This saying has its correlations in the synoptic gospels, but they do not mention the "father", only the son and the Holy Spirit. Maybe Jesus did originally include the Father, but only Thomas could bring himself to actually write it down. In any case, this saying is problematic for both the mainstream Jew and mainstream Christian. For the Jew it seems to say that one can commit the ultimate act of irreverance and yet be forgiven. For the Christian it raises a number of questions about the Trinitarian theology (e.g. If all three aspects of the Trinity are equally God, then how can we blaspheme one without also blaspheming the others? Aren't *all* sins forgiven when one accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior? etc.)

The solution to this is to remember that this is a Gnostic text. The Holy Spirit is that original spark of the Divine within each of us that has become trapped in the world created by the Demiurge (perhaps referred to here as "the father"). To blaspheme against the Holy Spirit is thus to turn one's back on our intimate connection to the One True God. It is to deny one's true being as the ultimate reality and to become mired in the illusory world of the Demiurge. This denial can't be forgiven "either on earth or in heaven" because it is one's own choice (or destiny) and the natural consequences simply must follow.

Peace,
Griffin