"I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts..."
The dominant understanding about what 'sin' is among non-Christians, lapsed Christians, and far too many practicing Christians is that 'sin' is primarily a list of things that are "bad to do." Though this understanding isn't wrong, it is woefully incomplete after childhood ends. If this view of sin never matures, than we encounter a host of confusion in our lives, are left baffled by apparent tragedy and failure, and will never grasp the first things about human nature. Under this understanding, Christianity as a whole quickly becomes absolutely prohibitive and cruel. Take homosexuals, for example. You've got these two men who seem really, really, nice. They appear happy and functional. They are patient and civilized, even in the face of judgmental accusations of "sin" hurled at them. And to top it all off, they believe they are in love. What stands in the way of them being together? Whether a quiet and loving whisper or a loud and angry voice, the essence of the Christian admonishment has been, "You cannot be with him; it is sinful."
Under the above understanding of sin, Christianity is indeed cruel and restrictive. When every ounce of reason you have at your disposal tells you that a rule is hurtful, then it's reasonable to call it a stupid rule and toss it.
But consider further the implications of this simplistic view of sin. We know that there must be conditions for a sin to be grave, and one of these conditions is that we have knowledge of the wrongfulness of the act. Logically then, if someone is "living in sin" and doesn't understand or know it, not telling them could be the most merciful course. If they remain ignorant, they remain innocent, and if they can make it all the way through life that way, they're golden. Ignorance really would be bliss.
But there's more to sin. Yes, sin is a breaking of the rules, a violation of the law. It is both an act and a result of our natures being in a state of rebellion against God. It is at its core an act only of selfishness. But the fundamental understanding that all children lack is why a rule exists: to protect them; to help guide them; to direct their formation. This is what "the law" is, the list of do's and don'ts that we call sin. God laid out the law for his children because sin is destructive for us. Whether we feel guilt or not, whether we are aware of the wrongfulness or not, sin damages us. We were made for God, to know Him, love Him, and serve Him. Anything in contradiction with this purpose is like driving a car in reverse at 60 mph. Whether your car can do it or not is not the question; your car was not designed to do it and doing it will cause real harm.
The crux of all this is that we were made by someone else (God) for a purpose (serving Him). There is no end to the humility needed in order to accept this and understand its implications, but the most simple is this: Sin–when understood in the above light–is real, and the damage it does to us and our ability to function properly is real. If we were made for God, then we were made for love. As stated earlier, sin is selfishness; that act of rebellion committed by our first parents: "And you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." Or more accurately for us, deciding for ourselves what is good and what is evil. It places "selfwardly" directed actions and thoughts above all else. This is what love sets aside, places as secondary to the "outwardly" directed actions and thoughts, and augments our capacity for selflessness. Sin does just the opposite; it diminishes our capacity to love and our inclination to do so. In sin, we don't see the opportunities to love as frequently, or don't see them for what they are, and when we do see them we have to drag our grumbling souls to pursue them. This is the sickness of sin: the loss of love.
If sin is real, then it causes real damage. Thankfully, that damage can be reversed. The capacity once lost in sin can be recovered. For me, this is where I have found the most understanding of both human nature and of God's mercy. To begin to understand sin is to begin to understand human nature; not to say that sin defines human nature, but rather than sin is the only thing that inhibits humans from naturally being what we are meant to be: in union with God. Yet, whenever I have taken the time look, I have seen His mercy reaching over this inhibition, showing me the path to changing my nature, not violating or condemning it.
The dominant understanding about what 'sin' is among non-Christians, lapsed Christians, and far too many practicing Christians is that 'sin' is primarily a list of things that are "bad to do." Though this understanding isn't wrong, it is woefully incomplete after childhood ends. If this view of sin never matures, than we encounter a host of confusion in our lives, are left baffled by apparent tragedy and failure, and will never grasp the first things about human nature. Under this understanding, Christianity as a whole quickly becomes absolutely prohibitive and cruel. Take homosexuals, for example. You've got these two men who seem really, really, nice. They appear happy and functional. They are patient and civilized, even in the face of judgmental accusations of "sin" hurled at them. And to top it all off, they believe they are in love. What stands in the way of them being together? Whether a quiet and loving whisper or a loud and angry voice, the essence of the Christian admonishment has been, "You cannot be with him; it is sinful."
Under the above understanding of sin, Christianity is indeed cruel and restrictive. When every ounce of reason you have at your disposal tells you that a rule is hurtful, then it's reasonable to call it a stupid rule and toss it.
But consider further the implications of this simplistic view of sin. We know that there must be conditions for a sin to be grave, and one of these conditions is that we have knowledge of the wrongfulness of the act. Logically then, if someone is "living in sin" and doesn't understand or know it, not telling them could be the most merciful course. If they remain ignorant, they remain innocent, and if they can make it all the way through life that way, they're golden. Ignorance really would be bliss.
But there's more to sin. Yes, sin is a breaking of the rules, a violation of the law. It is both an act and a result of our natures being in a state of rebellion against God. It is at its core an act only of selfishness. But the fundamental understanding that all children lack is why a rule exists: to protect them; to help guide them; to direct their formation. This is what "the law" is, the list of do's and don'ts that we call sin. God laid out the law for his children because sin is destructive for us. Whether we feel guilt or not, whether we are aware of the wrongfulness or not, sin damages us. We were made for God, to know Him, love Him, and serve Him. Anything in contradiction with this purpose is like driving a car in reverse at 60 mph. Whether your car can do it or not is not the question; your car was not designed to do it and doing it will cause real harm.
The crux of all this is that we were made by someone else (God) for a purpose (serving Him). There is no end to the humility needed in order to accept this and understand its implications, but the most simple is this: Sin–when understood in the above light–is real, and the damage it does to us and our ability to function properly is real. If we were made for God, then we were made for love. As stated earlier, sin is selfishness; that act of rebellion committed by our first parents: "And you will be like God, knowing both good and evil." Or more accurately for us, deciding for ourselves what is good and what is evil. It places "selfwardly" directed actions and thoughts above all else. This is what love sets aside, places as secondary to the "outwardly" directed actions and thoughts, and augments our capacity for selflessness. Sin does just the opposite; it diminishes our capacity to love and our inclination to do so. In sin, we don't see the opportunities to love as frequently, or don't see them for what they are, and when we do see them we have to drag our grumbling souls to pursue them. This is the sickness of sin: the loss of love.
If sin is real, then it causes real damage. Thankfully, that damage can be reversed. The capacity once lost in sin can be recovered. For me, this is where I have found the most understanding of both human nature and of God's mercy. To begin to understand sin is to begin to understand human nature; not to say that sin defines human nature, but rather than sin is the only thing that inhibits humans from naturally being what we are meant to be: in union with God. Yet, whenever I have taken the time look, I have seen His mercy reaching over this inhibition, showing me the path to changing my nature, not violating or condemning it.
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