bupanishad2012

While morality and ethics usually relate to the "social contract" or something akin to it, what exactly is "sin"? Sin was the Old Testament Moon god, right? How did it come to have an association with pissing off the gods of Judaism and Christianity?

Andrew

DCHindley

Andrew,

Don't confuse the English word "sin" with the similar sounding OT Moon God. In Hebrew the word most often translated by English "sin" is something like "khat-taw-aw" or "khat-tawth."

According to Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (TWOT):

The root occurs about 580 times in the Old Testament and is thus its principle word for sin. The basic meaning of the root is to miss a mark or a way. It is used two or three times in Ugaritic to mean "sin."

The verbal forms occur in enough secular contexts to provide a basic picture of the word's meaning. In Jud 20:16 the left-handed slingers of Benjamin are said to have the skill to throw stones at targets and "not miss." In a different context, Prov 19:2 speaks of a man in a hurry who "misses his way" (RSV, NEB, KJV has "sinneth"). A similar idea of not finding a goal appears in Prov 8:36; the concept of failure is implied.

The verb has the connotation of breach of civil law, i.e. failure to live up to expectations, in Gen 40:1.

(The boldface font is added by me.)

In Greek translations of the OT (the Lxx) and carried on into the NT, it is "hamartia" which was originally an archery term for missing the bulls-eye. Essentially, it has a similar meaning to the Hebrew words.

I guess the feeling in antiquity was that if a god expressed his or her preferences for his/her own worship, or his/her expectations for his faithful followers, and you missed the mark, you deserved punishment for being slothful or whatever.

DCH

ughaibu

Interesting stuff. The Old Testament has a moon god(?), any other specified gods in there? And the story of "sin" is very suggestive, is there any explanation of what the way or target that is missed might be? IE, are they talking about some species of mysticism or is it a mundane matter?

IamJoseph

Sin = a crime. Check the laws today which constitute crimes - they allign with the Hebrew laws exclusively. Many get confused because of ritual laws, as opposed to judiciary, moral and ethical laws.

The ritual laws in the Hebrew are not myth or superstitions, but designed to promote good and required remembrances for humanity's future benefit [the Passover remembrances keep alive the premise of freedom from slavery], and many of these ritual laws are now becoming scientifically appreciated, such as the mandated law to wash the hands when waking or before eating; the Sabbath ritual says man shall not live by food and work alone.

A wrong law is one which says others are bad because they do not follow a 'name' - which is hardly any form of law; this leads to the desecration of laws whereby the name becomes the transcendent factor, which is a form of idolatory. A true law must be prisitne and stand on its own - with no attachments to names, and be acceptable to the world's institutions. Attaching a name says that belief has no laws, and when this factor is examined it will be vindicated.

IamJoseph

Absurdities of the absurd. Perhaps the poster is referring to the pre-islamic Arab people. Abraham concluded 4000 years ago against the worship of the sun and moon, declaring all these must be ruled by one transcendent source - and monotheism was born.

This is not an 'old' testament [a disrespectful, derogatory term] because it is 4000 years old and still very active today with no alternatives. The so called NEW testament has lost this battle - Islam emerged in the same space-time negating the new and alligning with the old. These are signs and omens.

HaRaAYaH

You are not correct. The Hebrew is clear and the intention is clear. To sin, is to miss the mark. To come up short of the ideal. There is always the possibility of repentance. You don't sin and one strike & you're out.

The book of Leviticus which contains the Holiness Code is the "Lev HaTorah" the heart of the Torah. These laws were not given for any health reasons. They are a means to attain holiness. Nothing more and nothing less. The "Health Code" version of Judaism is not based on reality, but based on moderns looking back and trying to justify something.

The one thing you are correct about, is the institutionalization of memory in Judaism. The Torah instructs Jews to Zachor et yom ha shabbat likadsho. Remember the Sabbath day. Jews are instructed to remember Amalek. Each Shabbat when a Jew says kiddish, he/she recalls the exodus from Egypt.

IamJoseph

No contest here. Coming short of the mark is another way of a failing or fall. One is not automatically penalized by this, and it all depends how one acts after the failing, with a host of exit clauses applying. Technically, one can be saved even for the worst crimies in the final instant. It is said:

WHERE A REPENTENT SINNER STANDS - THE MOST RIGHTIOUS CANNOT.

ughaibu

It very much depends on what the mark is. Only one male high jumper wins the gold at any particular Olympics, the rest are sinners, nevertheless, the vast majority of people do not try to win the Olympic gold for high jumping. In a word, if sinning is failure to achieve a particular aim, then one needs to know what that aim is before deciding whether or not sin has interesting implications for one's conduct.

storytime

Only Jewish people can sin, because only Jewish people have laws given to them whereby they are judged. Sin in the old testament and new testament is defined as transgression of law, and where there is no law there is no sin.

Now Joseph I know you will say otherwise of course because you're trying to keep your god on a pedestal by forcing his laws onto everyone else. Many buy into that deceitfulness and it's trickery to enslave the mind and then the actions. The actions of course, in support of it, will eventually cause the devotees to kill in the name of the bible god whereupon it does not have the sting of murder but of patriot for the cause.

It's amazing what religion can do to a man if he allows himself to become ensnared in its death cult. He'll not only kill his own family trying to obey biblical laws, he'll kill whole nations of people without pity and sparing none.

IamJoseph

Like a crime, a sin is a transgression of a law, and is based on the acceptance of those laws being applicable [as in a state law or constitution], applying equally to all. And it is not law until inshrined as a 'written' law.