Kelly, of the RRS, at a debate at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, May 5, 2007. Seated from left to right are Brian Sapient, Martin Bashir and actor Kirk Cameron.

The Rational Response Squad, or RRS, is a group of atheists who have taken on the mission of confronting what they see as irrational claims, most notably those made by religion. 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 expressing doubt of the Holy Spirit, which the RRS points out is the one sin considered unforgivable in the Bible.^[1]. RRS founders Brian Sapient and his colleague and girlfriend 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. Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 336 pixelsFull resolution (2560 × 1074 pixel, file size: 432 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Kelly (no last name) of the Rational Response Squad, speaking at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, on May 5, 2007. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 336 pixelsFull resolution (2560 × 1074 pixel, file size: 432 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Kelly (no last name) of the Rational Response Squad, speaking at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, on May 5, 2007. ... Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan was founded in 1847. ... Manhattan is a borough of New York City, USA, coterminous with New York County. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... Martin Bashir interviewing Michael Jackson Martin Bashir (born January 19, 1963, in London) is a British journalist of Pakistani descent. ... Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American actor who is perhaps most notable for his role as Mike Seaver on the sitcom Growing Pains. ... For information about the band, see Atheist (band). ... The philosophical movements of irrationalism and aestheticism were a cultural reaction against positivism that took place during the early twentieth century. ... Brian Flemming Brian Flemming (born 6 June 1966) is an American film director and playwright. ... In Christian religions that trace their roots to belief in the Nicene Creed, the Holy Spirit (Hebrew: Ruah haqodesh; Greek: ; Latin: ; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity or the Godhead. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library of Congress. ... Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American actor who is perhaps most notable for his role as Mike Seaver on the sitcom Growing Pains. ... Ray Comfort open-air preaching in 2004. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... Nightline is a late-night hard news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. ... Martin Bashir interviewing Michael Jackson Martin Bashir (born January 19, 1963, in London) is a British journalist of Pakistani descent. ...

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 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]. “Atheist” redirects here. ... YouTube is a popular free video sharing website which lets users upload, view, and share video clips. ... Look up blasphemy in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In Christian religions that trace their roots to belief in the Nicene Creed, the Holy Spirit (Hebrew: Ruah haqodesh; Greek: ; Latin: ; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity or the Godhead. ... This Gutenberg Bible is displayed by the United States Library of Congress. ... The point of no return, or the Rubicon, is the point beyond which someone, or some group of people, must continue on their current course of action. ... This article discusses the term God in the context of monotheism and henotheism. ... The God Who Wasnt There is an independent documentary written and directed by Brian Flemming that questions the historicity of Jesus and examines evidence that supports the theory that the historical Jesus did not exist. ... This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article. ... Penn & Teller at the 1988 Emmy Awards Penn & Teller are Las Vegas headliners whose act is an amalgam of illusion and comedy. ... “Rael” redirects here. ... A picture of Raelians taking part in Sensual Meditation exercises. ...

Response from Christian Groups

Several 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. Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

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), without which none may come to Christ. 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]

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 several negative atheist responses to the RRS that have been popularized over the internet. ^[11]

Response from YouTube

The YouTube account of the Rational Response Squad was suspended as of March 23, 2007 ^[12] 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.^[13] March 23 is the 82nd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (83rd in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... Uri Geller bending a spoon in public Uri Geller (Hebrew: אורי גלר), (born December 20, 1946 in Tel Aviv) is an Israeli-British performer and celebrity who has drawn both fame and criticism with his claims to have psychic powers. ...

Debate

Brian Sapient, speaking at the debate at Calvary Baptist Church.

Sapient and Kelly participated in a debate with 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, which Comfort stated he could prove scientifically, without relying on faith or the Bible. Nightline correspondent Martin Bashir served as moderator at the event.^[14] Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2560 × 1920 pixel, file size: 787 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Brian Sapient of the Rational Response Squad, speaking at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, on May 5, 2007. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2560 × 1920 pixel, file size: 787 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)Brian Sapient of the Rational Response Squad, speaking at Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan, on May 5, 2007. ... Kirk Thomas Cameron (born October 12, 1970) is an American actor who is perhaps most notable for his role as Mike Seaver on the sitcom Growing Pains. ... Ray Comfort open-air preaching in 2004. ... Calvary Baptist Church in Manhattan was founded in 1847. ... Manhattan is a borough of New York City, USA, coterminous with New York County. ... May 5 is the 125th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (126th in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... Nightline is a late-night hard news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. ... Nightline is a late-night hard news program broadcast by ABC in the United States, and has a franchised formula to other networks and stations elsewhere in the world. ... Martin Bashir interviewing Michael Jackson Martin Bashir (born January 19, 1963, in London) is a British journalist of Pakistani descent. ...

References

February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... February 18 is the 49th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ... March 3 is the 62nd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (63rd in leap years). ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini era. ...

External links

• The Rational Response Squad Official website
• The Rational Response Squad Official MySpace
• The Official Rational Response YouTube account
• The Blasphemy Challenge Official website
• The Blasphemy Challenge Official YouTube channel
• Brian Sapient at MySpace
• Kelly at MySpace