Sin |
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The point of the following has nothing to do with guilt or judgment. I felt great joy in coming to a new way of thinking about sin, how it affects our relationship with God and what that means - I want to share joy, not guilt! This page is also an effort on my part to explore what I believe - I welcome your reactions and criticisms. How do you see sin? Where do we differ? What did you find unpersuasive - what made you pause and think? Context Since I was young, I have always believed there is "something more". God, the Force, Nature, ... - something. I've always been sure that that something was "good" - to this day I am unsure if there is also an equivalent (or lesser) "evil". As far as a particular religion - it seemed to me that no one religion could be "right", because that would be unfair. After all, given the family I was raised in, it could hardly be expected for me to convert to Judaism or Hinduism. So I essentially worshipped the lack of hypocrisy - I believed that as long as you tried to live your life consistent with your beliefs, that was "good". Further, I was turned off by all organized religions. I have not studied all major religions - but every examination left me empty. This religion differs from that in dietary restrictions, in being "chosen", in embracing or shunning dance/music, ... All organized religions appeared to lead to war and pain. So I believed but had no faith and no religion. I liked the teachings of Jesus - but that and a vague belief in God were all I had. Then life happens. Pain happens. "Good" people are grieving, hurting and lonely. I know there is a tremendous void in my life and in the lives of those around me - but where is there hope? That is where an understanding of sin helped me. I saw the relationship between sin and pain. Sin may or may not lead to "hell" - but it surely leads to pain! The one answer that I have been exposed to that addresses this is Jesus. Yes, we are all sinners - but we can still be happy and fulfilled. God loves us and a sacrifice has already been performed to take away the guilt of our sins! The really important things boil down to a very few things: you must accept that you are a sinner and that that is bad for you, you accept God's forgiveness and you focus on faith and love. People who do those things are relatively untroubled and free from unnecessary pain. Yes, the faithful of almost any religion are less troubled than others - but they don't necessarily help reduce pain in others and they may well cause pain to others. That is why sin, forgiveness and love are crucial - in recognizing these we not only reduce our own pain, but we stop hurting others and we start helping them and ourselves. At this point, maybe you are angry with me - how can I say that your religion is wrong? Two more observations: Either you are open to considering a different view of religion or you are not. If you are, then I owe it to you to present my views as openly as possible. Mincing words would do you a disservice - the joy must be shared! If you are not, I did try to warn you and you probably should not be reading in my Religion section. Further, I do not question other people's relationship with God. Gandhi was not a Christian, but he lived a more Christian life than most - is he rejected ultimately? I do not know what religion is right for you. I know which religion is right for me at this moment in time. Consider Gandhi, his non-violent tactics and fasting helped bring short-term peace - but lasting solutions are not possible without "love your neighbor as yourself". Are good acts enough? Others may be able to live as God wants us to without believing in Jesus - for me, his sacrifice is proof of God's love, is the ritual sacrifice that symbolically pays for my sins and takes away guilt and serves as a reminder to lovingly forgive. The Nature of Sin Some Christian preachers ignore the New Testament and rant against sin, following the model of Old Testament prophets. In the process, they attempt to divide people into us (non-sinners) and them (sinners). They proscribe as abominations various activities. Feel lust - ooh, you are a bad person (wonder how all that begetting happened). Kind of makes you listen to those who argue that it is healthiest to recognize our natural instincts and eliminate guilt. Strange though - how can you be a Christian if Jesus did not die for your sins? Is it better to eliminate guilt by not acknowledging sin or by accepting forgiveness? Notice the "original sin" - eating from the Tree of Knowledge. The sin is disobeying God - but notice that there is no sin without knowledge. Knowledge led to guilt led to distance from God... Much of the pain and suffering in this world comes directly from behavior that is
In other words, sin leads to pain and suffering. Pain and suffering are not God's punishment for sin (if they were, they would be distributed much differently)- they are a direct consequence of man's behavior. People are hurt by their own sins or those of others. God does not want us to sin because it is bad for us! Sin is when you knowingly take an action or fail to act with a probable result of a less fulfilling life for you or others. Think about the many things that often get labeled as sins or as sinful - pride, lust, greed, gluttony ... - these things all make the world less than it could be. Some are troubled by the idea that we are born sinners. Why does our religion have to be such a downer? I'm not so bad... etc. The problem is that if you do not realize that sin is in our nature, you cannot be vigilant in avoiding as much sin as possible. Further, by accepting that you are a sinner, you put the focus on fixing yourself instead of worrying about the behavior of others. Far from being unhealthy - recognizing that we are all sinners encourages us to do the healthy thing and concentrate on avoiding our own weaknesses. Finally, it is recognizing our sinfulness that allows us to appreciate Jesus' sacrifice and accept God's forgiveness. Sin and Forgiveness What a marvelous thing the Bible is! I used to be troubled by the differences between the Old Testament God and the New. But look at what the Bible can teach us! How many times have you said to yourself, "If God only talked to me directly or showed me a sign - then I would do His bidding, I would not disobey God". See what the Old Testament teaches us. God can speak directly to man, demonstrate awesome power, send shining examples to lead man - none of that prevents man from sinning! We cannot be saved by good deeds, by rituals, by trying to obey, by killing all those who sin worse than us - we will still sin, still feel guilt, still be distant from God. Jesus saves us - he becomes the sacrifice for all time and demonstrates God's love for us. We are sinners, but the guilt can be removed. God loves us, forgives us and wants us to enjoy the bountiful life that eliminating sin can help us achieve. What is a Sin? Shortly after I started these pages, someone asked me whether this meant I would stop smoking, etc. The question implied the concept that becoming religious means becoming a "goody two shoes", obeying some stern taskmaster as you go through life. That is not what Christ teaches us - the model is that of a loving parent who helps direct a child's growth and helps the child become strong and happy. You don't give up pleasures - you give up acts that hurt you or will hurt you and/or others indirectly or over time. Is smoking a sin? Of course not. Except for me. For me it is a sin because I am an addict and an addict is not a strong, healthy individual. God wants us to live full, healthy lives. An addict does not set a good example as a Christian. But if I was dying of cancer and wasting away for lack of appetite - would smoking even a drug like marijuana be a sin? I cannot see it as such. To me, sin is anything that diminishes life, sets a poor example or fails the test of love. We no longer require a list of proscribed behaviors - we have to examine motives, consequences and lost opportunities. As Christians, we do not sin by eating shrimp but do sin when we tell a racist joke. Is sex (masturbation, homosexuality, sex not to procreate) a sin? Of course not and maybe. Of course not if you are talking about other people or in generalities. Yes, the Old Testament proscribes many things - including a variety of sexual practices and a variety of foods. But the lesson of the OT is that God can spell out for us exactly how to live our lives and we will still sin. Note that many things that are proper in the OT are improper after Jesus - slaughter, slavery, etc. The focus is no longer on good acts, rituals and regulations - but on Jesus' sacrifice and his lessons on love and forgiveness. HOWEVER, sex is often sinful at the personal level. Are you using someone? Does your behavior make you feel guilty (and if so, is that because of your upbringing or because you know it hurts your relationship with God)? Masturbation can be a relief that empowers you to be a better person - or it can be a substitute for working towards a truly loving relationship. People sometimes quote Romans 1:26-27 in their zeal to label others as sinners - but you have to read all of Romans! Romans is a rich interpretation of our relationship with God - to take one paragraph is inherently out of context. In particular, Romans 7:6 : "But now we have been released from the law, for we died with Christ, and we are no longer captive to its power. Now we can really serve God, not in the old way by obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way, by the Spirit." There are many more places in the NT that admonish us to worry not about the behavior of others, to not judge others but to worry about our own relationships with God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit. Sex, like everything in life, is full of opportunities to sin - not just for ourselves but for what we inspire in our partners. We must examine our own behavior and conform to Christian ideals such as honesty and love. Sin and Hell I think people are afraid to admit they are sinners because sinners "go to Hell". I don't know what to think of Hell yet, but I do know that sin helps create hell in this life. We create personal hells or help others stay trapped in theirs because we sin. Admitting sin is the first step towards receiving forgiveness and starting to avoid sin - enabling us to avoid hell on earth and enriching our lives. Being addicted to drugs is a sin that leads to hellish lives. Extramarital sex is a sin that takes something that should be sacred and creates a hell (bad marriage, divorce, ...). Gluttony is a sin that makes us unhealthy, leads to self-hatred and creates another hell. Many sins may or may not lead to eternal damnation - but they obviously lead inevitably to hell in the here-and-now. Sin is wrong because it damages our lives and our relationship with God. If belief in Hell helps you avoid sin - great! For me it is obvious that we all sin to some degree, that sin hurts us and our neighbors and that recognizing/admitting our sins, asking for and accepting forgiveness and conscientiously attempting to minimize sin is crucial. email me at doug@hardts.net |