sin (noun) – an offense against religious or moral law b: an action that is or is felt to be highly reprehensible
Generally speaking, sin is a relative term that really has no meaning. If there is a god, I’m willing to bet he feels the same. A set list of dos and don’ts with no room for leeway is a fundamentalist idea. God is no fundamentalist.
I prefer Rumi’s more open-ended philosophy:
“Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing,
there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.”
Even so, sin is often times explicitly listed for the faithful to follow.
The Eight Sins of Evagrius Ponticus- Evagrius Ponticus was a 4th century monk who compiled the following list that would become a precursor to “The Seven Deadly Sins.
- Gluttony
- Fornication
- Avarice
- Dejection
- Anger
- Weariness
- Vainglory
- Pride
The Seven Deadly Sins- In the late 6th century, Pope Gregory the Great reduced the list to seven items.
- Lust
- Gluttony
- Greed
- Sloth
- Wrath
- Envy
- Pride
Seven modern mortal sins- In April of 2008, Vatican Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti announced a more modern update to the 7 deadly sins.
- polluting
- genetic engineering
- being obscenely rich
- drug dealing
- abortion
- pedophilia
- causing social injustice
Seven noxious things of Islam -According to Sahih Bukhari, a book of oral tradition of the life of the Prophet Muhammad, there are seven noxious sins that a Muslim must not commit. There is also a list of “70 major sins” compiled by scholars since the death of Muhammad.
- associating anything with Allah
- magic (Equivalent to Witchcraft and Sorcery in English)
- killing one whom Allah has declared inviolate without a just case
- consuming the property of an orphan
- devouring usury
- turning back when the army advances
- and slandering chaste women who are believers but indiscreet
Gandhi’s seven deadly sins- Mahatma Gandhi listed seven things that will destroy us. Notice the social and political slant of his list.
- Wealth without work
- Pleasure without conscience
- Knowledge without character
- Commerce without morality
- Science without humanity
- Religion without sacrifice
- Politics Without Principle
Buddhist Pañcasila- Sin is not recognized in Buddhism, instead there is a philosophy that good deeds produce good results and bad deed produce bad results.
- I undertake the rule to refrain from destroying living creatures.
- I undertake the rule to refrain from taking that which is not given.
- I undertake the rule to refrain from sexual misconduct.
- I undertake the rule to refrain from incorrect speech.
- I undertake the rule to refrain from intoxicants which lead to carelessness.
Nine Satanic Sins- Not to be outdone, Church of Satan founder Anton Szandor LaVey compiled this list in 1987 for his followers to refrain from.
- Stupidity
- Pretentiousness
- Solipsism
- Self-deceit
- Herd conformity
- Lack of perspective
- Forgetfulness of past orthodoxies
- Counterproductive pride
- Lack of aesthetics
Quotes about sin
In a closed society where everybody’s guilty, the only crime is getting caught. In a world of thieves, the only final sin is stupidity.
- Hunter S. Thompson
Eskimo: “If I did not know about God and sin, would I go to hell?”
Priest: “No, not if you did not know.”
Eskimo: “Then why did you tell me?”
-Annie Dillard
Never think there is anything impossible for the soul. It is the greatest heresy to think so. If there is sin, this is the only sin; to say that you are weak, or others are weak.
-Swami Vivekananda
Today I love myself as I love my god: who could charge me with a sin today? I know only sins against my god; but who knows my god?
-Friedrich Nietzsche
After the first blush of sin comes its indifference.
-Henry David Thoreau
Everything that used to be a sin is now a disease.
-Bill Maher
There is no sin except stupidity.
-Oscar Wilde
I have a sweet tooth for song and music. This is my Polish sin.
-Pope John Paul II
I am no longer sure of anything. If I satiate my desires, I sin but I deliver myself from them; if I refuse to satisfy them, they infect the whole soul.
-Jean-Paul Sartre
The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.
-Dwight L. Moody
Sin is geographical.
-Bertrand Russell
Post image by heathbrandon.
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