The Ideology of Sin

[Thoreau]

After recently having held many discussions with my fellow family members and peers, I found it resourceful to post my similar thoughts on the concept of sin, as interpreted and projected by Christian theology.

I personally find the Christian concept of sin, well, disturbing and contradictory to natural human behavior. Having read the bible multiple times, I cannot even begin to list every single sin that is proclaimed within the pages. I will however touch on the general concept, contradictions and reprocutions of sin as well as provide a few examples, some of which were discussed in the previously mentioned times.

I have approached my collegues with numerous questions, some of which being: If we are created by (the Christian..) God "in His image" then why is the concept of sin necessary?

Why would God create us as we are and tell us that who we are is morally wrong and should be destroyed/avoided/transformed?

One specific example is homosexuality. If God created everything, then he obviously created homosexual behavior. In logic, if God didn't want homosexuality, people would be gay... ever. The concept wouldn't even exist. With that being said, why would God create a human as a homosexual, or for those of you who argue that people are not born gay, why would God have created the option of homosexuality only to condemn it?

Homosexuality can be easily replaced with a wide variety of other "sins" listed in the Bible - pork, adultary, endulgance, greed, etc. If these things were to be considered wrong and to be avoided, why then would God have created them?

Now, the same can also be said for Satan, the fruit of the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden, Hell, and many other things. If God is all-knowing and all-powerful, why then would he have created these things?

Furthermore, if God truly is battling for our soul, then why is he picking a fight with himself and throwing humans in the middle? It seems like one big game to me. And if it is true that our very souls are at stake, does that not seem a bit sadistic?

"I'm the only power that exists. I'm going to create humans. I'm going to create Satan. Then we are going to have one big tug-of-war over the souls of the humans. If Satan wins then I'm going to condemn the humans for all eternity."

Why not just save the trouble and never create sin/satan/evil? I mean, if it's really that important and God really loves us and wants us to be with him and to recieve our love and admiration, then not just eliminate sin, right? Because by not eliminating the concept of sin, then you're really just playing one big game.

And quite personally I feel that any being that does that to another, is both sadistic and undeserving of love and admiration.

 

[birch]

Why not just save the trouble and never create sin/satan/evil? I mean, if it's really that important and God really loves us and wants us to be with him and to recieve our love and admiration, then not just eliminate sin, right? Because by not eliminating the concept of sin, then you're really just playing one big game.

And quite personally I feel that any being that does that to another, is both sadistic and undeserving of love and admiration.

you're missing something here, the big elephant in the room. it is real, they just called it 'sin'. it's not just the 'concept' of sin. in this case, the concept is not just an idea. it actually is thought and practiced by people

you even pointed out the concept of what is "sadistic" vs love. people can be sadistic and do many harmful, even intentional things to harm. that is why it's called 'sin.' one could label it something else but it doesn't change the dynamics or what it is. it's not just an abstract concept that has no basis or occurence in reality.

 

[John99]

After recently having held many discussions with my fellow family members and peers, I found it resourceful to post my similar thoughts on the concept of sin, as interpreted and projected by Christian theology.

I personally find the Christian concept of sin, well, disturbing and contradictory to natural human behavior. Having read the bible multiple times, I cannot even begin to list every single sin that is proclaimed within the pages. I will however touch on the general concept, contradictions and reprocutions of sin as well as provide a few examples, some of which were discussed in the previously mentioned times.

I have approached my collegues with numerous questions, some of which being: If we are created by (the Christian..) God "in His image" then why is the concept of sin necessary?

Why would God create us as we are and tell us that who we are is morally wrong and should be destroyed/avoided/transformed?

One specific example is homosexuality. If God created everything, then he obviously created homosexual behavior. In logic, if God didn't want homosexuality, people would be gay... ever. The concept wouldn't even exist. With that being said, why would God create a human as a homosexual, or for those of you who argue that people are not born gay, why would God have created the option of homosexuality only to condemn it?

First of all you are reading too much into the word "sin". This is far too common where people become fixated with the word and not the meaning. A sin is just doing something wrong and in modern society we have laws, you need some laws.

Homosexuality can be easily replaced with a wide variety of other "sins" listed in the Bible - pork, adultary, endulgance, greed, etc. If these things were to be considered wrong and to be avoided, why then would God have created them?

Unfortunately homosexuality is not entirely accepted by some or perhaps even many Atheists\Agnostics just as it exists across all other religions.

But then it is more about being different though it is certainly a form of bias and not one that i have any reason or inclination to agree with and fortunately people grow out of that. What i am referring to is stuff like remarks and jokes made etc. because it does exist. I have experienced it first hand, not directly but i have a family memebr who is gay and it does make you see things differently. often times it depends on the people you are associating with and their maturity level so you just take it from where it comes. It is just like making a racial joke or stereotype, religious bias etc.

 

[John99]

Also remember people become more sensitive to issues that effect them. So if it did not or does not effect you you may partake in the bias yourself and not even realize it.

 

[Lori_7]

hey mz,

i don't know if you're into slipknot or stone sour, but i'm a big fan of corey taylor, and i found out today that he's written a book about sin that is due out this summer. i'm looking forward to reading it, and i thought you might enjoy a non-religious rockstar perspective. here's a link to an interview with him about it (scroll down for the video interview)...

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=145549

 

[Lori_7]

the way i see it, sin is what hurts us. we're born into it; into a body and into a world that hurts. we hurt ourselves and we hurt each other. but we've got the other side too; a capacity to love, and a desire to be loved, which heals and restores. you've got a body and a world that's going to fight you, but you've got a conscience and a spirit that is capable of winning. and in the end it all comes down to what you really want, and how far you're willing to go to seek the truth. it is out there. the truth does exist, and being this way allows us to acquire the knowledge of good and evil.

 

[Thoreau]

hey mz,

i don't know if you're into slipknot or stone sour, but i'm a big fan of corey taylor, and i found out today that he's written a book about sin that is due out this summer. i'm looking forward to reading it, and i thought you might enjoy a non-religious rockstar perspective. here's a link to an interview with him about it (scroll down for the video interview)...

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=145549

I do enjoy Slipknot and Corey Taylor. I didn't know about the book so thank you for sharing that.

I thought you were quite religious from what I recall 6+months ago...?

 

[Lori_7]

I do enjoy Slipknot and Corey Taylor. I didn't know about the book so thank you for sharing that.

I thought you were quite religious from what I recall 6+months ago...?

you're welcome.

um, some people (most of whom don't really know me) call me religious, but i don't consider myself to be religious. i actually have quite a strong aversion to religion. i think people misunderstand me because i talk about some spiritual experiences i've had that are very biblical in nature, and god has used the bible to teach me a lot, to the point where that book in a lot of ways depicts the story of my life. i can relate to it in many ways because of what i've experienced and what i've learned from that. i love jesus. i have an unbreakable connection to jesus, and i consider myself to be a part of the church. but like my user title says, i don't think church is a place you go to, but something you are. i hate religion. i can't think of anything positive jesus had to say about religion either. practicing a religion imo is a cheap substitute for having a relationship with god, and having a relationship with god isn't something you practice; it's something you experience.

 

[SciWriter]

So-called 'sins' are just normal mental missteps for us at the stage we humans are at, plus what the individual has become, or not, via his or her learnings and neurology. No evil spirits or anything like that are involved, these mental 'ills' being as much from natural causes as physical ills are, although religion goofed on both.

As usual, assuming God is the mistake, and so any more layering after that goes nowhere.