Sin and Original Sin

[Freedom]

I am a preschool teacher. I am more than familiar with behavior modification for young children. In my classroom I use Gordon's teacher effectiveness training approach. Basically I help the children talk their problems out with each other. I do not use any incentives or punishment. They learn how to use their words to express their feelings instead of hurting each other.

Last night it finally dawned on me that this is solid proof that there is no such thing as original sin, or sin at all. I stopped believing in sin long ago, but it's finally hitting me that I am dealing with learned behavior, not sin. Children are complex people. Heck, we're all complex! And that's important to remember, that our behavior can't always be simplified to "good" and "bad".

Thoughts?

[reverendjeremiah]

great post. Its one thing to say something, but its a completely different thing to REALLY reallize that what you say is correct.

[Doubting Thomas]

No god = no sin. It's impossible to have a definition of "sin" without invoking supernatural explanations.

[Minimalist]

Heck, we're all complex!

I find theists to be simpletons, mainly. I take them at their word that they need the concept of an angry invisible sky-daddy who is always watching and ready to rub their noses in shit when they crap on the floor.

[genkaus]

I am a preschool teacher. I am more than familiar with behavior modification for young children. In my classroom I use Gordon's teacher effectiveness training approach. Basically I help the children talk their problems out with each other. I do not use any incentives or punishment. They learn how to use their words to express their feelings instead of hurting each other.

Last night it finally dawned on me that this is solid proof that there is no such thing as original sin, or sin at all. I stopped believing in sin long ago, but it's finally hitting me that I am dealing with learned behavior, not sin. Children are complex people. Heck, we're all complex! And that's important to remember, that our behavior can't always be simplified to "good" and "bad".

Thoughts?

Few points of disagreement here-
1. While there is no such thing as original sin, the same cannot be said for sin.
2. Because our behavior cannot always be simplified to good or bad, does not mean it can never be simplified to good or bad.
3. I think it is incorrect to base your opinions on sin and morality on the behavior of pre-schoolers. To be capable of sin requires a person to be a moral agent, i.e. act with capacity to understand the nature and consequences of his and her actions. Thus, for a moral agent, it is possible to even change the learned behavior. I don't think the same standards apply to children because they are still learning these things and therefore cannot be said to be moral agents yet.

[Abracadabra]

And that's important to remember, that our behavior can't always be simplified to "good" and "bad".

Thoughts?

The very notion of "good" and "bad" is a notion that is used by religions to brand people as being either "good" people or "bad" people. A religion like Christianity takes this to the extreme by proclaiming that to merely not believe that the religion is the "Word of God" is a "bad" choice.

The concept is nothing more than a brainwashing tactic that tries to make people feel guilty if they aren't obeying the often immoral and bigoted demands of a specific doctrine. This isn't unique to Christianity of course, but Christianity takes it to extremism, as do other Abrahamic religoins like Islam, etc.

When you stop and think about it, the religion started out supposedly being about a God who simply wants people to be "good". But it ended up evolving into a religion that proclaims that this God will "hate" everyone who refuses to believe that the Bible is "His Word", and that Jesus was "His Son". Ans what would any of that have to do with being "good"?

It's basically a train-wrecked mythology.

It's a man-made religious cult that has truly become quite ugly in many ways. In order for Christianity to stand Jesus would need to be a totally unsympathetic hateful monster who condemns everyone who refuses to believe in him to eternal torment and suffering.

The very notion of being "good" has been lost forever. You can't be as "good" as you like according to this religion, it means nothing if you don't acknowledge that Jesus is LORD.

Clearly the religion has irreparable oxymorons built right into it. It simply isn't a salvageable mythology.

I'm very glad to hear that as a teacher you have become enlightened to the obvious fallacy of such nonsense. I wish all teachers had a mind as intelligent as yours. Then we wouldn't be burdened by these absurd notions of "sin". And we wouldn't be teaching our Children that they are sinners who have displeased their creator. What a horrible thing to teach a child. Yet this is what Christians do on a daily basis.

It's truly sad.