themselves provide us with many examples of this, particularly in the Psalms. David says at the start Psalm 13, for example, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” He is certainly expressing frustration and disappointment, and perhaps impatience and even anger. Yet the Bible presents his prayer to us as a model for our own prayers to God. So those should be honest, heart-felt, and yes, emotional. God already knows what we are feeling. So there’s no reason why our prayers shouldn’t reflect and express those feelings.
But our prayers should be respectful. One “fruit of the Spirit” in the life of believers is self-control. While we should feel what we feel and express what we feel, we should also look to God to build the character of Christ in our lives so that we don’t lose control of our emotions. So I guess I would say to a person who had thrown a Bible in anger that there is both a promise of forgiveness for genuine repentance and an opportunity for spiritual growth that the episode is pointing to.
Good Question 