Theology

What is sin? Sin is any inherently evil act – no matter how innocent it may appear to be on the surface – that is committed against one’s neighbor or against God. Sin also includes hateful thoughts and impious beliefs. If an act is not intrinsically evil then there is no sin in doing it unless it involves violating laws made by the church. The evil here is in disobedience to God.

For example, there is nothing inherently evil in nudity and sex. The evil was put there by uneducated, chauvinistic men thousands of years ago, before the time of Abraham. As time passed, these beliefs were eventually incorporated into the marriage. But if one is “hurt” when their mate has some type of sex or nudity outside the marriage, it is because of one’s own belief about one’s self. If one changes one’s belief about one’s self then there will be no hurt.

Many will disagree with this. But infidelity in the marriage has very little to do with abstaining from sex and nudity outside the marriage. One is faithful to one’s spouse by being there in times of need. The “hurt” comes because of a person’s own pride in believing that they and they alone can provide happiness to their spouse. The “hurt” comes because an individual cannot accept the fact that their spouse can ALSO find joy in another person. This latter is selfishness which is not of God.

If man put the evil in something or made a law which puts evil in a particular act, then man can remove the evil. Man can change the law. But until such time those who wish to remain in God’s graces must obey the law (Heb.13:17).

But there is something inherently evil in destroying the property of another person, stealing another person’s property or killing someone. Lying so as to cause harm to someone is intrinsically evil. Man cannot take the evil out of these acts. To commit these types of acts in most cases is a sin unto death, a mortal sin.

Discrimination, prejudice, bigotry, hypocrisy, chauvinism, intolerance, self righteousness and deception are all inherently evil. Hence, they are all sinful acts. Whether or not they are mortal sins depends on the circumstances and intentions of the person committing the act. While sex and nudity outside the marriage is extreme materialism and causes paralysis and impotence of the soul if there is no love between those involved. But is does not kill one’s soul.

What makes any thought, word or deed a sin is not the actual act itself. It is a person's intentions that cause sin to enter into his or her soul. Thus, if a person’s intentions are evil, then even if he or she were to take a paper clip from their employer or a penny from a rich man such would be a sin. Conversely, if a person’s intentions were not evil then even if he or she were to commit a very foul, heinous act or crime, then such would not be a sin.

Thus, if a person’s thoughts and intentions are evil when doing something then he or she has committed a sin. There are no exceptions. In this sense, sin is a product of a person’s own conscience; it is a product of a person’s own mind. (As for those individuals who have blackened their conscience so much that they have no conscience, God will deal with them at their own judgment.)

Finally, in situations involving criminal law, statutory law and other such laws one is still subject to man’s laws and one would have to answer to man’s judicial system. Thus, if one commits a sin and this is also a violation of one of man’s laws, then one would have to subject him or her self to man’s judicial system without any reservations, and if found guilty accept whatever sentence the judicial system administered to one.

When a child of God commits a sin he has in fact injured his soul. Whether the sin is a venial sin or a mortal sin would depend upon the seriousness of the intention. The degree of injury sin brings to the soul is relative to the seriousness of the sin and the sinner’s beliefs.

Sin may be likened to injuries to one’s physical body. There are some injuries that just need a small bandage and some antiseptic. Some injuries call for a visit to a doctor’s office. Some injuries necessitate immediate hospital emergency room care. Still some injuries require a hospital operating room and a team of physicians and nurses. Finally, some injuries lead to death. The latter would be an example of mortal sin, while the former would be examples of the various degrees of venial sins.

All sin darkens or plagues one’s conscience. The degree to which one’s conscience is darkened is dependent upon the amount of injury to one’s soul. The greater the sin the darker is one’s conscience and the less one understands of God’s word.

In order to get one’s soul clean again one has to ask God for forgiveness. If a mortal sin was committed, one has to go to confession to a priest. While it is true that our Lord does not need the Sacrament of Reconciliation to clean one’s soul, He gave this power to priests at the Last Supper. Finally, the more repentant one is, that is, the more sorrow one has for hurting God, the cleaner is one’s soul and the clearer is one’s conscience.

It is one’s intentions that bring sin into the soul, not the actual thought, word or deed (or lack thereof) itself. This is especially true for mortal sin, which is knowingly and willingly and with an evil intention committing a grievous offense against God or against one’s neighbor. If a person does not get mortal sin washed off his soul then his conscience will be plagued with death and he will die in hell for all eternity.

If someone was to steal 100 dollars from a poor person and that was the only evil act he ever committed, should he be sent to death and hell for all eternity? Should a person be sent to death and hell for all eternity for only one evil thought, word or deed (or lack thereof)? What comes to mind here is when Abraham asked God to spare Sodom (Gen.18:24-32).

If God can spare an entire city for the sake of only a few just souls, how can anyone condemn someone else who has committed only a few sins? God is a merciful God and He expects His children to be merciful also (Osee,6:6). An all loving God would not condemn anyone to hell except the most despicable of criminals who have committed the most heinous of crimes and who refuse to repent for their sins.

Mercy demands that God gives most sinners a second chance, so to speak, by sending them to Purgatory where they learn compassion, empathy, faith and hope, and where they learn how to love their neighbor. Once they learn how to obey the Golden Rule then they are given grace from God and allowed into His kingdom. A good analogy is to liken hell to a morgue where dead souls go to await their burial and purgatory to a hospital where injured souls go for medication.

Sin is injury to one’s soul and may be likened to physical injury to one’s body. But grace from God may be likened to ecstasy. One of the greatest ecstasies of this world is sexual orgasm. The desire to reach sexual orgasm is surpassed only by the desire for self survival.

Indeed, this desire is so powerful that many animals will fight to the death for the privilege of mating. But the ecstasy of sexual orgasm is only a small analogy for the joys of heaven. (For those who can understand it, the mystery of God is found in the pleasure of sexual orgasm.)

The amount of ecstasy or grace one receives from our Lord depends upon one’s own faith. Those with a strong faith receive more grace than those with a weaker faith. Not that God gives more to one person than He does another, but that some souls, due to their greater faith, are prone to receive more grace. This is much like interest one receives on an investment. The same interest is given to all but some receive a greater return because they invest more.

One uses this grace or indulgence to help repay our Lord for sin incurred debt. One may say that each time an individual sins (mortal or venial) he gives his soul to Satan and incurs a debt to God (Mt.18:23-35). With mortal sin a person is selling his soul to Satan and becomes the slave of evil, while with venial sin a person still owns his soul but is renting it to the devil.

When one asks God for forgiveness, one is actually asking our Lord to evict Satan from one’s soul. A repentant sinner has in fact admitted to God that he is in debt to Jesus Christ for evicting Satan. But before entering into heaven, this debt must be paid back in full (Mt.5:24-26). Also, after the eviction, one still must clean his soul of the filth left by the former tenant. This is what absolution accomplishes. The sacrament washes the feet or foundation of one’s soul; it washes one’s soul completely of evil.

Each time one utilizes his faith and says a prayer he receives a grace or indulgence from our Lord. When one does an act of mercy out of the goodness of his heart, he gives this grace back to God and in this way helps to pay back sin incurred debt. (Although no one could ever completely pay back to our Lord what man owes to Him, acts of mercy do help repay a small part of sin incurred debt.)

The amount of indulgences one receives from God depends upon the strength of one’s faith. The stronger is one’s faith, the more graces one receives from God. But the amount of grace one gives back to our Lord depends upon how much self glory one retains for himself or herself for doing good deeds. The more self glory one retains, the less one is able to help in repaying our Lord for sin incurred debt. This is why our Lord tells one to pray in secret where no one else can see (Mt.6:1-6) for such prayers retain no self glory.

God, Pain & Suffering