Sin

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A Sistine Chapel fresco depicts the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden for their sin of eating from the fruit of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

In religious contexts, a sin is an act that violates God's will.^{[1][2][3][4][5]}

Examples of concepts surrounding sin in various religions include:

• The question of whether an act must be intentional to be sinful.
• Punishment as a consequence for sins, from other people, from God either in life or in afterlife, or from the Universe in general.
• Repentance from (expressing regret for and determining not to commit) sin, and atonement (repayment) for past deeds.
• The possibility of forgiveness of sins, often through communication with a deity or intermediary.

A common concept of "sin" concerns acts which are wantonly destructive, such as murder and rape. Many, though not all, crimes are also regarded as sins. From common sense there is an understanding that some sins are greater than others, and in this nuanced concept of sin, sins fall in a spectrum from least corrupt and evil to the greatest evil. In Catholicism, sins which are least corrupt are regarded as venial sins —such sins may be regarded as parts of human living, and carry little divine consequence. Conversely sins which are of great evil may be regarded as mortal sins —sins which are said to have the dire consequence of mortal penalty.

Sins of careless living are considered destructive and lead to greater sins according to the Seven Deadly Sins. Another concept of sin deals with those things which exist on Earth, but not in Heaven. Food, for example, while a necessary good for the (health of the temporal) body, is not of (eternal) transcendental living and therefore its excessive savoring is considered a sin.^[6][7][8][9]Original sin is the concept that sin entered the human world through Adam and Eve's sin in the Garden of Eden, and that human beings have since lived with the consequences of this first sin.^[10]

Bahá'í faith

In the Bahá'í Faith, humans are considered to be naturally good (perfect), fundamentally spiritual beings. Human beings were created because of God's immeasurable love. However, the Bahá'í teachings compare the human heart to a mirror, which, if turned away from the light of the sun (i.e. God), is incapable of receiving God's love.

Buddhism

Buddhism does not recognize the idea behind sin, but believes in the principle of karma, whereby suffering is the inevitable consequence of greed, anger, and delusion (known as the Three Poisons).^[11] While there is no Buddhist equivalent of the Abrahamic concept of sin, wrongdoing is recognized in Buddhism. The concept of Buddhist ethics is consequentialist in nature and is not based upon duty towards God.

Christianity

In Western Christianity, salvation tends to be understood in legal terms. Sin alienates the sinner from God. It has damaged, and completely severed, the relationship of humanity to God. That relationship can only be restored through repentance unto Christ and acceptance of Jesus Christ and his death on the cross as a sacrifice for mankind's sin. According to some interpreters^[who?], Jesus Christ states in Matthew 22:35-40 what "Christian Law" is:

"Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." -KJV

In Eastern Christianity, sin is viewed in terms of its effects on relationships, both among people and between people and God. Sin is seen as the refusal to follow God's plan, and the desire to be "like God" (Genesis 3:5) and thus in direct opposition to God's will (see the account of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis).

In the Russian variant of Eastern Christianity, sin sometimes is regarded as any mistake made by people in their life. From this point of view every person is sinful because every person makes mistakes during their life. When a person accuses others of sins they always must remember that they are also sinners and so they must have mercy for others remembering that God is also merciful to them and to all of humanity.^{[citation needed]}

In Catholicism, sins which are least corrupt are regarded as venial sins —such sins may be regarded as parts of human living, and carry little divine consequence. Conversely sins which are of great evil may be regarded as mortal sins —sins which are said to have the dire consequence of mortal penalty. And the Unforgivable sin is a sin which can never be forgiven.

Hinduism

In Hinduism, the term sin (pāpa in Sanskrit) is often used to describe actions that create negative karma by violating moral and ethical codes, which automatically brings negative consequences. It is different from other religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the sense that sin is not a crime against the will of God, but against (1) Dharma, or moral order, and (2) one's own self.

Islam

Muslims see sin (dhanb, thanb ذنب) as anything that goes against the commands of Allah (God). Islam teaches that sin is an act and not a state of being. The Qur'an teaches that "the soul is certainly prone to evil, unless the Lord does bestow His Mercy" and that even the prophets do not absolve themselves of the blame.^{[Quran 12:53]} It is believed that Iblis (Satan) has a significant role in tempting humankind towards sin.

In Islam, there are several gradations of sin:

• sayyia, khatia: mistakes (Suras 7:168; 17:31; 40:45; 47:19 48:2)
• itada, junah, dhanb: immorality (Suras 2:190,229; 17:17 33:55)
• haram: transgressions (Suras 5:4; 6:146)
• ithm, dhulam, fujur, su, fasad, fisk, kufr: wickedness and depravity (Suras 2:99, 205; 4:50, 112, 123, 136; 12:79; 38:62; 82:14)
• shirk: ascribing a partner to God (Sura 4:48)

One may sincerely repent to God for the wrongs committed and seek forgiveness, as stated in the Quran, "Our Lord! Forgive us our sins, remove from us our iniquities, and take to Yourself our souls in the company of the righteous." (Al-Imran.193/ 3.193).

Judaism

Judaism regards the violation of any of the 613 commandments to be a sin. Judaism teaches that sin is an act, and not a state of being. Humankind was not created with an inclination to do evil, but has that inclination "from his youth".(Genesis 8:21)

Shinto

Within Shinto there is no doctrine of sin, rather good and evil are conceived of in "aesthetic terms, likening them to straight and curved lines".^{[citation needed]}Matagatsubi, the curved spirit, causes "evil deeds and any misfortune or disasters" by creating imbalance, distorting the "straight and clear".^{[citation needed]} Evil deeds fall into two categories in Shinto: amatsu tsumi, "the most pernicious crimes of all", and kunitsu tsumi, "more commonly called misdemeanors".^[12]

See also

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sin

• Asceticism
• Actual sin
• Eternal sin (or unforgivable sin)
• Evil
• Fall of Man
• Hamartia
• Hedonism
• Internal sin
• Morality
• Mortal sin
• Religious law
• Seven deadly sins
• Sin-offering
• Taboo
• Total depravity
• Venial sin

Notes and references

Bibliography

• Hein, David. "Regrets Only: A Theology of Remorse." The Anglican 33, no. 4 (October 2004): 5-6
• Schumacher, Meinolf. Sündenschmutz und Herzensreinheit: Studien zur Metaphorik der Sünde in lateinischer und deutscher Literatur des Mittelalters. Munich: Fink, 1996

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sins

Look up sin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Hamartiology (Philosophical Theology of Sin)