1. What is sin? Sin is an act of rebellion towards God from a responsible human (Giles). When a human commits a transgression against God, it is breaking the Israelite covenant bond. By committing a transgression against God, humans are violating God’s will, which is revealed through the Word of God (Giles). To continue, the conflict between human and Divine wills is the source of all sin (Giles). Ever since Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 ate from the tree of knowledge, the act of rebelling God has become a sin. The intent of the transgressor does not matter, the emphasis instead is placed on the act of sinning (Giles). For example, God forsakes Abimelech for taking Abraham’s wife Sarah. Even though Abimelech did not know she was married, taking Abraham’s wife was …show more content…
still a sinful act (New International Version, Genesis 20:3). This highlights the very nature of sin; if you commit a sinful act, you will be punished by God (Giles). Furthermore, this proves that every human act judged and compared to the will of God. The will of God is demonstrated through His Israelite covenant (Giles). An individual’s conflict between their will and God’s will is the foundation for sin (Giles). A sinful act is from the responsible will of an individual, not God’s will. God’s presence is an essential tool for resisting sin, however, God’s presence must be renewed constantly through rituals of the community (Giles). In the Old Testament, the Israelite prophets argued that no compensation sufficed for committing a transgression against God (Giles). The term guilt (Asam) describes the attitude of the transgressor after committing a sin (Giles). This term holds an individual accountable for their wrongful actions. Sin is a wrongful human condition that alienates us from God (Giles). The story of creation in Genesis 1-3 depicts the fundamental curse humans: sin. This origin of sin demonstrates that sin is an existential occurrence of life (Giles). The account of Genesis 1-3 is primarily about humans’ condition of sin (Giles). The story is not only about Adam and Eve sinning, but also about the curse of humanity’s sin. The transgression of Adam and Eve leads humanity into a downward spiral of murder, a corrupted race, the wickedness of the human race, the flood, and oppression (Giles). Sin is an act of the heart and is rarely encouraged by an outside evil-being (Giles). All humans are not immune to sin and guilt.
This includes Israelites and non-Israelites (Giles). Because of this, forgiveness is needed. Atonement is achieved through religious sacrifice or intercession (Giles). Sacrifices were symbolic expressions of the independent will and intent of the individual committing the sacrifice (Giles). Prayer is an act of sacrifice. God’s purpose of prayer was to give sinners a way to be forgiven (Giles). Prayer was not seen as the end to forgiveness, but instead a way to express the faith of a worshipper (Giles). The other method of atonement is intercession. The goal of intercession was to repair the broken fellowship between the worshipper and God (Giles). This was done by the intercessor placing himself in the hands of God and becoming one with God’s will (Giles). The act of forgiveness allowed for a new creation of people, eschaton, where the relationship between God and the people was repaired (Giles). This was achieved by God “covering” sin, forgetting sin, and bearing humans’ sins (Giles). In conclusion, sin is an act of rebellion against God. Each act of rebellion is a violation against God’s will and must be forgiven through acts such as sacrifice or
intercession. Works Cited Giles, Terry. “Sin.” HitchHiker's Guide to the Bible, Dr. Terry Giles, http://hhgbible.com/hhg/WWW01.03/giles/html/control/hhg/sin.html. Holy Bible. New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan House, 1984. Print.
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines sin as “an offense against religious or moral law”. People have many motivations to sin: greed, self-gain, and pleasure being prominent examples. In “The Scarlet Letter”, Hester Prynne is convinced that her husband is not coming to meet her at their new home in the colonies because she believes that he may have died. She then has an affair setting in motion the events of the story. In “Frankenstein”, Victor Frankenstein does not help his creation assimilate into society; this results in the deaths of several of Victor’s loved ones at the hand of his creation. In “Idylls of the King”, Pelleas becomes the Red Knight of the North after seeing the unfaithfulness of Guinevere to King Arthur and being rejected
“What is sin?”(1), Dr. Hoenikker asks in the book “Cat’s Cradle.”(2) The Christian Bible describes sin as, “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.” (3) Sin has become the creator of fear throughout history. The fear that God will punish those who sin but, that fear is a false threat to control people. Sin creates the illusion that the universe is based on morals, when in fact it is completely amoral.
He didn’t want us to sin, as we were to be perfect in his eyes. But that all went away after Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command to not eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil and this is when sin was introduced into the world (the Fall). Sin is now just a human nature thing in us and now we keep making poor choices as we have the “sin” blood in us and we need to make the right choices daily to keep us sin free.
One might ask, What exactly are sins and where did they come from? According to Oxford Dictionary, a sin is an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law. Sin is what started the fall of humanity that is still manifested in today’s time. Adam was the first of God’s human creation. “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27). And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Gen. 2:16–17). Sin entered the world when Adam disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit. “God gave to man the power of contrary choice. Man of his own will, by no external compulsion or determination, used that power in the commission of sin… ” (Reddit 10). The effects of Adam’s sin are profound and and they affect everyone. A few things that stand out in Reddit’s explanation of it is that “sin is lawless, universal and results in satanic bond”. Sin is lawless because its is breaking God’s divine law. “Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness” (1John 3:4). Sin is universal because, “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one” and the evil one who is Satan. An objection could be that
According to dictionary.com sin is defined as “any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.” In each literary work, each of the protagonists committed a sin or injustice, whether to a god(s) or to society. As mentioned above Okonkwo committed a sin to the earth goddess of the Igbo by murdering the elder clansman. Odysseus committed sin to the Greek God Poseidon by stabbing Poseidon 's Cyclops son in the eye, causing Poseidon to destroy Odysseus’ ship. Dante committed sin upon his respective society by going against the Catholic Church and public opinion forcing him to become an exile. However, being exiled through religious and societal beliefs led these protagonists along a spiritual journey in which each achieved spiritual enlightenment from. According to bibliotecapleyades.net, religion is defined as:
Sin is an offence against religious or moral law. Hester Prynne had a child out of wedlock which upset the whole town and caused controversy. Sin is recurring in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and it forms the characters into the people they become.
The result of sin, then, would be considered a blurring of the image of God and a barrier between God and man. In addition, salvation is a process not of justification, but of reestablishing man's communion with God (Ware 155-161).
But it is the corruption . . . offspring of Adam, whereby man is . . . original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that continually.” The Bible informs us that we are servants or slaves to whom we obey. “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” ( Rom. 6:16 NRSV ) Sin can be described as a cosmic power responsible for the enslavement of its prey. This scenario is analogous to the enslavement of subjected peoples by force of the armies who had become their conquerors. We too, are in danger of finding ourselves in bondage to an adverse, and alien influence known as sin. Rendered unable to choose freely we are resigned to surrender in obedience to sin because it now exerts power over us. In the account of Abel and Cain offering sacrifices to God we have an example of just how elusive sin can
Sin can be defined in many ways, but it creates a separation from God. There is a war that occurs inside people. That war is between one’s flesh and the Holy Spirit. Satan was the originator of sin because pride caused him to sin against God. Adam and Eve were the doors that allowed sin to enter the world. Sin causes death and without a savior, it is impossible to cleanse oneself. Once sin is conceived, it takes an atonement to wipe away one’s sin. Jesus became the atonement for all believers and He gives everyone a chance to have a relationship with God. As Christians, one must be aware of sin because it can affect a person’s destiny and cause delays with God’s blessing.
Based on the title of this movie, Atonement, we know this film sets out to tell the story of redemption. Throughout this movie we see Briony seeking atonement for her actions done as a young girl. The plot centers around a 13-year-old girl, Briony Tallis, who misunderstands several events and wrongly accuses Robbie, her older sister’s lover, of rape. Several reasonable misunderstandings confuse the young girl’s perspective on the romance forming between her older sister, Cecilia, and Robbie. Briony takes Robbie’s strong liking for her sister to be that of a ‘sex maniac’ which leads to the mistaken identification of a rapist she catches in the act.
Sin has been defined as many things by many groups throughout the ages. In the Old Testament it was defined as a failure to hit a mark or an attitude of rebellion. In the New Testament it is defined as failing to conform to a standard or as a condition. However, we must decide for ourselves what it means in our own lives. The Holy Spirit will guide us in our definition. Without being taught right and wrong we still are able to decipher between the two.
Forgiveness is a practice I have repeated Forgiveness is freedom. There is a key that opens the door to healing, happiness and peace, that key is forgiveness. Forgiveness starts with you and it is the greatest gift you can give yourself. Forgiveness of both self and others is the most powerful tool we have, and it is readily attainable to all of us. Take a step towards creating a kinder humanity by forgiving someone in your life.
Forgiveness is the act of releasing an offender of any wrong or hurt they may have caused you whether they deserve it or not. It is a decision to let go of resentment or vengeance toward a person or group of people. When we choose to forgive, we’re wiping the slate clean, cancelling a debt, or as I love to say, “Letting it go.” In the Bible, the Greek word for forgiveness literally means to “let it go.” This concept, “forgiveness,” is easier said than done. Majority of people find it very difficult to let go of offenses and hurts caused by others. I really do believe that most people desire to let it go, but we lack the knowledge of how to do it. As believers, we are instructed by God maintain an attitude of forgiveness.
It’s so interesting to me that the hardest thing to say or admit can have such an incredible affect on a relationship. It’s another one of those de-structive things that people pick up without realizing the consequences. Because many of us didn’t hear someone–usually our parents– say they were sorry, or admit that they were wrong, we didn’t learn or understand how important an apology is. We didn’t learn the importance of an apology because we were taught to fear or be ashamed of being wrong; when we should have been taught that there is nothing to be ashamed of when you’re wrong or don’t know something. When you’re wrong, or you don’t know something and you can admit it, it is an opportunity to learn and grow. That is nothing to fear or be ashamed of, but for some reason we perpetuate the myth of seeing an apology as weakness.
Has someone that is a close relative or friend ever been taken away and never to return? The only way you can see or speak with them is by looking at a tomb stone. This is one of the most painful experiences any human being will go through. Most people do not even realize the forgiving and not coping with the pain is a key step in healing and letting go. But if one fails to do so they will be bitter, angry and cold heart for the rest of their life.