Thoughts On Sin

People of faith aren't always focussed on sin.
I've started a much more positive topic in Groups (Of Matters Spiritual) on the subject of prevenient grace.
I've shared some personal thoughts but I'm not burdening the main forum with these.

However, anyone can read and if people want to join in the discussion you only have to request to join.
Anyone, of any faith or of none, is welcome to join the group.
There's only one rule - be civil to each other.
 
Tn, yes PTSD and trauma affect serotonin levels to some degree, any strong prolonged negative emotions would/could. But often service dogs and therapy can positively affect these levels better than medication. Severe mental illness requires medication to have a similar result.
 

Traditional Chinese philosophy had no concept of sin until the introduction of Buddhism and the subsequent development of religious Taoism in the second century, and even then it was more a concept of going against universal ways than focusing on individual acts.

Philosophical Taoism, of which I am a practitioner, has no such construct as sin. Of course, it also does not qualify as a religion.
 
Rocky said:
I, too, am a practitioner. Interesting that you do not consider it a religion.
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Well, there was a split a long time ago between the religious and philosophical aspects; it is actually both a religion AND a philosophy. Basically, you take away all the ceremonies, gods and goddesses and you have philosophical Taoism. ;)
 
IMHO, the idea of "sin" is a religious concept. But, even without the religious concept, Evil still exists in the world. Whatever you want to call it, it is there and thriving -- all you need to do is look at the daily news and you'll see it in action.
 
"The Wages of Sin is Death"

Billboard sign we passed many years ago, north of Las Vegas, near Mesquite, NV. It was posted facing northwards, such that those travelling toward Vegas got the warning.

I wondered back then if it could be directly quoted from the Bible, or did the writers not know proper grammar.

Wager away, folks! Yer bound to die, anyhow! :)

imp
 
Lon said:
Thoughts On Sin
Three of the worlds major religions (Christian, Jewish, Islam) believe there is SIN---These religions believe there is punishment for SINS-----All religions have their own way of interpreting what is a SIN and who SINNED against whom and it is this interpretation that leads to violence or less than peaceful actions.
All other faiths do not attach sin to a deity but more to a disruption of social or ethical codes. If there was never ever a Christian, Jewish or Islamic faith and the world's believers were Hindu, Buddhist, Baha'i, Shinto etc. do you think that the world would have enjoyed a more peaceful existence over the centuries?​
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Sin is first brought to light with Adam and Eve. Some believe an allegory is closer to the truth. Adam was the word for man. Eve was the word for woman. People don't generally stop to think that, before Adam and Eve, there was nothing but the oral traditions passed down through thousands of years, perhaps as far back as 50,000 years. We are talking about the most momentous time in human history. This is likely when man became sentient.

So Eve was in the garden one day and she comes to the realization that man is no longer like the animals. She says man has to live by rules for the benefit and safety of people in the tribe. In establishing rules she also sites negative behavior. She brings the knowledge of good and evil. Man can now think. This could have occurred with a single, intelligent female. She or some other female has determined that babies come from sex. So men and women realized they have to cover themselves because they are horny. Women bare the original burden of evil because they bleed once a month. Bleeding is associated with death. Women were often segregated from the tribe during their period. It is still a practice in some cultures today.

It was Adams job to name the animals. Man began studying the animals. Cave drawings are part of the result.

So what happened to the Garden of Eden, the garden of ignorant bliss. When you acquire knowledge, truth you cannot go back. Thus the Cherub stands guard at the gate with a sword of fire. The laws of the tribes were set up because people, like animals, could no longer just take what they wanted. They could no longer just take a woman. When these laws were broken there was considered to be an evil presence in the tribe. Thus, the invention of sin and Satan.

In a sense this is a story about the development of human consciousness. But if you were trying to write down what you had been told about humans as they were learning to think, what would you have said, how would you have said it a few thousand years ago when written language was still in its infancy.
 
Lon, I'm Muslim but a good friend of mine is Buddhist. I also have Christian and Jewish friends. My Buddhist friend and I have talked about religion and we respect each other's religions. We both concluded that we never heard of any violence in connection with Buddhism the way we do with other religions. So perhaps the world would be a more peaceful place. Lord knows we need it to be. As far as sins, we are all imperfect beings so we all sin. Regardless of the punishments...Islam and Christianity believe that God is a loving, forgiving God. I don't know much about Judaism at all.
 
What gets me in War Movies (as well as actual Wars), a Chaplain will be blessing the "Good Guys" before they go into battle and kill as many of the other side as possible.

Another farce is the "Christmas Truce", but when it's over, the antagonists will be back at killing each other again.

HDH
 
I don't believe we need a law book or a religion to know what a "sin" is. It's in our genetic code of behavior. It's why people in a boat wave at one another as they pass by. There are people, who willingly break that code to gratify some need they have.
 

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