The nature of sin

[Rick]

Is a small sin done by someone who knows better worse in God's eyes than a larger sin done by someone who is ignorant of the law?

Romans 2:14 comes to mind and also Paul as he chronologically grows in faith goes from being "the least of the Apostles" to "the chief sinner"

[wax]

Great question... and it is slippery in a way.

The response around the Judeo-Christian world would range so greatly that one would think there is no unity concerning worship.

There are some who believe that being born is sin enough to send one to an eternity of fire and brimstone in Hell... that if a child is not baptized before death he or she is condemned by a "loving father"!

There are others who do not believe for one single moment that a loving father would condemn any of his children to an eternity of pain and suffering for anything they could do in life. They believe that the only humans who will suffer after death are those that distance themselves from God.

The answer of course must be somewhere in between there.

Jesus wept... he carried human emotions and one can assume suffered the same human frailties that we all do.
Put down the frying pan... I am not declaring that Jesus sinned!
But I do think about it once in a while.

John the baptist performed a service for Jesus as if he required it just like the rest of us, maybe he didn't need to remove the sins of his mother (and thus all humanity) as the rest of us are directed to do, maybe he was simply leading by example.

Or maybe... just maybe... his grief at the graveside of his freind Lazareth is there to show us something important. Maybe his anger displayed in the temple and the violence that insued is an example of a slight... well... sin.

Again don't get me wrong; I am only saying that for man sin is inherent (literally according to some!).
So then your question becomes, "Is it worse for me to accidentally do something I shouldn't or to knowingly do it?"

A loving father can not hold someone ignorant of the law guilty of breaking it. It is obvious that someone who has never heard of him can not worship him as the first commandment states. In fact the first three commandments are out the window if someone has never heard or read them.

But the rest of the commandments are simple rules of society... and sometimes they are guidelines at best!
Thou shalt not kill would appear to be pretty rigid and easily understood but then... suffer not a witch to live!
Honor thy mother and father can become leave thy mother and father and follow Jesus.
It can get confusing to say the least!

I think (and therefore my opinion only) that God is saddened by all sin equally, and thus he is angered by all sin in equal ways.
I suspect that there are two sins that he would judge more harshly than others:

One: Shutting up the gates of heaven on another, or in other words condemning a brother or sister in order to hold yourself above them. Jesus spoke of this often; removing the plank from ones own eye before pointing out the splinter in anothers.
You have mentioned pride before and it comes down to that, and far too many Christians display this sin without really considering it. They secretly judge another church goer by the clothes worn or the amount placed on the offering plate.
They take pride in the nice new multi-million dollar building they worship in and imagine that it is a place that Jesus would hang out in if he were still physically here on Earth.
I suspect that Jesus would not even bother stepping into a church, I would seek him out under the bridges and in the alleys... sitting next to a crack smoker and soothing those who need such a thing.
I suspect God resents the use of gold to garnish worship and declare a higher level of piety.

Two: Denying the children access to a loving father.
I discuss my questions concerning faith and worship all of the time, but they are my questions.
There are some out there who approach discussion in order to destroy faith, we have all encountered them.
I suspect that the greatest sin Jim Jones ever made was not convincing almost 900 people to commit suicide (and force those who were not convinced, shooting many).
I suspect his greatest sin was to destroy the relationship many of them had with a loving father.
He replaced God with himself.

There are some who believe that every Jonestown member is now burning in Hell.
I don't believe that for a moment!
Almost 900 people that day were greated with great joy and are now basking in the glory of God... almost.
I suspect that a few are wandering alone and in misery after coming to the realization of what he/she has done.

And of course that is the whole point of this post:
It doesn't really matter what sins are "worse" in God's eyes, those of us who fail to enter heaven will do so because we can not look upon him after doing what we did.

Now for those who read this and feel compelled to declare my view wrong I will not argue my case too stridently because it would not be right for me to do so.
There are many... many... Christians who will declare that anyone who does not repent in this life will burn in Hell.
They have "proof" and they are absolutely certain that a loving father would have no problem watching a child who breaks the rules suffer an eternity of pain and misery without any potential for reform... a perpetual spanking aimed only at punishment without consideration of cruelty.

Again, it is not my place to condemn them for holding such a belief (yet far too many of them seem to get a great deal of satisfaction out of the concept).

[wax]

I often think of sitting at my father's table in the way that any large family would gather.
The prodical son is welcomed by the father because he has been greatly missed, because the father is joyous at his return!
Jesus spoke of being distanced from God, and the hope for all of us in getting closer to him.
Every large family has the "informants", the "snitches", the tattle telling children who run to father and declare that one child or another should not receive his blessings for one reason or another.
The father loves them but they can get annoying after awhile so they are often placed at a seperate table so they do not disrupt happier conversation.
The one who is placed closest to him is often one who the "informants" point out often, he or she has broken many rules and there was a fear that he or she might never return home.
Past confusion and mistakes are forgotten and all the father wants is to revel in the fact that a child who has been gone too long has returned.

It is comforting to me.

[bookwormom]

someplace it says God looks upon the heart. the prodigal son had a change of heart and the amount and kind of sin was unimportant when he returned home.
what would God consider a small sin anyway?

[bookwormom]

good post wax, with enough points to start several threads.

[bookwormom]

quote:

There are others who do not believe for one single moment that a loving father would condemn any of his children to an eternity of pain and suffering for anything they could do in life. They believe that the only humans who will suffer after death are those that distance themselves from God


maybe someone wants to start a thread on the above?