(May 30, 2012 at 1:06 pm)Strongbad Wrote: Speaking of “sin”, I’ve always been curious as to who conceived the notion of sin. I don’t mean the supposed “original sin” purportedly committed by Adam and Eve, I mean who came up with the idea that certain acts were an offence to a god? It would seem to me that if “sin” is just another concept stolen by Christians to incorporate into their religion, then the foundations of Christianity crumble, because isn’t that what “salvation” is all about? Although I suppose that Christians would claim that even if the concept of sin was borrowed from prior religions, that would only mean that prior religions had the concept right, but were just applying to it to the wrong god.
The word seems peculiar to Christianity but the more general notion of taboo is wider spread. Prohibitions rooted in culture and religion are probably everywhere. Besides being the version present in the culture most of us grew up in it is hard to see just what makes sin special.
Lets see .. well sin we're told is universal. It is only expunged by a single instance of human sacrifice. Apparently we are created sinful and cannot free ourselves of sin by our own efforts. However we can be forgiven for sin by the very being who created us to be sinful by nature.
Don't hesitate to correct me if I have any of this wrong. I have only a sense of what anything biblical is about.
