if sin is in fact some act (or thought) contrary to the will of God, then it’s impossible for me (and for most people, I’d argue) to KNOWINGLY sin. — Art48
I believe it’s a good idea to try to be an upright, honest, and charitable person. I believe there are things we should generally do and things we should generally avoid. — Art48
God has never revealed his will to me. As a consequence, I am unable to knowingly violate his will. I am unable to knowingly sin. — Art48
Nonetheless, if sin is in fact some act (or thought) contrary to the will of God, then it’s impossible for me (and for most people, I’d argue) to KNOWINGLY sin. — Art48
the tautology that someone who does not believe in sin is not able to knowingly sin? — Leontiskos
God has never revealed his will to me. — Art48
I don't really know what the OP hopes to achieve with his tautology — Leontiskos
i guess "He" ain't so "Omni" after all ...How does God prove that he is God? — Moses
Well, "if sin is in fact some act (or thought) contrary to the will of God" (OP), and if "God" is (at most) a Bronze Age fictional character (myth), then "sin" is just as meaningless, or impossible, as acting "contrary to the will of" Bilbo Baggins. QED. Again, javi, for emphasis I paraphrase Camus: stupidity is the only sin without god.Oh, of course, it is possible to knowingly sin ... There are a lot of ways to sin. — javi2541997
We mean an immoral act. Of course, then we must decide how is morality founded and found. Religions would have you believe in the 'sky daddy' or the 'earth mother', both of which are useful and insane by roughly equal measures. Anyway, on we go.What do we mean by the word “sin”? — Art48
This is, even on the surface of it, nonsensical. If we are known by the strength of our enemies then your choosing to do battle with incoherence is both terrifyingly brave and foolhardy beyond all estimation. Your foe is illusory as defined. What sort of contest is that?! For your next trick will you punch your way out of a wet paper bag? Will you accidentally offend a liberal? Set the bar higher!A common definition is sin is some act (or thought) contrary to the will of God. — Art48
I define evil as wearing pink underpants. I have never knowingly sinned!Using that definition, I can say with complete honesty and assurance that I have never knowingly sinned. — Art48
If you can pretend to fight imaginary foes, you can at least arm them properly with imaginary truths.Why? Because God has never revealed his will to me. As a consequence, I am unable to knowingly violate his will. I am unable to knowingly sin. — Art48
What if they are just saying they are aware of the moral sense, really? They just do not know how to be honest and clear. It's as if they set up some illusionary battle and weighed all the lack of evidence (and the real evidence) in their favor. Then they spoke 'to the people' in a public place and played out that little charade in good faith with NO ONE, including themselves. Does that sound familiar? It should.Of course, there is no shortage of people who CLAIM to know God’s will. — Art48
Are they simplifying what their moral sense tells them and then also aggrandizing it with embellishments for entertainment purposes? <Brzzzt> "Please insert additional coins to continue ..."There are priests and pastors who CLAIM to know what God wishes and what God does not wish. — Art48
Yes, so that you can continue to be indoctrinated and insert coins to continue.If I become a Catholic, I’ll be told God wishes me to go to Mass every Sunday. — Art48
Well, at least not without consent. Fluid transfer is some nasty ... stuff. "The Blood of Christ compels you, though!' I guess SOME blood is better than others. Lilu, my love, where are you? Supreme Being!If I become a Jehovah’s Witness, I’ll be told God does not allow blood transfusions. — Art48
What do they say about crickets? Aren't plants people to? We need the elven point of view!If I become Hindu, I’ll be told God doesn’t want me to eat beef. — Art48
Clearly, the dumbest religion on the planet. Bacon is manna from heaven.If I become a Muslim, I’ll be told God doesn’t want me to eat pork. Etc. Etc. Etc. — Art48
No, it isn't. Not really. In some Eastern faiths and more recently entertained in Western ones, is the notion that we are all one. This oneness idea, that I call the Unity Principle, is really the best way to approach such matters.But being told by some human being what God wishes and God does not wish is a very, very different thing than being told by God. — Art48
Man is god is you.It’s difficult to imagine two things more different: one is a work of man, the other a work of God. — Art48
This paragraph really is touching on the rather boring concept of conflating order and the good. That is not wise. Order is NOT the good. The good does contain some order.Of course, there are things that religions mostly agree on, simply because most human societies have found it advantageous not to allow murder, thief, and other things commonly labeled as “sin.” And I believe it’s a good idea to try to be an upright, honest, and charitable person. I believe there are things we should generally do and things we should generally avoid. — Art48
No it is not. You are just playing games with yourself and (ha ha) your immortal soul.Nonetheless, if sin is in fact some act (or thought) contrary to the will of God, then it’s impossible for me (and for most people, I’d argue) to KNOWINGLY sin. — Art48
:100: :fire:What we do by choice either adds to or detracts from that essential being. A good deed, a positive action, a virtuous choice makes the inner personality better, stronger, more capable of facing challenges. A craven, underhanded, destructive act leaves pock-marks on the soul.
It's an old idea that endures in various guises in various religions.
And we do always know when we're committing an offence against our own best self. — Vera Mont
[T]he (foreseeable) consequence of every action (or inaction) either
• helps more than harns,
• harms more than helps,
• harms and helps more or less equally
or
• (mostly it seems) neither harms nor helps
by which habits of judgment (i.e. virtues, vices) are reflectively cultivated. — 180 Proof
If God wills that one of his creatures commit a sin, then that creature must do so; if He wills that they refrain from sinning, they have no option but resist temptation. — Vera Mont
He's omniscient, omnipresent and omnipotent, or he isn't. I can't be any fairer than that.I don't identify as Christian, but I don't believe that is a fair characterisation of their principles. — Wayfarer
They have lots of answers - entire big tomes of commentary, encyclicals, etc. All of them contradictory. That's not surprising, given the evolution of Jehovah.. However, they also maintain that this divine sovereignty does not completely negate human accountability. (Don't ask me why that's not contradictory, but they might have an answer.) — Wayfarer
They have to. Without that unshakeable sense of guilt, how could people be persuaded to shell out for huge, elaborate confections in stone to house their god, while they themselves live in hovels? How could the bishops feast on lobster, while the peasants barely have two potatoes to rub together?But most other denominations emphasize free will. — Wayfarer
Sure. So is the concept of original sin and the concept of damnation. That's never stopped people believing in them.If we were simply "puppets on strings," completely controlled by divine will without any agency or choice, then the concept of salvation would be meaningless. — Wayfarer
Personally I am not religious, yet the concept of sin makes intuitive sense to me.
It is to go against one's conscience, which I would interpret as going against one's higher self (God).
Of course, there is no shortage of people who CLAIM to know God’s will. There are priests and pastors who CLAIM to know what God wishes and what God does not wish. If I become a Catholic, I’ll be told God wishes me to go to Mass every Sunday. If I become a Jehovah’s Witness, I’ll be told God does not allow blood transfusions. If I become Hindu, I’ll be told God doesn’t want me to eat beef. If I become a Muslim, I’ll be told God doesn’t want me to eat pork. Etc. Etc. Etc.
But being told by some human being what God wishes and God does not wish is a very, very different thing than being told by God. It’s difficult to imagine two things more different: one is a work of man, the other a work of God.
18 For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth, 19 since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, that is, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen since the creation of the world, being understood through what he has made. As a result, people are without excuse. 21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
24 Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served what has been created instead of the Creator, who is praised forever. Amen.
Romans 2:12 For all who sin without the law will also perish without the law, and all who sin under the law will be judged by the law. 13 For the hearers of the law are not righteous before God, but the doers of the law will be justified.14 So, when Gentiles, who do not by nature have the law, do what the law demands, they are a law to themselves even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts. Their consciences confirm this. Their competing thoughts either accuse or even excuse them 16 on the day when God judges what people have kept secret, according to my gospel through Christ Jesus.
What would it even mean for God to reveal his will to someone?
Exodus 3:2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.
5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.
6 Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
Several of the Nazis at the Nuremberg trials claimed to be motivated by their conscience. — BitconnectCarlos
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