How do you define "sin?"

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It is something that you consider bad? Would the Bible have to state explicitly that it was bad for it to be categorized as sin?

For example, smoking, the Bible doesn't consider it.

Likewise, abortion.

In a Biblical sense, the word sin is translated from the Greek "hamartanein", meaning: to miss the mark, or err. Pedantry has its place.

Does it matter?

Fun.

Well, of course it matters. When people are talking about sin, there should be some agreement on what they are talking about.

For example, "sin taxes" on tobacco and alcohol--are the really "sins?"

Also, the idea that Jesus died on the cross for our "sins"--does that mean that the "sin tax" is completely unnecessary now?

Or, what exacly did he die for?

Sin is a religious concept, so it's really meaningless to me, especially outside the context of any specific religion (as they each define sin or a related concept in their own way).

"Sin consists in hurting other people unnecessarily. All else is window dressing."

- Robert Heinlein, speaking ex officio in the guise of Lazarus Long, Time Enough For Love

PandaBear, this is brilliant!

Not really.

"sin tax" mostly refers to a term used to tax things considered socially undesirable, like alcohol and tobacco and other undesirable things. It is just the term given to a policy that is in some cases considered a legitimate social policy.

That being said, Jesus died so that men wouldn't be damned for their sins, not so that way they could sin freely. I think most churches take the stand that Jesus died to stop damnation for sins, so I don't think I am invoking some theological strangeness.

(I could be missing a joke though...)

What? Of course I'm brilliant!

If Jesus died so that people wouldn't be damned for their sins, what exactly are sins?

And, if Jesus died to put an end to damnation for sins, then why can't we all sin freely now?

Because we all would be VERY VERY MEAN TO EACH OTHER then,
and it would be HELL ON EARTH.

Look up the 10 commandments to see what things are sins
and tell me which ones you want the whole world to do to you all the time!

Be nice like you wish everyone else was, and you won't have to worry about sins.

Jesus forgave everyone for putting him on the cross.
If you forgive people who hurt you once but are sorry,
then that is even better GOODness than never hurting them.

I didn't say you weren't, only that the comment wasn't so much of one.


Sin? The word in the bible is the term "hamartia" which means "to miss the mark". So, sinning is failing to live up to God's desires for us. Now, I figure that this doesn't get you where you want to go, which I assume is an exhaustive list. I am too lazy for an exhaustive list, but what I do know is that there are some basic rules:
1) Sins tend to be in scripture
2) Scripture can revise other scriptures
3) There is additional information outside of the text that many Christians implicitly accept even if they only invoke that text. (for example with the trinity, Christians often implicitly are using the council of Nicea and then just looking back to confirm it. Abortion is a similar issue in that the early Church opposed it and now modern Protestants try to use scripture to confirm that.)


We can all sin as much as we want. The issue is that there are two positions:
1) Refraining from sinning is a sign of being redeemed by God so that He will save us.
2) Refraining from sinning is a sign that we seek to be redeemed by God so that He will save us.

In either case, the salvation is related to our efforts not to sin, either being a cause or a result. (I know, I am not stating the Works-side of the faith-works debate well, but I don't care.)

I don't define sin.

Instead I define honor (or honour, depending on your spelling)

I think that people are born knowing the difference between right and wrong.

It is wrong to steal, to cheat, to mislead, to take advantage of others or to lie.

In our heart of hearts we all know the truth.

The ones who advance socially, professionally, and materially in this world are the ones who steal, cheat, mislead, take advantage of others, and lie.

One could make the case that without sin (if sin is to be defined in this way) no economic progress would be possible.

Sin - the 7 Deadlies, in excess - in other words, anything that causes either someone else's misery or one's own misery (sometimes both). Sorry if this makes any of you cringe, but I feel like going through each one individually to illustrate my point.

- Pride - said to be the worst one, so that's where I'll start - too much of it can make people think you're a jerk 'cuz it seems like you only care about yourself and not them

- Lust - too much of it can cause a huge rift in a relationship, especially if it takes on the form of perversion and/or promiscuity. Perversion violates one's right to privacy and promiscuity indicates dishonesty and disloyalty in a relationship.

- Envy/Jealousy - too much of it can, like pride, make people think you're a jerk 'cuz it means you don't appreciate what you have in your life, and it can also make people think you're trying WAY too hard to get what you want (which might not actually BE what you REALLY want)

- Greed/Covetousness - too much of it can, again, make people think you're a jerk 'cuz you end up being consumed and obsessed with status based on money instead of friendship, appreciation, etc.

- Wrath/Anger - the one we're all guilty of Of course too much of THIS is a surefire to drive people away from you!!

- Gluttony - this one is more likely to cause one's own misery than that of another's - too much of this one and you'll end up with a whoppin' stomachache and a whole lotta health problems

- Sloth - perhaps not as likely as the other 6 to make people think you're a jerk, but there's a still a chance of this (think Peter Griffin, Homer Simpson, etc. - they may be funny on TV but I don't think I'd want to encounter a real life version of either of 'em )


So there you have it, sin defined!! The 7 factors that define a textbook jerk

Anything done with
Shortsightedness
Black and White reasoning
or antipathy
on one's mind is sin by my definition.
Very broadly, with many exceptions.