Is sin just a man made bunch of hooey, invented for men to control others actions out of pure hatred of freedom?
And if so, who's up for an orgy?
And if so, who's up for an orgy?
choko_canyon
No, it was invented for men to control others out of trying to keep them in control, before there were courts or police. But yes, it is indeed a man made bunch of hooey.
marsel_duchamp
They were developed for societal controls but not out of hatred. Religion and government were once one and the same. Rules for a stable and safe society are necessary when populations become more concentrated. Hunter-gatherers in small bands don't have nearly as many rules but they still have some.
Sin as in an offense against gods is a load of hooey since gods don't exist.
Anonymous
You have to be remarkably naive to not see evil in the world. If you accept evil exists it is easier to accept that much of it is man-made than it is for atmospheric carbon. Man-made evil is sin.
Proving you are free is a religious paradox. You may willfully oppose the teachings of God proving it and enslaving yourself to sin. You can escape the slavery of sin but be left with ambiguity that you are doing this by restricting yourself to obeying God, an apparent lack of freedom.
Nope. Not hooey. Not easy to demonstrate conclusively that you are free, either.
Jim V
If we take your statement as true - that the concept sin only serves to control "others actions" - and assume nothing is actually sin then should we not also say that nothing is wrong?
So, if I steal your cell phone there is no sin (or wrong) committed?
If someone sleeps with your spouse, no sin (or wrong) is committed?
Somehow I think that the attempt to make sin passé is to make everything permissible in the name of "freedom".
?
Moses imposed a law on the Israelite people. It was imposed on the people by the priests at the tabernacle/temple of Jerusalem and temple guards. The violation of the law of Moses used to be sin. For each sin, Moses prescribed the punishment as well. You can read the list of sins and the punishments in the first 5 books of the Bible. The punishments ranged from death and amputation to atonement. Atonement is a fine paid by the people to the temple/priests, the quantum usually as determined by the priests. We are free from the law of Moses since 70 AD, when the temple of Jerusalem fell and no priest or temple guard left to impose the law on the people.