The recent media surrounding an apparent update of the “seven deadly sins” has created a significant amount of online discussion. The views vary from a perceived pointlessness to celebration that at least one part of the church is engaging with modern social sins – if we can call them that?
At the centre of the discussion is the question, “what is sin?” and it’s a good one to ask. There is a growing belief among some sectors of modern society that there is no such thing as sin, or that it is unique to particular individuals. Alternatively, some have simplified it to being whatever is illegal in the view of society, effectively making sin a shifting target.
A simplified Christian understanding of sin is as follows: “an unrepentant participation in acts that separate us from the experience of God’s love” – God has standards. Church tradition has merely isolated and updated those acts that are most common among people.
It seems that one of the reasons for the recent focus on sin is that Christian acts of confession have dropped off in recent years so the question of sin is very real. But is sin only imagined?
The problem of evil has been the subject of philosophic debate for longer than anyone can remember. What is it? Who decides? And how do we know an act is wrong. Can a wrong ever be right? And so on.
In the late 19th century the Russian author and philosopher, Fyodor Dostoevsky, published, “Crime and Punishment” a book that considered the effect of a premeditated and seemingly justified murder on the perpetrator.
The story focuses on the emotional and moral torment of Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov, an impoverished St. Petersburg student who formulates and executes a plan to kill a hated and unscrupulous pawnbroker.
The moral tension arises because Raskolnikov’s act of murder was an attempt to become an extraordinary person by riding the world of evil without repercussions for himself. Could the commission a despicable act for the greater good be justified? No!
The act of murder from an inhuman philosophy leads him to a destructive paranoia driven by the knowledge that he has committed a vile crime. His paranoia ultimately destroys all his relationships. It’s not until he is imprisoned that he faces his inner battle and ultimately finds redemption.
Despite what we may think of sin, it’s results or symptoms on ourselves, those around us and indeed the world are not hard to see or experience. I’m always intrigued by the apparently educated attempt to deny the existence of sin.
I believe that sin does exist and I applaud the discussion on corporate alongside those of a personal nature. I don’t know about you, but I think they make challenging reading.
Just remember, they are only “deadly” when we choose to deny they exist or have any influence upon us. Again, they do not mean that God ceases to love us, but rather ongoing participation in them builds a wall between that love and us.
© Digby Wilkinson 2008