Verified answer

Jesus loves you Desiree.

Sin is defined the same regardless of culture or language -- turning away from God's will and treating others worse than you would have them treat you. Applying those to your life can be a lifelong learning process.

Crime is defined by nations and either majority rule or dictators. Its definition is temporal and changing.

Primitive is for ideas that don't hold up anymore because our knowledge and technology has passed them by. To say the word sin is primitive is like calling the wheel a primitive idea.

There ARE religions that have no concept equivalent to sin. I just wanted to point that out.

Within the religions that do include the concept, "sin" has a very specific definition with a spiritual moral component which is, I think, sometimes lacking in the other words you've mentioned. The question is, is that spiritual moral component a useful concept in the modern world? And people could argue that one all night. :-)

You have fallen prey to a fallacy that many unthinking people spout, namely that scientific knowledge is somehow related to moral development. In fact history teaches just the opposite.

You talk about how "we in the modern know so much more..." yada yada yada. Well that is true. We, like the ancient Greeks, know the world is round. (Pythagoras had known this in the 5th Century B.C., as did Plato and Aristotle. Claudius Ptolemy developed latitude and longditude around A.D. 150.) We also know about evolution, and we know about science, and medicine, and most of all we know about the scientific method. It's the scientific method that really brought us great knowledge, the whole idea of developing experiments, and performing experiments. That is where modern educated men of science stand head and shoulders above the "Uneducated Bronze Age desert nomads", isn't it?

So by your argument, doctors, men (and women) dedicated to healing through science, people who have thrown off the unreasoning chains of religion, and embraced the cold realities of the world should really be on the cutting edge of our progress as a species, shouldn't they?

Your ideal man would be a doctor... lets say a double doctor. We'll say he's two earned doctorates, one in anthropology and one in medicine... and we aren't talking some State U hick from the Bible Belt here... no we'll say Doctor Ideal went to the finest schools in Europe. We will make him concerned about his fellow men... he will be poltically involved, and he'll be patriotic too. Lets make him a medical officer in the military reserves. Most of all he will be a man of science. He will litterally be on the cutting edge of science, perfoming experiments in order to better understand the human body and advance the cause of medicine and science. He will do research into burns, and eye color, and especially into twins. Most importantly though he, like you and your ilk, will have disregarded the ridiculous concept of "sin". He, like you, will engage in "reality based" thinking, and be free to engage in his experiments and take his search for knowledge wherever it may lead; without regard to the primitive moral restraints invented by "Uneducated Bronze Age desert nomads"

That's pretty much your ideal kind of guy isn't it? Heck, lets go for it and make him good looking, polite, charming, and from a wealthy family.

Of course, the down side is he's Josef Mengele.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josef_Mengele

Highly educated, man of science, free thinker, following his quest for knowlege without regard to the primitive ideas about sin and morality; Dr. Josef Mengele.

Sin doesn't apply to everyone. I'm a Christian, and if I think something is morally corrupt, then I use the word 'wrong'. Then again, I don't think using the word sin has anything to with intelligence and understanding and progression. I actually think sin is a stronger alternative to wrong. Far worse.

The new testament was written in the street language of the day. That's because Jesus was street. It's how he spoke... although he spoke Hebrew. The bible was written in Greek because it could reach more people. He never used the pompous thee and thous we attribute to the king james bible.

The word 'sin' is not the exact translation. The greek word means 'off the mark'. If God is the bulls-eye... if you stray from his will from you, you are 'off the mark'. The word sin means 'off the mark'... pretty much.

Ah, but there's a problem...

Not everything that's a "sin" is illegal, wrong, or even a "misdeed" in the eyes of rational people. They think it's a "sin" for me to look at a beautiful girl (like you seem to be) and have "lustful" thoughts...to me it's just good clean fun and entirely normal :)

They can decide for themselves what's "sinful" and what isn't...just don't try to pretend the rest of us give a hoot.

Peace.

I mean, I don't think a simple word is that big of a deal. But, we use sin because it's in the bible. And sin means something to me, because it can also be used as "without" so like, without god. If that makes any sense.

That does not apply to our generation because we are not familiar your definition of sin !!! The apostles were accoustomed to using it so that is good enough for me !!!

Jesus claimed to be God - John 8:24; 8:56-59 (see Exodus 3:14); John 10:30-33

Jesus is called God - John 1:1,14; 20:28; Col. 2:9; Titus 2:13; Heb. 1:8

Jesus is the image of the invisible God - Heb. 1:3

Jesus abides forever - Heb. 7:24

Jesus created all things - John 1:1-3; Col. 1:15-17

Jesus is before all things - John 1:1-3; Col. 1:17;

Jesus is eternal - John 1:1,14; 8:58; Micah 5:1-2

Jesus is honored the same as the Father - John 5:23

Jesus is prayed to - Acts 7:55-60; 1 Cor. 1:2 with Psalm 116:41; (John 14:14)

Jesus is worshipped - Matt. 2:2,11; 14:33; John 9:35-38; Heb. 1:6

Jesus is omnipresent - Matt. 18:20; 28:20

Jesus is with us always - Matt. 28:20

Jesus is our only mediator between God and ourselves - 1 Tim. 2:5

Jesus is the guarantee of a better covenant - Heb. 7:22; 8:6

Jesus said, "I AM the Bread of Life" - John 6:35,41,48,51

Jesus said, "I AM the Door" - John 10:7,9

Jesus said, "I AM the Good Shepherd" - John 10:11,14

Jesus said, "I AM the Way the Truth and The Life" - John 14:6

Jesus said, "I AM the Light of the world" - John 8:12; 9:5; 12:46; Luke 2:32

Jesus said, "I AM the True Vine" - John 15:1,5

Jesus said, "I AM the Resurrection and the Life" - John 11:25

Jesus said, "I AM the First and the Last" - Rev. 1:17; 2:8; 22:13

Jesus always lives to make intercession for us - Heb. 7:25

Jesus cleanses from sin - 1 John 1:9

Jesus cleanses us from our sins by His blood - Rev. 1:5; Rom. 5:9

Jesus forgives sins - Matt. 9:1-7; Luke 5:20; 7:48

Jesus saves forever - Matt. 18:11; John 10:28; Heb. 7:25

Desiree, would you talk the same in a dissertation as you would in a text message? Of course not, and thus for the second time tonight I stress the importance of knowing genre and appropriateness. Sin is appropriate in religious terms, so it would only be used in the wrong way if used out if its genre.

Well it means the same thing but sin is the more Religious word.