The Problem of Sin
How the Concept of Sin Helps and Harms Us, Part 1
When I look back upon my life
It’s always with a sense of shame
I’ve always been the one to blameFor everything I long to do
No matter when or where or who
There’s one thing it’s coming to
It’s a sinEverything I’ve ever done
Everything I’ll ever do
Every place I’ve ever been
Every place I’m going to
It’s a sin
If there is any concept that makes Christianity look downright silly in today's society, it is the concept of “sin”.
It's almost as if anything that makes life fun or worth living is an unforgivable insult to God. Of course, at the top of the list is sex, but the list goes well beyond just that.
For those outside of Christianity, the (mainly right-wing Evangelical) Christian focus on sin is nearly comical. Here you have a group of people trying to live according to a 2,000+ year old document as their authoritative source for understanding the human condition, as if there were nothing more to learn about humanity from that point in history onward.
The way Evangelical traditions approach the concept of sin relates to how they look at the Bible. It's an expression of their anti-intellectualism. Given that, it’s not surprising that they would be locked into an ancient mindset (even if historians point out that their mindset isn’t very reflective of that ancient mindset they think they are reflecting). Sin, for them, is a really, really big deal (well, the sins they don’t like, anyway).
Meanwhile, we progressive Christians don't take an anti-intellectual approach to the Bible, and we value what science reveals to us about our universe. This leads us to see sin differently than our Evangelical siblings. Indeed, for us, the Evangelical understanding of sin is not just a huge problem, but sinful in itself.
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The big problem with sin
Back when I was in college I sat on the couch and listened to a young gay man tell his story. He grew up in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. He had an attraction to men as a teenager, and his church community (including his family) kept telling him that such an attraction was sinful. If I recall correctly, some in his community even said that these urges were the result of demons in his life. Even though he tried to resist these urges to have sex with men, he kept falling into this terrible sin.
That church did real damage to this human being. His story is common for those who do not fit the Evangelical sexual norm. And that’s the biggest problem with the language of sin: It does real damage to human beings, children of God one and all.
This is why people outside Christian communities rail against the Evangelical declarations of sin. It's not just that their anti-intellectualism turns Christianity into a joke, but the way they engage in human community can be downright devastating to some individuals inside it.
On a larger scale, the language of sin is currently being weaponized to marginalize entire groups in America who are perceived as sinful. Christian Nationalism’s “Project 2025” is the best example of this. If the Christian Nationalists get into power, they’ve said they intend to end a woman’s rights to choose as well as rights for LGBTQAI+ people.
If sin were just an outdated understanding of the human condition based on an anti-intellectual approach to the Bible, I don’t think people who aren’t Evangelicals would have such an issue with it. After all, I don't see people railing against flat earthers. It’s the weaponization of the concept of sin that draws public ridicule. In other words, the problem is the way “sin” is being used by those in power to actively hurt others.
The typical progressive Christian response
Sin isn’t just an Evangelical concept. It’s a Christian concept. And this puts progressive Christians in a bind. We value our traditional language but also see the real damage it has caused.
The solution for many, if not most: Put sin in the wider context of creation.
In the beginning, God created everything and said it was “good”. Then, thanks to Adam and Eve's blunder, creation fell. While “The Fall” is the result of Adam and Eve's “Original Sin”, it's important to note that before the fall was God's “Original Blessing”.
That Original Blessing is typically what progressives prefer to emphasize. In other words, rather than focus on what’s wrong with you, they focus on what’s right with you. Above all things, you are beloved by God. In an age where Evangelicals tell you how terrible you are, progressives tell you how truly blessed you are. They are essentially bypassing the concept of Original Sin (and all the sin that follows it) by deemphasizing it.
For what it's worth, I break from my Progressive sisters and brothers here. I don't think this is a sufficient response to the weaponization of sin. And, I think the best way to approach the issue is to begin by understanding the concept of sin and what it is trying to do for us.
What is “sin”?
Sin is often defined as “missing the mark”, which is to say it’s disobedience to God. Adam and Eve's initial disobedience (Original Sin) got the ball rolling. Once that first domino fell, there was no stopping the effect.
Original Sin is part of our nature. We are all born with it. That means there is something inherent within us that drives us to disobey God.
What that disobedience looks like can vary from Christian tradition to Christian tradition. Some traditions consider drinking to be a sin, and others do not. Some consider premarital sex to be a sin, and others do not. Some traditions distinguish between different types of sin, and others do not.
I prefer to define sin as misalignment with the Divine intent and who we are meant to be.
From my perspective, the Divine Intent is that we incarnate Divine Love—an other-centered, justice-oriented, and self-giving love. And anything that doesn't align with that falls into the theological category of sin.
The point of sin: to answer “why?”
The theological concept of sin isn’t just about identifying where you drop the ball and behave in less-than-loving ways. It’s really about the bigger questions of life.
Think of it this way…
What do you want? Deep down, what is it you really want out of life?
If you are like everybody else on the face of the Earth, ultimately it comes down to something like this. You want to…
Live in peace
Love comfortably
Live with your loved ones forever
The list could go on, but you get the idea. We all really want to live in Paradise. We can imagine it, but we cannot have it.
Why can't we?
When you think about it, most of it shouldn't be that hard. Yet, how often does our world resemble more of a nightmare than a dream?
Why do people hurt each other?
Why do nations go to war?
Why do earthquakes destroy cities?
Why cancer?
Why do we have to die in the first place?
These are all questions people ask daily. Some people are in situations where they have to face those questions head-on right now. And, part of theology's task is to help people answer those bigger questions of life.
Why does it have to be this way?
The Christian answer to why life can’t be Paradise is because of Original Sin. That's what's wrong with the world. Even though God intends for us to live in Paradise, sin prevents that from happening.
Putting it all together
The Divine intent is for us to live in Paradise. And sin is the reason we don't get to.
In other words, sin is a diagnostic category.
This is important because once you have the correct diagnosis, you can identify the fix.
So, what's the fix in Christianity?
That's where Jesus comes in. In theology, that which fixes the problem is called “atonement”. Atonement theories can range from Jesus as a blood sacrifice to Jesus as an example who shows us how we can change our ways.
There are several different atonement theories that have arisen through history, so it’s not as though Christianity has only one that you have to buy into in order to qualify as a “Christian”. I may do an article about those in the future, but not this month.
Instead, my focus this month is on sin itself. I believe the concept is still potentially useful today, but not in the way that we might typically think it is.
While I have a pretty good idea of what I will say by the end of the month, I'm actually still working this out as I write these articles. That means I might end up saying something completely different than what I expect to say right now. At this point, I'm not sure where this is going to take me. But I do know that I would like you to join me for the journey.
Peace, Bo
www.evolvingchristianfaith.net
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Upcoming Articles for This Month’s Theme
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How Sin Helps Us to Understand Ourselves
How Sin Helps Us to Understand Our World
What Do We Do with the Concept of Sin?
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Credits
Thanks to Leonardo.AI for the cover art
I love the idea of sin being a diagnostic category.