We Americans have trouble with the idea of sin. It makes us uncomfortable. It runs contrary to our innate optimism.
In addition, the culture of American society discourages thoughtful contemplation of the meaning of sin. Popular literature and the psycho-babble of our talk shows explain everything in terms of impersonal social and economic forces that release us from individual responsibility.
Religious people are not better than anyone else at confronting the reality of sin. This is as true for conservative religious people as it is for liberal ones. Many conservative places of worship have thrived by emphasizing therapeutic religion, feel-good worship, and a God who wants us all to be happy and nice to each other. In this religious worldview, sin is a very minor player.
Liberal places of worship have the same problem, of course. In addition, our deep commitment to promote justice in the world sometimes blinds us to evil intentions; we are so focused on seeking the good that we avert our eyes from sin.
Jews are like everyone else. While we do not believe in original sin, the reality of sin is a major theme in our tradition. The most common Hebrew word for sin is cheyt, and it appears in the Hebrew Bible almost 500 times. Nonetheless, for most of the year, the topic of sin is rarely touched upon. But Yom Kippur is different.
On Yom Kippur, our Torah readings and liturgy focus on sin with a bluntness of language and an intensity of purpose that shake us out of our lethargy and redirect our thinking in radical ways.
On Yom Kippur morning, Jews throughout the world will read from the book of Isaiah, including the following passage: "God says: Cry aloud, do not hold back, let your voice resound like a Shofar: declare to My people their transgression, and to the house of Jacob their sin" (58:1).
There is no ambiguity here. Our sins are manifest, our wickedness undeniable. The passage proceeds to condemn false piety and to demand justice for the poor and oppressed, but stresses that only individual action -- sacrificing time and possessions on behalf of others -- can cure our sinful ways.
The message of the Yom Kippur liturgy is starker still. Throughout the day we strike our chest with our fist and ask God to forgive us for a multiplicity of sins, which we name one by one. And the sins that we list are the stuff of everyday life. The rabbis knew that it made no sense to talk about sin unless one concentrated on the specific vices to which we are all so prone -- deception, slander, corrupt business practices, disrespect for parents and teachers.
What are the lessons here for religious liberals -- and indeed for all Americans?
Sin is part of the human condition. We cannot banish it from the world or from our vocabularies. We are not entitled to quote soaring prophetic prose about promoting justice without acknowledging what those same prophets have to say about the reality of sin.
Furthermore, our struggles for economic and political justice are crucial but not sufficient. We must also demand individual righteousness. Sinful people and sinful actions can undermine just societies, or can prevent them from coming into being.
For too long, the left has focused on building systems of government that are just and fair while ignoring individual sin; the right has focused on individual sin and personal redemption while saying little about just societies. Religion at its best always deals with both.
None of this is simple. We will not easily agree on what constitutes sin. But if we cede the realm of sin and personal values to the extremists on the right, we will never capture the hearts of religious America.
On this Yom Kippur, Jews will flock to their congregations in huge numbers. Even those who avoid the synagogue all year will come to recite the ancient prayers in which they confess their sins before God, ask for forgiveness, and begin the work of doing repentance. Many try to explain this but the reason is simple: the message of Yom Kippur resonates with us. We know our urge to sin is powerful, we find comfort in proclaiming our errors, and we find hope in asking for forgiveness and trying to change our ways. When religion denies or ignores sin, it is irrelevant. When it acknowledges and confronts sin, it speaks to our hearts.
Rabbi Julie Schonfeld: Be a Teacher, Not a Judge: The Essence of Yom Kippur
When I commit a sin it is, invariably, a sin against an individual or a small group, only the most extreme sin against enough people to justify an apology to the community, let alone the maker of the world(TM).
(Heb. 10:4) For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. (Heb. 9:12) Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by HIS OWN BLOOD he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained ETERNAL REDEMPTION FOR US. The true and living God is calling all men to repentance and to believe in what Jesus has done on the cross through His shed blood. For without the shedding of blood there can be no remission for sin.
Sin is embedded in the conscience of all humanity, religion and it's so called good works can't fix the sin conscience of humanity. Under the law of Moses the high priest had to come and offer sacrifices, offerings, burnt offerings etc. (Heb. 10:11) And every high priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which CAN NEVER TAKE AWAY SINS. In these sacrifices THERE IS A REMEMBRANCE again made of sins every year.
PAGANS PASSING THEMSELVES OFF AS CHRISTIANS
It's clearly evident you don't see or you just don't believe the word of God because you deemed it a "pagan concept" for no man speaking by the Spirit of God would call it such. You have already imposed your sins on Christ but you don't see this so let me help you out read (Romans 5:12) Wherefore , as by ONE MAN SIN entered into the world, and death by sin ; and SO DEATH PASSED UPON ALL MEN (this includes you), FOR ALL HAVE SINNED. You say you are not that corrupt to dump them on someone else, wrong, We were all born corrupt. (Psa. 51:5) King David said Behold, I was SHAPEN IN INIQUITY; and IN SIN did my mother conceive me. You say God doesn't forgive all sins, wrong, the beginning verse of (Psa. 103:3) declares the LORD to forgive ALL INIQUITIES; (Col. 2:13) Paul speaking to the Colossian saints last part of verse says, . . . HAVING FORGIVEN YOU ALL TRESPASSES,
You assume that Christians offend others and then run to God for forgiveness without making it right with others, wrong, Jesus has taught us in (Matt. 5:23-24) not to come to His altar offering gifts to Him, if we are NOT FIRST RECONCILED TO OUR BROTHER. God does care that we are in good standing with believers as well as unbelievers. I will leave here and hope you have a blessed day!
One lesson for religious liberals would be to stop aiding and abetting the sins of our Jewish co-religionists in Israel/Palestine who for decades have oppressed the Palestinians by militarily appropriating land and properties they and their Arab ancestors lived on for millennia (on a theory that it somehow was never "theirs" and always "ours", notwithstanding 1900 years of adverse possession).
To stop this persistent sin of oppression and enabling thereof the current generation of American Jews must vocally criticize the hopeless sinning of Israeli Jews towards the Palestinians. The land there, its resources and water must now be shared equitably with the Palestinians, reparations made to them and guarantees of personal security given to all.
I grew up in the time of the propaganda offensive in Jewish circles against the idea that "zionism equals racism". No honest person can now deny that Israelis' of European ancestry have an essentially white supremacist attitude toward Palestinians. The other longstanding trope -- that "Israelis have no Palestinian partner" with whom to negotiate peace -- is also propaganda. It is the Palestinians who have no partner. If this day of repentance means anything, this will finally change.
Eric C. Jacobson
Public Interest Lawyer
Culver City, California
It is convenient, though. I'll give you that.
sure he didn't define sin, that's probably because different religions have different rules. it's a sin to drink alcohol in islam, but not in judaism. how do you put a definition on that?
repentance is an act of humilty, and atonement is always laudable. and it helps do repent every day, even for little things like not giving money to that homeless dude on the subway, because it instills humility and gratitude.
IWTFG are in all faiths! Two keys to IWTFG: first, never break the spine of a bible! And secondly, pick and choose, like from a fast food court, from all the major and minor faiths what will make you feel good. Note, you alone are a large enough group!
However, one can just take this belief base formula just so far before hitting cliffs and walls; reflected in today’s high divorce rates, and major swings upward in families out of wedlock. More biggies, not personalizing harm and tragedies impacting others – examples, 2 wars Iraq and Afghanistan, no one cares about, or would send their kids to participate in the war efforts. Another words, “those American boys and girls are idiots to put themselves there†- all volunteers remember! Also moral values that were clear for eons today are misguided; example abortions are good for America because they provide material for stem cell research, can’t stop sh_t! And the 3rd. rail in American culture, being gay is as normal as apple-pie!
In summary, America has become superficial and mindless; and so goes also our religious institutions, moral values, and conscience! And God! Why? IWTFG baby!
until we see that with clarity we will continue to take to guilt and culpability like a duck takes to water.
study deeply the origin of suffering not what what buddhists tell you but deeply.
and you will discover the origin of suffering.
then move on to the origin of ignorance.
then to the meaning of creation/expression/manifestation.
give it 6 to 10 years of study.
then maybe you to will see the meaning and purpose of ignorance and suffering and creation/manifestation as expressions of that that is whatever that that is is.
or not. :-)
In your research about sin I did not find any mention of a Heavenly Pie.
How come?
I like logic. That is why I will use logic to refute this statement.
1. Children are ignorant and unaware. Children are not sinful and evil.
2. Animals are ignorant and unaware. Animals are not sinful and evil.
The origin of all sin and evil is the human brain combined with self-interest.
ever heard of easter?
orthodox christians fast
jesus died for our sins
you get up bloody early in the morning to go to church on easter...
all so that we can suffer
If someone thinks too much about evil (and revels in it too) then one would call him a sadomasochist. It is inconceivable that a religion (Christianity) would adopt the most horrendous instrument of torture invented by the Romans as its sacred symbol. Verily sadomasochism is abundant within church ranks.
I like your comments more and more. I love your usage of "gems buried in the dunghill". We must be grateful to Jefferson for his brilliance and bravery.
In the religious context that is extrapolated to mean "to miss in your attempt to follow God's teachings"
If I do not believe in God and certainly do not even attempt to follow religious teachings, How can I sin? I cannot. It is only valid to speak of sinning inside the context of the religious believer.
- He's killed: Too many to mention
- He's lied: 2 Thessalonians 2:11, Ezekiel 14:9, Jeremiah 20:7, Jeremiah 4:10, 2 Chronicles 18:22, 1 Kings 22:23
- He's stolen: Exodus 3:22, Exodus 12:35-36, Nahum 2:9
- He's committed adultery with his nonconsensual impregnation of a young woman
- He's also ordered rape: Deuteronomy 22:23-24, Deuteronomy 22:25-27, Deuteronomy 22:28-29, Numbers 31:15-18
- He's Ok'd slavery: Genesis 9:25-27, Genesis 16:8-9, Exodus 21:20-21, Exodus 22:2-3
- He's Ok'd torture: Deuteronomy 25:2, Exodus 21:20-21
And many many more...
Your comments look to me like great "Mitzvahs".
--
mitzvah
mitz·vah [mÃtsvÉ™, mÃts v]
(plural mitz·voth [mÃts vï ’t, mÃts vï ’th] or mitz·vahs)
noun
1. religious duty: a Jewish religious duty or obligation, especially one of the commandments of Jewish religious law
2. good deed: an act of kindness performed by or to a Jew
[Mid-17th century. < Hebrew miá¹£wÄh "commandment"]
Microsoft® Encarta® 2009.
-
Albert Einstein
http://www.stephenjaygould.org/ctrl/quotes_einstein.html
RE•LI•GION [ri lÃjjÉ™n]
(plural re•li•gions)
noun
4) obsession: an object, practice, cause, or activity that somebody is completely devoted to or obsessed by
• The danger is that you start to make fitness a religion.
The part of the human brain accounting for many of the cognitive attributes of liberals (particularly "intellectual" liberals) is the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (right DLPFC). The right DLPFC has been implicated in inhibiting racist tendencies (Richeson, 2003), aversion to dominance (Grafman, 2006), and aversion to inequality (Knoch, 2006). Further, it is likely to be the major "antireligious" portion of the brain, that is, its propensity to inhibit belief bias (Goel, 2003) makes it the prime suspect in the subversion of religious beliefs. The right DLPFC is also one of the major (creative) regions for hypothesis generation in the brain, and has given the pesky liberals an important role in the advancement of science and technology.
But the right DLPFC is part of a larger right-hemispheric network that manages one's "selfness".
So it could be that conservatives and religious people are just sort of made the way they are and it may be a developmental issue for them to change.
Riiight. Because simply forgiving would be too easy. God "sacrificed" himself" to "himself" to save us from "himself".