I've had an interesting dialog this week with a friend on the nature of sin and the source of absolution.  Much of what we (at least he and I) spend a portion of our day obsessing about are things you wouldn't find in the 10 commandments...or even in the moral codes that follow in the old Testament.

Which leads to today's question:

What's your concept of sin?

 


Comments

Hal

Sun, 19 Apr 2009 21:07:30

Being an asshole. If you're an asshole, you're a sinner (IMHO).

 

Kenneth R. Morefield

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 07:21:47

Hal,
Somebody agrees with you:

http://tinyurl.com/cvlneo

Ken

 

Todd

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:51:35

My first thought was to differentiate between Sin and sin, between the broken condition of ourselves and the individual acts that showcase our brokeness, between the innate asshole in all of us and those specific acts which remove all doubt from the minds of those around us.

Jesus said, “’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, 'you shall love your neighbor as yourself.'” I know that we can spend a good amount of time working out the details, but I figure that if my actions/inactions/thoughts fail to follow those two conditions, it's--at the very least--leaning in the direction of sin. And it's in trying to define specifically those details--for ourselves and, probably more damagingly, for others--that we get into difficulty. Does sitting on my couch all day watching movies show some lack of love for God? I'd like for my neighbor to be able to lounge around like I am, so is it not okay for me to do it too? And, while we're at it, who is my neighbor?

In the end, it seems that my concept of sin stems from the idea that as I read the OT and NT texts, all sin (I think) can be tracked back to an underlying selfishness, to my putting myself over and above others. Why is it wrong to steal? Because in satisfying my desire for something, I deprive someone else of it. Why is it wrong to treat something else as more important than God? Because He is a person with whom I am supposed to have an intimate relationship, and by showing him that fulfilling my own needs first is more important to me than spending time with Him damages that relationship just like it would with any human relationship.

That is the answer that I can come up with in 15 minutes of contemplation.

 

Sally Baldridge

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:33:11

My personal idea of sin, is when you hurt the feelings of someone else. While you may not particulary care for that person, God does, and thereby you hurt God's feelings also. This would apply whether or not you hurt the feelings of this person on purpose or not. I couldn't stand to think of hurting someone's feeling either way. On the other hand, I have been known to have a very sharp tongue!

 

Erik

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 07:05:11

Fear. I believe 99% of what generates the behaviors that we have labeled sin stem from fear. Fear of failure, fear of loss, fear of being alone, fear of being dissed, etc. We are told that perfect love casts out fear - how interesting. Being an asshole (thank you Hal!), hurting someone's feelings, what we perceive as an underlying selfishness - all of this (imho) stem from one or more fears.

 

Laura

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:39:19

Hal,

But who gets to define what being an "asshole" is??

Or is it like pornography and we know it when we see it?

 

Laura

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:42:26

Ken:

But that's just workplace sin!

 

Laura

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:50:46

Todd,

Thanks for your eloquent summary of 15 minutes of contemplation! I'd love to read 30. <grin>

The only caveat I have to your response is that sometimes what we define as "selfish" is really self-care. So there needs to be some contemplation of that within the context of caring for others and for our Creator.

Who loves us and wants us to be happy, right?

 

Laura

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:52:27

Sally,

Is there any context in which hurting another person's feelings might be a better choice than protecting their feelings?

 

Laura

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:58:37

Erik,

In the interest of of being even-handed in my comments...there's also a biblical quote that says, "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom."

<smile>

It sounds to me like you are saying that the worst sin is violating self for the sake of whatever "rule" is being promulgated as commandment?

 



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