YBGud? - SIN

SIN

"Wrongdoing in religious perspective and not just illegal (against the law), or immoral (against what 'ought' to be). In Christian tradition it involves falling short from what is intended by God for our humanity at its individual or collective best. Thus the term has two aspects. It refers to a general condition, which may be translated as 'alienation' (so Hegel) or estrangement (so Tillich). On this account, we are estranged from each other, from ourselves and from God. Accordingly, we lack wholeness and in this fractured condition may be even more susceptible to specific sins. This second aspect of the term has been exemplified in the sevenfold form of deadly sins, such as greed, lust and pride. Again, by custom, some are more easily forgivable (venial) than others (mortal). Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount removes the basis for anyone to think that they are free from any sinning. Murder and thieving may be primary measures with which the law works. The true law, however, is deeper and more exposing than that. It extends to the thoughts and feelings, which go on inside us.”

Illustrative Stories

Living in sin?

Image of a 'cat that ate well and slept a lot'

They were well matched and married. They each had a job, the income from either of which would have allowed them to live comfortably, he in the city, she running a home-furnishing boutique. Their house was detached and on a much prized avenue; the garden looked after itself, given half-day a week from a gardening firm. They each had a car, one fast and sporty, the other 4 wheel-drive. They had friends to party with, no children, but a cat that ate well and slept a lot. The neighbours knew to keep themselves to themselves. She didn’t work such long hours as he, but neither of them brought work home. They watched videos together and knew all the best take-aways. He used to go to the gym, but it was easier to drop off at the pub. Their parents were all still alive, but living in the Fens and Welsh Borders – far enough away to justify the annual visit. The time-share deal they had gave them ready accommodation in various locations all over the world; what a relief not to need to bother with foreign languages or any really different ways of doing things. They’d generally steer clear of India and Africa, though they didn’t mind some of the jewelry and carvings. The government was clearly prejudiced. Locally, it seemed to care about speed traps and school dinners. Nationally, about shortening prison sentences and more taxes. Really, the world was going to the dogs.

question: though there’s nothing illegal here, are there any questions you’d like to ask this couple about their lives?

Desperate drives

Mick needed money to feed his drug habit.
Sheila needed money to buy food for her baby daughter and a present for her five year old son’s birthday. There was no point her going to the hole in the wall; bendy-cards weren’t for the likes of her. She’d got nothing left from her family allowance, no income from her partner whom she’s not seen for six months and no family or friends wealthy or daft enough to lend her anything. She’d have to go to Skylark – he’d lend her the money, but she’d have to pay double within two weeks, triple within three, quadruple within four
Mick also knew the loan shark; knew he was loaded, knew his place was heavily protected – certainly with locks and ‘larms, maybe with armour plating.
He’d have to choose his moment, but he was getting desperate.
Sheila dressed for the occasion. She couldn’t be showy, even if she wanted to be; she hadn’t the clothes. But she knew how to be noticed, especially by a man. She decided she could safely leave the kids for a quarter of an hour; the baby was asleep and there was Superbikes on the tele. She’d rung the bell. He’d let her in. She’d asked for cash. He’d agreed as he had on one other occasion; this time he offered a special deal. Should she play? He might be twice her age, but he wasn’t all that bad looking and he didn’t seem to smell. She’d not done this before, and wouldn’t again.
It took a bit longer than she’d thought – not much. But she was in a hurry to leave. He was opening the door for her when in rushed a hooded figure. It was Mick. He grabbed Sheila and shouted at Skylark for money. Skylark told him to go prick himself. Sheila felt a bash on her neck and collapsed. A siren started up. Mick ran off.

question: there’s illegality here, and wrong; what about sin – is that primarily, or only minimally, to do with sex?

Extracts from influential writings

Image of jealousy and pride

Above: two of the seven deadly sins, namely jealousy and pride

Seven Deadly Sins in picture form

Table-top painting by Hieronymous Bosch (c 1475) depicting scenes of human falling. These represent in turn round the circumference of the world: anger, pride, lust, idleness, gluttony, avarice and envy. God’s all-seeing eye is at the centre and in the four corners the traditional last stages of life: deathbed, judgement, heaven and hell. This link brings up the full painting and commentary; the original is in the Prado in Madrid.

http://www.kfki.hu/~arthp/html/b/bosch/painting/7deadly.html

question:

The disease of conceit

There’s a whole lot of people suffering tonight
From the disease of conceit.
Whole lot of people struggling tonight
From the disease of conceit.
Comes right down the highway,
Straight down the line,
Rips into your senses
Through your body and your mind.
Nothing about it that’s sweet,
The disease of conceit.

There’s a whole lot of hearts breaking tonight
From the disease of conceit.
Whole lot of hearts shaking tonight
From the disease of conceit.
Steps into your room,
Eats your soul,
Over your senses
You have no control.
Ain’t nothing too discreet
About of disease of conceit.

There’s a whole lot of people dying tonight
From the disease of conceit.
Whole lot of people crying tonight
From the disease of conceit.
Comes right out of nowhere,
And you’re down for the count
From the outside world,
The pressure will mount,
Turn you into a piece of meat,
The disease of conceit.

Conceit is a disease
That the doctors got no cure
They’ve done a lot of research on it,
But what it is, they’re still not sure

There’s a whole lot of people in trouble tonight
From the disease of conceit.
Whole lot of people seeing double tonight
From the disease of conceit.
Give ya delusions of grandeur
And a evil eye,
Give you idea that
You’re too good to die,
Then they bury you from your head to your feet
From the disease of conceit.

Bob Dylan ’Disease of Conceit’ from the album Oh, Mercy 1989

question: is this another way of identifying a ‘deadly sin’?

Narnia’s version

It has been suggested that one or other of the different deadly sins features in each of the seven Chronicles of Narnia:

The Lion, the Witch and The Wardrobe – Gluttony: Edmund’s taste for Turkish Delight leads him to a point where he betrays his siblings.

Prince Caspian - Luxury or Lust: Lewis would probably have considered the normal meaning of Lust unsuitable in a children’s book. In Prince Caspian, King Miraz shows a lust for power, which can be seen as one meaning of the older Luxury.

The Voyage of the Dawn Treader – Greed: Eustace Scrubb’s greed for gold gets him turned into a dragon.

The Silver Chair – Sloth: Jill and Eustace are told of four signs they must remember, but apathy and carelessness lead them to forget at the crucial moments.

The Horse and His Boy – Pride: the horse Bree, the girl Aravis and Prince Rabadash all have their pride humbled by Aslan.

The Magician’s Nephew – Anger: both Digory and Polly are inclined to lose their tempers and fight. One of these angry quarrels results in Digory waking Jadis the White Witch, whose own bad temper brings trouble to Narnia.
The Last Battle – Envy: Shift the ape is envious of the respect given to Aslan. His scheme to have Puzzle the donkey impersonate Aslan brings the whole world of Narnia to an end.

This explanation is given in the BBC h2g2 website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/alabaster/A808229.

question: does it help or hinder to use the traditional names for sin?

Biblical References

Fall from innocent perfection

The serpent was more crafty than any wild creature that the Lord had made. He said to the woman,"Is it true that God has forbidden you to eat from any tree in the garden?" The woman answered the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of any tree in the garden, except for the tree in the middle of the garden; God has forbidden us either to eat or to touch the fruit of that; if we do we shall die." The serpent said, "Of course you will not die. God knows that as soon as you eat it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods knowing both good and evil." When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good to eat, and that it was pleasing to the eye and tempting to contemplate, she took some and ate it. She also gave her husband some and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened and they discovered that they were naked. Genesis: 3:1-7.

question: is the implication of this story that life is full of moral ambiguity, good and evil, and we need to have our eyes fully open to that condition?

Insider dealing

"Listen to me, all of you, and understand this: nothing that goes into a man from outside can defile him; no, it is the things that come out of him that defile a man." When he had left the people and gone indoors, his disciples questioned him about the parable. He said to them, "Are you as dull as the rest? Do you not see that nothing that goes from the outside into a man can defile him, because it does not enter his heart but into his stomach, and so passes out into the drain?" Thus he declared all foods clean. He went on, "It is what comes out of a man that defiles him. For from inside, out of a man’s heart, come evil thoughts, acts of fornication, of theft, murder, adultery, ruthless greed, and malice; fraud, indecency, envy, slander, arrogance, and folly; these evil things all come from inside, and they defile the man." Mark 7: 14-22.

question: how true is it that external conformity shows the least important part of the story?

Sin as self-deception

Here is the message we heard from him and pass on to you: that God is light, and in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to be sharing in his life while we walk in the dark, our words and our lives are a lie.

If we claim to be sinless, we are self-deceived and strangers to the truth. If we confess our sins, he is just, and may be trusted to forgive our sins and cleanse us from every kind of wrong; but if we say we have committed no sin, we make him out to be a liar, and then his word has no place in us. I John 1:5-6, 8-10.

question: is our capacity for self-deception all that common and important?

Expositions from Theologians

An unpopular concept

But the modern world does not believe in sin. Our secular age has rejected that doctrine more wholeheartedly than any other Christian doctrine. Incidentally, there ought to be some evidence that secular individuals with their easy conscience and their natural self-love are on the way of becoming amiable and non-aggressive individuals. Yet our secular age has spawned hatreds and conflicts of vaster proportions than any known in previous ages. Actually, the doctrine of sin makes an important contribution to any adequate social and political theory for it emphasizes a fact which every page of human history attests. Through it one may understand that no matter how wide the perspectives which the human mind may reach, how broad the loyalties which the human imagination may conceive, how universal the community which human statecraft may organize, or how pure the aspirations of the saintliest idealists may be, there is no level of human moral or social achievement in which there is not some corruption of inordinate self-love…..Any culture or any religion that is deficient in the "tragic sense of life" is certainly inadequate to give us light and guidance in a day in which the very securities of a technical society have been transmuted into evil. We need a faith that throws light upon the importance of every historical task and responsibility. But it must on the other hand reveal the limits of all historical striving.

Reinhold Niebuhr on Politics eds H R Davis & R C Good Scribner’s 1960) pp 38-9.

question: what truth is there in Niebuhr’s judgement that the notion of sin has largely been abandoned in contemporary culture? How can this be explained?

Sin as alienation and estrangement

The state of existence is the state of estrangement. Man is estranged from the ground of his being, from other beings, and from himself….Man as he exists is not what he essentially is and ought to be. He is estranged from his true being….Estrangement is not a biblical term but is implied in most of the biblical descriptions of man’s predicament. It is implied in the symbols of the expulsion from paradise, in the hostility between man and nature, in the deadly hostility of brother against brother, in the estrangement of nation against nation through the confusion of language, and in the continuous complaints of the prophets against their kings and people who turn to alien gods. Estrangement is implied in Paul’s statement that man perverted the image of God into that of idols, in his classical description of "man against himself," in his vision of man’s hostility against man as combined with his distorted desires. In all these interpretations of man’s predicament, estrangement is implicitly asserted.

Paul Tillich Systematic Theology, vol 2 (James Nisbet 1957) pp 51-2.

question: how well does ‘estrangement’ communicate to a sceptical audience what the notion of ‘sin’ is properly all about?

Sinners all!

“Our lesson…asks us to undersand ourselves not only as friends of the crucified, but as the crucifiers. We must be trained to see ourselves as sinners, for it is not self-evident…Sin is not some universal tendency of humankind to be inhumane or immoral, though sin may involve inhumanity and immorality…
The story Christians tell of God exposes the unwelcome fact that I am a sinner. For without such a narrative the fact and nature of my sin cannot help but remain hidden in self-deception. Only a narrative that helps me place myself as a creature of a gracious God can provide the skills to help me locate my sin as fundamentally infidelity and rebellion. As a creature I have been created for loyalty – loyalty to the truth, to the love that moves the sun and stars and yet is found on a cross – but I find myself serving any powers but the true one in the hopes of being my own lord. The ironic result is that by seeking to possess I become possessed.
Christian tradition has at various times and places characterised this fundamental sin in quite different ways. Our basic sin has been said to be pride, self-love, infidelity, lust, sloth all of which have some claim to the doubtful honour of being the father of all sins. I doubt, however, whether there is any one term sufficient to suggest the complex nature of our sin. That is exactly why we see we need the set of stories we find in Scripture and displayed by the church to recognise our sin.”

Stanley Hauerwas The Peacable Kingdom. A Primer in Christian Ethics SCM Press1983, pp: 30-1.

question: if sin is such a universal human condition, are there any reasonable grounds for denying that I am a sinner?

‘Mortal’ and ‘venial’ sin: the Roman Catholic Catechism

1854 Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture, became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience..…

1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent."

1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honour your father and your mother." The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.

1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.

1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offence. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offence, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.

1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God’s forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ’s kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offence, we must entrust judgement of persons to the justice and mercy of God.

1862 One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.

1863 Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul’s progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not set us in direct opposition to the will and friendship of God; it does not break the covenant with God. With God’s grace it is humanly reparable. "Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness."
While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call "light": if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession.

1864 "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin." There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss.

Catechism of the Catholic Church G Chapman 199 , paras 1854, 1857-64.

question:

A prayer

Let me use all things for one sole reason: to find my joy in giving You glory.

Therefore, keep me, above all things, from sin. Keep me from the death of deadly sin which puts hell in my soul. Keep me from the murder of lust that blinds and poisons my heart. Keep me from the sins that eat a man’s flesh with irresistible fire until he is devoured. Keep me from loving money in which is hatred, from avarice [greed] and ambition that suffocate my life. Keep me from the dead works of vanity and the thankless labor in which artists destroy themselves for pride and money and reputation, and saints are smothered under the avalanche of their own importunate zeal. Staunch in me the rank wound of covetousness and the hungers that exhaust my nature with their bleeding. Stamp out the serpent envy that stings love with poison and kills all joy.

Untie my hands and deliver my heart from sloth. Set me free from the laziness that goes about disguised as activity when activity is not required of me, and from the cowardice that does what is not demanded, in order to escape sacrifice.

But give me the strength that waits upon You in silence and peace. Give me humility in which alone is rest, and deliver me from pride which is the heaviest of burdens. And possess my whole heart and soul with the simplicity of love. Occupy my whole life with the one thought and the one desire of love, that I may love not for the sake of merit, not for the sake of perfection, not for the sake of virtue, not for the sake of sanctity, but for You alone.

Thomas Merton New Seeds of Contemplation (1961).

question: is such a prayer more suited to the life-style and circumstances of the monk who wrote it than for any others?

Parallels in other cultures

Sin

Hinduism

My Dear Arjuna, one who does not follow in human life the cycle of sacrifice thus established by the Vedas certainly leads a life full of sin. Living only for the satisfaction of the senses, such a person lives in vain (B.G. 3:16).

For one who is truly enlightened, however, this is unnecessary:

But for one who takes pleasure in the self, whose human life is one of self-realization, and who is satisfied in the self only, fully satiated - for him there is no duty (B.G. 3:17).

Even if one commits the most abominable action, if he is engaged in devotional service he is to be considered saintly because he is properly situated in his determination. He quickly becomes righteous and attains lasting peace. O son of Kunti [Arjuna], declare it boldly that My devotee never perishes (B.G. 9:30-31).

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Bhagavad-Gita As It Is Bhaktivedanta Book Trust 1991.

Islam

In Islam, a sin is an act against the will of Allah. We have the ability to abide by His will and this is the meaning of the word Islam. Still we have the ability to ignore His will or deliberately oppose it; due to the fact that God has given us freedom - though within limits… unlike Christianity, which teaches that all the children of Adam are sinful for Adam’s sin, Islam teaches that all humans are innocent by birth and they become sinful only when they consciously commit a sin. Another important point to bear in mind about the Islamic concept of sin is that one man’s sin cannot be transferred to another; nor can the reward due to a person be transferred either. Every individual is responsible only for his or her actions, for God is never unjust… One’s success in the Hereafter lies in his living a righteous life in this world. Each has to build his/her own Heaven, avoiding the misery of Hell.

http://www.islamonline.net/askaboutislam/display.asp?hquestionID=3820 ‘Ask About Islam.’ Consultant Prof. Shahul Hameed.

Judaism

SANCTITY OF THE MIND

Maimonides, in the Guide for the Perplexed, has a radically different understanding:

You already know the teaching "Thoughts of sin are kashe, more difficult, than sin." (Yoma 29a) I have a wonderful explanation: If a person sins, it is generally due to circumstances which result from his being a physical creature -- that is, a person will sin due to the animal side of himself. But thoughts are the treasure of a person which follow his "form" (his image of God) and if a person sins with his thoughts, then he has sinned with his greatest asset ... [because] the purpose of the mind is to cling to God, not to slip below [to the animal level]. (Guide for the Perplexed 3:8)

http://www.aish.com/torahportion/moray/Thoughts_of_Sin.asp ‘Thoughts of Sin,’ by Rabbi Ari Kahn.

Judaism

Atonement for Sins

9 If a man says:
--"I will sin and repent, I will sin and repent!"
he will be given no chance to repent.
(If he says):
--"I will sin and the Day of Atonement [yom Kippur] will make atonement!"
the Day of Atonement does not make atonement
The Day of Atonement (only) makes atonement
for a man’s offense towards God;
but for offense between a man and his neighbor,
the Day of Atonement does not make atonement,
until he has appeased his neighbor."

--- Mishna, Yoma 8.9

http://www.6i6.eu/judaism.html
‘Sin & Justice.’ (Judaism)

Sikhism

The five cardinal vices are: Kam (lust), Krodh (anger), Lobh (greed), Moh (worldly attachment), and Ahankar (pride). If one can overcome these, they will achieve salvation.

http://www.inplainsite.org/html/sikhism.html ‘Sikhism.’

Status of Authors of Above Articles

Rabbi Ari Kahn: "Rabbi Ari Kahn, a student of Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik, is a graduate of Yeshiva University. He currently divides his time teaching at Aish HaTorah and Bar Illan University where he is the Director of Foreign Student Programs. He frequently lectures in the US, England, and South Africa on behalf of Bar Illan and Aish HaTorah."

http://www.aish.com/torahportion/moray/Thoughts_of_Sin.asp.

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1896-1977): In 1933 Srila Prabhupada formally became disciple to Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, who requested of Prabhupada that he broadcast Vedic knowledge in English. Subsequently, Prabhupada wrote a commentary on the Bhagavad-Gita, and in 1944 began producing ‘Back to Godhead,’ a fortnightly magazine in English. In 1950 he travelled to the holy city of Vrindavana, where he lived in the temple of Radha-Damodara. It was whilst here that Prabhupada commenced work on his translation of the 18,000 verse Srimad-Bhagavatum (Bhagavata Purana). Having published three volumes of this translation, he moved, in 1965, to the United States in order to fulfil his master’s mission. In July 1966 he established the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. His writings have been translated into over fifty languages.

http://www.webcom.com/~ara/col/books/BIO/prab.html.