KingsSuited

I have been told that according to the bible, someone must have not one sin unforgiven, in order to enter. So I ask, "What is a sin according to the bible?"

Is there a list of sins somewhere in the bible, so that people can be aware when they have commited a sin? Is sin really breaking the law of God? If so, what is this Law?

Eldarion Lathria

A sin is something the clergy, or their royal promoters doesn't like. It could be something that's fun, it could be something that undermines the authority of the clergy, or the ruling class. But seldom, is a sin something that's really important.

Eldarion Lathria

HaRaAYaH

Each religion has their own list and their own way to absolve yourself (for lack of a better word) from the sin in question.

In Judaism, there is a day of atonement for your sins. The interesting thing is you cannot be forgiven by God unless you are first forgiven by the person you wronged. In other words in Jewish tradition, you are required to ask for forgiveness of the people you may have wronged before the day of atonement will atone for your sins.

evangelical

There is, I suppose, no one complete list of every possible sin in the Bible. Sin is disobeying God. The Bible makes it clear that nobody has been completely obedient, so, even if there was such a list available, it would still be too late for us. Furthermore, just knowing what is good and evil also is not enough, for humankind is totally depraved. We sometimes do what we first know is wrong.

But there is good news! There has been one who lived a perfect life. Namely, Jesus Christ. When we turn to Jesus, God the Father sees Christ's sinlessness on us just as our sinfulness was laid upon Jesus at the cross. The forgiveness of our sin is a big part of what being a Christian is all about.

Hope this helps. If you'd like to hear more you can certainly ask here in this thread. But I'll probably forget to check back here from time to time so, if anything is directed towards me, in a subsequent post of this thread, you may want to drop me a private message reminding me to check back. Shalom out.

xaxxat

Bullshit. It's crap like that that is supposed to make us feel worthless unless we buy into the meme and keep the preachers in business...

Joan of Bark

Rubbish. Jesus said so himself in Mark 10:18

And as for God forgiving our sins ... considering that your God -- if He exists -- is a monster far worse than any human being, well, He should be asking for our forgiveness for His sins.

This is a skeptics DB. We don't accept all that prostelytizing nonsense at face value here, so you'd better come up with better arguments than the standard party rhetoric.

Malachi151

Actually according to the Bible you don't go to heaven at all. According to the Bible after you die you just sit in the ground and wait for Jesus to come back to destroy the world, upon which time a new perfect material world will be created and all of the people who have been "saved" will be resurrected and taken to the new world. The idea that people "go to heaven" is a pagan idea introduced into Christianity from the Greek and Roman religions.

This is easy to figure out if you just read the Bible, but there are theologians who discuss this as well, for example N.T. Wright:

http://www.time.com/time/world/artic...710844,00.html

Furthermore, the Bible also indicates that there is no one without sin, so of course you wouldn't have to be "sinless" anyway.

Huon

Licinius married in 312 Constantine's sister Constantia; one child was born of this union: Valerius Licinianus Licinius. In 324, during a war for absolute power, Constantine defeated Licinius twice, first at Adrianople in Thrace, and then at Chrysopolis on the Bosporus. Initially, yielding to the pleas of Constantia, Constantine spared the life of his brother-in-law, but some months later he ordered his execution. The younger Licinius, too, was killed.

In 326, Constantine ordered the execution of his oldest son Crispus, who had distinguished himself in the recent campaign against Licinius. In the same year, soon after the death of Crispus, Constantine also brought about the death of Fausta, the mother of his other three sons. Zosimus reports that Crispus had come under suspicion of "being involved" with his stepmother Fausta.

On the day of Pentecost, 22 May 337, Constantine died at Nicomedia. When he felt that he was going to die, he was baptized by the Arian bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia.

Licinius is now in Hell, due to his policies against the Christians. Constantine is in the Paradise. His baptism wiped away his crimes.

Celine

I still don't know what it "is," sin.

What is its nature, to paraphrase Aristotle?
Is is abstract or concrete?
How do I measure it, recognize it, or at least, see it exemplified in a common way?

This business about it being a "way" to do this or lack, or a "lack" of this or that, seems inexact if not evasive. Certainly, we are allowed to define some terms by talking "about" them, but we need to get somewhere we can all agree upon after all this. Butt sin discussions always gets too loosy-goosey in this regards. One gets suspicious of its advocates and tired of the tautologies.

So once and for all, what is it? Or, is it just a ketchup word, or a "word in the gaps," to fill in a sense of awe, guilt, intimidation, and so on?

Tom Sawyer

My son was disobedient to me yesterday and I simply scolded him instead of taking him to the town gates and stoning him infront of the elders. This means I'm going to Hell unless I apologize for not killing my son. Also, I've eaten both fish and meat on Friday and don't feel bad about either, but one of those bars me from Heaven (forget which). I also wear mixed fabrics without any remorse whatsoever.

Basically, I'm blacklisted from Paradise.