December 15, 2014

 Sin is offense against God.  Sin is a failure to respond to God’s love.  Sin separates us from God.  Sin has a ripple effect.

 Missing the mark: Early biblical writers believed there was a mark or target behavior to “hit”. Sin was failing to reach that mark.  We sin when we settle for behavior does not reflect our love for God, ourselves and others.

 Hardness of heart: Scripture often uses bodily images. Hard hearted is an example that illustrates that sin comes from the heart of man. A heart of stone is not human.  Sin has to do with attitude as much as it does action.

 Adam and Eve commit the first sin in Genesis.  God intended the world to be a place of harmony, solidarity and love  The story of Adam and Eve represents accountability for our actions.  Foreshadows Christ’s conquering of sinfulness

The story of Fall explains why human beings are not always happy and do not live forever. The Serpent became the symbol of evil. Sin comes from the free will of human beings “Adam and Eve committed a personal sin, but this affected the human nature that they would then transmit in a fallen state.”

The Protoevangelium “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; He will strike at your head, while you strike at his heel.” (Gn 3:15)

 It is a modern trend to not speak about sin.  Creates two dangers: elimination of accountability and devaluation of choices.  Christians have taught about sin to bring it into the light.  Understanding there is a problem is the first step to fixing it.

 Forgiveness is a gift from God.  New Testament almost always connects sin and Christ’s forgiveness.  Christ conquers sin through his death and resurrection.

 Original Sin was given to humans in Genesis.  Humanity is weakened and harmed  Christ is the redeemer.

 Sin is characterized by seriousness: mortal and venial  Sin is characterized by our participation: sin of commission or omission.  Mortal sin: Serious sin which mortally wounds our relationship with God. aka a complete separation from God. Must be a grave matter and must be done knowingly  Venial sin: less serious sin which harms our relationship with God.

 Sin of omission: Not doing something you should do  Sin of commission: purposefully doing something that is harmful to ones self or others.