This page is concerned with the common meaning of "sin" related to immoralities. For other meanings, see Sin (disambiguation)
Sin is a concept used primarily in the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) describing a transgression against the will of God, and often held to require repentance and penance; in some theologies it may also entail the risk of damnation.
Some religions hold that a sin is an act which does damage to the soul.
Atonement describes the process through which we become reconciled to God for sins. It was a concept derived from Judaism and became a central idea of Christian theology.
In Christian theology, impeccability is the absence of sin.
In Hinduism and other vedic religions, the term sin is often used to describe actions that create karma.
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2 Biblical conceptions of atonement for sin 3 Jewish views of sin 4 Christian views of sin 5 Muslim views of Sin |
The English word sin derives from Old English synn. The same root appears in several other Germanic languages, e.g. Old Norse synd, or German Sünde. The word may derive, ultimately, from *es-, one of the Indo-European roots that meant "to be," and is a present participle, "being." Latin, also has an old present participle of esse in the word sons, sont-, which came to mean "guilty" in Latin. The root meaning would appear to be, "it is true;" that is, "the charge has been proven." The Greek word hamartia is often translated as sin in the New Testament; it means "to miss the mark" or "to miss the target".
Atonement for sins is discussed in the Hebrew Bible, known to Christians as the Old Testament. Rituals for atonement occurred in the Temple in Jerusalem, and were performed by the Kohanim, priests. These services included song, prayer, offerings and animal sacrifices. The rites for Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, are prescribed in the book of Leviticus. The ritual of the scapegoat, sent into the wilderness to be claimed by Azazel, was a part of these observances.
A number of animal sacrifices were prescribed in the Torah (five books of Moses) to make atonement: a sin-offering for sins, and a guilt offering for religious trespasses. The significance of animal sacrifice, why God commanded them, is not expanded on at length in the Torah itself, though Genesis IX:4 and Leviticus XVII suggest that blood and vitality were linked. Later Biblical prophets occasionally make statements to the effect that the hearts of the people were more important than their sacrifices.
Note that Judaism's views on sin and atonement are not identical to those in the Hebrew Bible alone, but rather are based on the laws of the Bible as seen through the Jewish oral law.
Judaism regards the violation of divine commandments to be a sin. Judaism uses this term to include violations of Jewish law that are not necessarily a lapse in morality. Judaism holds that all people sin at various points in their lives, and hold that God tempers justice with mercy.
The generic Hebrew word for any kind of sin is aveira. Based on verses in the Hebrew Bible, Judaism describes three levels of sin.
Etymology
Biblical conceptions of atonement for sin
Jewish views of sin
Judaism holds that no human being is perfect, and all people have sinned many times. However a state of sin does not condemn a person to damnation; only one or two truly grievous sins lead to anything approaching the Christian idea of hell. The Biblical and rabbinic conception of God is that of a creator who tempers justice with mercy. Based on the views of Rabbeinu Tam in the Babylonian Talmud (tractate Rosh HaShanah 17b), God is said to have thirteen attributes of mercy:
As Jews are commanded in imitatio Dei, emulating God, rabbis take these attributes into account in deciding Jewish law and its contemporary application.
A classical rabbinic work, Midrash Avot de Rabbi Natan, states:
The traditional liturgy of the Days of Awe (the High Holy Days; i.e. Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur) states that prayer, repentance and tzedakah (charitable actions) are how one atones for sin.
There is a difference among Christians concerning the use of the word "sin". Protestants use it primarily for what they see as humanity's inherently sinful nature, and only secondarily to actual instances of sin. Roman Catholics by contrast reserve the word only for actual instances of sin, calling the sinful nature of humans "concupiscence". Catholics distinguish between venial sin, which warrants only temporal punishment in Purgatory, and mortal sin, which warrants eternal punishment in Hell, if left unconfessed. The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox use sin both to refer to humanity's fallen condition and to refer to individual sinful acts. Neither form of Orthodoxy makes formal distinction among "grades" of sins.
According to Roman Catholicism, in addition to Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary also lived her entire life without sin. She is believed to have gone directly to heaven after the end of her life on Earth; this doctrine is the Assumption of Mary. A belief in Mary's sinlessness is shared by many Eastern Orthodox theologians, but is not universally held and is not generally considered to be a point of dogma. In addition, the Orthodox view of the sinlessness of the Theotokos is not quite of the same nature as that held by Roman Catholics, since Immaculate Conception is not an Orthodox doctrine.
Original sin - Most denominations of Christianity interpret the Garden of Eden story in Genesis in terms of the fall of man. Adam and Eve's disobedience was the first sin ever committed, and their original sin (or the effects of the sin) is passed on to their descendants (or has become a part of their environment) and is a primary reason that people must be born again and gain salvation.
In Western Christianity, sin is often viewed as a legal infraction or contract violation, and so salvation is also tends to be viewed in legal terms. In Eastern Christianity, sin is more often viewed in terms of its effects on relationships, both among people and between people and God. One Greek word in the New Testament that is often translated "sin" is hamartia, which literally means missing the target. Consequently, salvation is viewed more in terms of reconciliation and vastly improved relationships. These two perspectives are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
There also tends to be a distinction between Roman Catholic and some Protestant views of the effects of sin. Many Protestants teach that sin, including original sin, has entirely extinguished any human capacity to move in the direction of reconciliation towards God. Salvation is sola fide, by faith alone, and sola gratia, by grace alone, and by God's initiative alone. This view is called total depravity, and is associated with Calvinism and to some extent with Lutheranism.
Roman Catholics, by contrast, typically teach that while sin has tarnished the original goodness of humanity prior to the Fall, it has not entirely extinguished that goodness. Under this view, humans can reach towards God to share in the Redemption which Christ won for them. This view is shared by some versions of Protestantism also, including Methodism; among Protestants, at least, it is known as Arminianism. It is also logically necessary for Pascal's wager to be effective.
One theological tenet gaining currency among Protestant Evangelicals and Fundamentalists is that original sin resulted in imperfections at the genetic level. This seems to be an attempt to incorporate some findings from science into what has been called Creation science. This claim is rejected as theologically wrong by Catholics and liberal Protestants, and is widely regarded as pseudo-science by scientists.
In Christianity, atonement refers to the redemption achieved by Jesus Christ by his crucifixion and resurrection. Its centrality means that it has been the source of much discussion and some controversy throughout Christian history. Christians begin with the proposition that the death of Jesus Christ was a similar sacrifice that relieves believers of the burden of their sins. But what was the actual meaning of Christ's death? Why did He have to die? The meaning of an event of such transcendent significance to Christians is hard to capture in any one verbal formula. But several have been ventured:
See also: Penance; Repentance; Reconciliation; Catholic sacramentsChristian views of sin
Christian views of atonement
The several ideas of these and many more theologians can perhaps be summed up under these rubrics:
For the Christian, full appreciation of the mystery of atonement may require a balance of all four themes.