Sin

Seven Sins by Hartwig HKD

(1) Sin is an ancient Mesopotamian moon god, also called Nanna. His cult was most prominent at the Sumerian cities of Ur and Harran. Bestowing light in the dark, Sin maintained justice through the night hours.

(2) In Catholic theology sin is any thought, speech or action that results in a transgression against the law of God, where one chooses to enact one’s personal will in conflict with God’s.

St. Augustine is often quoted by Catholic writers when trying to explain sin:

Something said, done or desired that is contrary to the eternal law.¹

The Catholic Church further breaks the idea of sin up into several categories, the most important being original sin, venial sin and mortal sin.

The general concept of sin is widespread but treated differently among world religions–e.g. transgressing God’s decrees (Judaism, Islam), acting against the cosmic order or Will of Heaven (Taoism), or harmful action arising from ignorance (Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism).

Contemporary thinking people believing in God and the importance of acting ethically are faced with a dizzying array of prescriptions on how to do the right thing and not sin. When all is said and done, it seems the most sensible approach to living right and avoiding sin is to follow one’s own lived experience and reflections upon it.

Many, however, seem unable to act as mature adults and prefer to allow some perceived authority, distant or near, to guide them on how to best live the life God gave them.

This arguably schoolboy and schoolgirl approach to ethics may afford psychological comfort (through a ready-made personal identity and sense of community) for those unable or unwilling to embrace the degree of freedom and responsibility involved in making up one’s own mind. But in the long run it seems immature and, indeed, unworthy of our potential as human beings created by and forever journeying toward God.²

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¹ St. Augustine, Con. Faust 22.27 cited in Catholic Bible Dictionary, ed. Scott Hahn, 2009, p. 850.

² See comments on this complex issue.

» Adam, Calvinism, Contemplation, Donatism, Eden, Fasting, Felix culpa, Jainism, Jesus Christ, Madonna, Milton (John), Virgin Mary

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Social Darwinism

Holding paw: Kia storm =(^.^)= PetoMarmitta & friends / Chiara

Social Darwinism

A body of thought, often said to be first developed by Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), which supposes that human social groups evolve along the lines of Charles Darwin’s theory of biological evolution–i.e. “survival of the fittest.”

Social Darwinism may been criticized in several ways.

First, it assumes the validity of Darwinian theory.

Second, it grafts an idea pertaining to the physical environment, biological organisms and animals onto the social environment of human beings.

Third, it ignores the theological possibilities of providence, intervention, revelation, infused knowledge, blessings, graces and saintly intercession.

Fourth it may be used by elitist, supremacist and racist groups in an attempt to rationalize inequitable or perhaps scandalous social conditions and practices.

» Sociology, Sociobiology

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Adherents of all Religions

Adherents of all Religions It is difficult to get accurate figures for the number of adherents in each world religion.

Religion being a very personal issue, often central to one’s self-image, it’s conceivable that many people don’t wish to report their true beliefs to a proverbial Big Brother and thus will check “other” or “personal” on a government census.

Other people may live in tribal societies and are never directly asked what they believe–it is merely assumed that each individual adheres to the general beliefs of his of her group. A good example of this would be the Santals of India and Bangladesh, who according to a 1991 census are about 4.2 million strong. Among this significant population, the religious beliefs of only 23,645 individuals are officially recorded.

Another issue is the problem of defining religion (versus, for instance, a cult, a collective delusion, a myth or a pastime) and trying to assess who, if anyone, has the authority to define it.

On the issue of New Religious Movements (NRM) Eileen Barker says:

When social scientists have been pressed in a court of law to say whether a particular NRM is “really” a religion, they have not always insisted as clearly as they might that science cannot give the definition of a real religion. It is only when the court provides a definition, or we use the form “if by religion you mean. . ,” that we can say whether, according to that definition, the movement is “really” religious.

Eileen Barker, “The Scientific Study of Religion? You Must Be Joking!” in Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol. 34, No. 3, (Sep., 1995: 287-310, p. 306).

Having noted the above, the following figures should be taken cum grano salis.

2000 CE, in millions:

Christians		2,020
Muslims		1,200
Hindus		860
Buddhists		360
Jews		20
Sikhs		24
Shinto		95
Bahai’is		8
Jains		4
Parsees		0.219
Tribal Religions		100
New Religions		138
Total world population		6,260

Source: D.B. Barrett, ed., World Christian Encyclopedia (1982) in G. Parrinder, A Concise Encyclopedia of Christianity (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 1998, p. 9).

On the World Wide Web:

• Adherents.com (an excellent site providing the reservations mentioned above are kept in mind)

Image Source:

• “Canada World Religion Day Stamp” originally uploaded by Kianoosh Raika at http://www.flickr.com/photos/djkianoosh/474556286/, Creative Commons License

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Apollinarius

Apollinarius (310-390 CE) Early Christian teacher whose views on Christ were condemned as heresy.

He argued that Christ and God were one and that this doctrine should be taught.

For Apollinarius, Christ’s human spirit was replaced by the divine Logos. As such, Christ couldn’t morally develop during his life because he was already perfect.

This view denied Christ’s human side and was rejected by an orthodoxy which believed that all of humanity could not be saved unless God was partly human.

Appollinarianism could only redeem the spiritual but not the natural aspects of humanity.

This distinction between spirit and nature is one that carries through today, with far-reaching implications for those who do and do not believe that the matter/energy dynamic is identical to spirit.

Although Apollinarius became Bishop of Laodicea (360 CE), he was condemned by the synod at Rome (374-380 CE) and the council of Constantinople (381 CE).

Image Source:

• “Early Christian Gravestone, Jesus the Shepherd” by Walter Parenteau at http://www.flickr.com/photos/mwparenteau/451967950/, Creative Commons License

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