The concept of sin is a fundamental premise of the Christian faith. Without a thorough understanding of sin and how it affects us as individuals and members of society, there is no basis for explaining the need for repentance and salvation.
These days, we use the word in the context of desserts—check Pinterest for the latest Sinful Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake—but it used to be something most people recognized as a genuine category of behaviors within themselves.
The concept of sin spoke something true and essential about being human, so losing it has vast consequences.
So what happens when we leave the Christian framework and moral language behind? How do we understand and talk about the human condition in secular terms?
This week's blog will examine the concept of sin and why Christians should reclaim the word.
Why bother with sin?
At its best, the Christian core message has helped people understand their sense of guilt and provided hope through redemption, forgiveness, and grace. Unlike justice or karma, the Gospel's good news is that there is always a way out, a path to salvation.
We should rediscover sin and provide meaningful resources to use the word in our everyday lives and experiences.
More importantly, as Christians, we should live in daily repentance; the closer I get to the light, the more it exposes the darkness of my heart. This is good news because repentance is my best shot at becoming more loving, generous, and graceful.
If we spent more time dealing with our own sinful nature and our ego's self-righteousness and less time pointing out others', the Christian movement would start attracting a much broader audience.
The prerequisite for receiving God’s grace is knowing you need it.
Liberal or conservative, Christian or non-Christian, it doesn't matter. We are all flawed, and God doesn't rank people (Romans 2:11).
The Catholic thinker G.K. Chesterton was once asked by a newspaper, "What's wrong with the world?" Chesterton replied by a brief note in a letter: "Dear Sirs: I am. Sincerely Yours, G.K. Chesterton." In my opinion, that is someone who has deeply grasped the message of the Gospel.
Everybody knows what sin is
G.K Chesterton supposedly stated, "Original sin is the only doctrine empirically validated by 2,000 years of human history."
Bjørn Stærk is an author and columnist for the Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten—and an avowed atheist. He wrote in an article on moral language (my translation) a while ago:
The core of the Christian moral view is that we are all sinners. Some argue this is the worst Christian idea, but I believe it is the best. It is liberating and democratic. It means that we can stand together in the desire to be better than we are. We are not perfect and can never be.
Stærk sadly observes that terms like "sin" and "grace" have lost meaning. But even if we no longer use the words, as a culture, we have retained what they mean. He uses a vivid analogy: it is like a majestic mountain in a country where they have forgotten the word for mountain.
The mountain is still there; it stands tall on the horizon. Everyone must acknowledge the mountain's presence, and people often venture to its peaks. But no one knows how to talk about it anymore because the word "mountain" sounds outdated. So they use the wrong words and speak hesitantly about "that forest up there that's a bit high above the ground."
He wants to emphasize that even if we forget about God and the Christian moral framework, we are far from eliminating sin, guilt, repentance, atonement, forgiveness, salvation, and grace. We've just forgotten how to talk about it. Christians had both sin and salvation. Post-Christians have sin without salvation, sin without forgiveness, and sin without grace. This is bound to cause trouble, Stærk argues.
Three secular ways of coping with guilt and why they fail
Historian Wilfred M. McClay discusses three secular attempts to find the language and tools to cope with the strange persistence of guilt:
Therapeutic measures - we try to handle guilt through counseling, self-help books, and courses.
There is a growing severity in mob shaming - we cope with our guilt by ferociously projecting worse guilt onto worse sinners.
Identifying with or as a victim—we see victims as the only innocent people. So, if we see ourselves as victims, or at least their allies, we can think of ourselves as the righteous.
The problem with the three strategies is that none provide a means of redemption. They leave us with the heavy burden of carrying our guilt and being responsible for saving ourselves.
The Good News of the Gospel speaks to all of us, to the very near, authentic, and timeless human experience of not measuring up.
Imagine what will happen once we rediscover the problem of sin and position the Gospel as the solution to that problem!
Courageously acknowledging my potential for evil is the path to building my potential for good.
Have a great day!
See you next week
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