“Windows To Spirituality”
Sin
Sin is a term used to describe either an action that is prohibited in religious ethics or law, or a fallen state of being. The religious concept of sin is tied to a cluster of interrelated issues including atonement, theodicy, free will, ethics, guilt, and law.
Sin is a transgression against divine law. Sin can also be viewed as any thought or action that endangers the ideal relationship between an individual and God; or as any diversion from the perceived ideal order for human living.
Man Between Fall and Ascension This article covers the relationship of man between fall and ascension. Ibn Sina, called Avicenna in the West, summarizes man’s earthly life in his poem on the human soul as follows: It descended upon thee from out of the regions above, That exalted, ineffable, glorious,...
Atheism Explained Atheism (a privative, and theos, God, i.e. without God). is that system of thought which is formally opposed to theism. Since its first coming into use the term atheism has been very vaguely employed, generally as an epithet of accusation against any system that called in question the popular gods of the day. Thus...
Ancestral Sin Ancestral sin, generational sin, or ancestral fault, is the doctrine that individuals inherit the judgement for the sin of their ancestors. It exists primarily as a concept in Mediterranean religions (e.g. in Christian hamartiology); generational sin is referenced in the Bible in Exodus 20:5. The classical scholar Martin West draws a distinction between an ancestral curse and inherited...
Human Fall Human Fall or The Fall of Man, also called simply The Fall, is a theological doctrine describing the change of humankind’s state from sinlessness to depravity. In Christian tradition, the Fall took place when Adam and Eve partook of the forbidden fruit and were expelled from the Garden of Eden, as recorded...
Justification In Christian Theology Justification in Christian theology is God’s righteous act of removing the condemnation, guilt, and penalty of sin, by grace, while, at the same time, declaring the unrighteous to be righteous, through faith in Christ’s atoning sacrifice. The means of justification is an area of significant difference amongst the diverse theories of atonement defended within...
Justification Justification (Latin justificatio; Greek dikaiosis) is a biblio-ecclesiastical term; which denotes the transforming of the sinner from the state of unrighteousness to the state of holiness and sonship of God. Considered as an act (actus justificationis), justification is the work of God alone, presupposing, however, on the part of the adult the process of justification...
Occasions Of Sin Occasions of sin are external circumstances–whether of things or persons–which either because of their special nature or because of the frailty common to humanity or peculiar to some individual, incite or entice one to sin. It is important to remember that there is a wide difference between the cause and...
What Is Contrition? This article covers the meaning of contrition (Latin contritio–a breaking of something hardened). In Holy Writ nothing is more common than exhortations to repentance: “I desire not the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live” (Ezekiel 33:11); “Except you do penance you shall...
Enjoining Good And Forbidding Wrong This article covers an Islamic rule of the way of life called: “Enjoining Good And Forbidding Wrong.“ Enjoining (what is) right and forbidding (what is) wrong ( الأمر بالمَعْرُوف والنَهي عن المُنْكَر, al-amr bi-l-maʿrūf wa-n-nahy ʿani-l-munkar) are two important duties imposed by God in Islam, as revealed in...
Desire Desire has been the subject of religious and philosophical speculation in most cultures. The problem of desire has been a fundamental obstacle to the attainment of personal happiness as well of social harmony. The problem of desire has been the problem of which desires are appropriate to personal and social morality as well as...
Youth And Peer Pressure This article covers the youth and peer pressure in today’s social environment. How should we, especially those of us who are young, interact with the world? Today’s social environment is overrun with temptation and desire. Although it is hard to imitate the Prophet’s sublime qualities and...
What Is Temptation? Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals. In the context of some religions, temptation is the inclination to sin. Temptation also describes the coaxing or inducing a person into committing such an act, by manipulation or otherwise of curiosity, desire, or...
Contrition In Christianity, contrition or contriteness (from the Latin contritus ‘ground to pieces’, i.e. crushed by guilt) is repentance for sins one has committed. The remorseful person is said to be contrite. A central concept in much of Christianity, contrition is regarded as the first step, through Christ, towards reconciliation with...
Eternal Sin In Christian hamartiology, eternal sins, unforgivable sins, unpardonable sins, or ultimate sins are sins which will not be forgiven by God. One eternal or unforgivable sin (blasphemy against the Holy Spirit) is specified in several passages of the Synoptic Gospels, including Mark 3:28–29, Matthew 12:31–32, and Luke 12:10. Jewish doctrine Judaism teaches that no sin can overcome God’s forgiveness of sins. In Deuteronomy...
Satisfaction View Of The Atonement In Christian theology, the satisfaction view of the atonement is the dominant theory of the meaning of the death of Jesus Christ taught in Roman Catholic, Lutheran, and Reformed circles since the Middle Ages. Theologically and historically, the word “satisfaction” does not mean gratification as in common usage, but rather “to make restitution,”...
Blood Atonement Blood atonement is a disputed doctrine in the history of Mormonism, under which the atonement of Jesus alone does not by itself redeem the Eternal sin. Instead, to atone for this sin, the sinner should be killed in a way that allows their blood to be shed upon the ground as a sacrificial offering, so...
![Part of the All Souls Deuteronomy, containing the oldest extant copy of the Decalogue.[2] It is dated to the early Herodian period, between 30 and 1 BC.](https://slife.org/wp-content/uploads/1920px-4Q41_2-520x116.png)
Ten Commandments The Ten Commandments (עֲשֶׂרֶת הַדִּבְּרוֹת, Aseret ha’Dibrot), also known in Christianity as the Decalogue, are a set of biblical principles relating to ethics and worship. These are fundamental to both Judaism and Christianity. The text of the Ten Commandments appears twice in the Hebrew Bible: at Exodus 20:2–17 and Deuteronomy 5:6–17. Modern scholarship has found likely influences in Hittite and Mesopotamian...
Confession Of Sins Confession of sins is the public or spoken acknowledgment of either personal or collective guilt, seen as a necessary step to receive divine forgiveness. Confession is part of several religious traditions. It became especially important in the Catholic and Orthodox faiths, which evolved a formal sacramental system of confession and absolution....
Venial Sin According to Catholicism, a venial sin is a lesser sin that does not result in a complete separation from God and eternal damnation in Hell as an unrepented mortal sin would. A venial sin consists in acting as one should not, without the actual incompatibility with the state of grace that a mortal sin implies; they do not break...
Actual Sin This article covers the actual sins. Actual Sin is sin in the ordinary sense of the word and consists of evil acts, whether of thought, word, or deed. According to the Western Christian tradition, actual sin, as distinguished from original sin, is an act contrary to the will and law of God whether...
