What Exactly Are Sins?

[Minimalist]

Sins are figments of idiot's imaginations.

[Exian]

The funny thing about sin, after you've become an atheist, is that you have to revisit them and try to find the foundation of what's morally wrong with the activity. Mostly, you won't find anything other than "God said", which you don't believe exists, but you'll still have to shake the feeling or habit that its wrong.

[*Deidre*]

Behaviors that offend ''God.'' But, some behaviors would offend others. If one needs to fear the wrath of a deity to make him/her feel ashamed of offending others...that is pretty sad.

[TubbyTubby]

The biggest sin is that various religious establishments are obsessed with making almost anything to do with sex a 'sin' causing millions of followers to grow up with real mental problems as they supress their desires and don't know how to treat women.

[Chad32]

Things god doesn't like. Which makes claims that he is without sin rather pointless. No one can make him do things he doesn't want to do, so of course he doesn't sin. Sin can be said to be things that are evil, but you run in to problems when slavery isn't considered evil, yet two consenting same sex adults making love is.

[Polaris]

A sin is that which creates a spiritual rift between human and God.

[Spooky]

Anything that is more fun than god.

So everything.

[robvalue]

Yeah, I'd have to go with "things God doesn't like". It even seems to go as far as enraging or upsetting God, which are human emotions he shouldn't be feeling. You'd think if anyone could handle stuff, it would be him. But it turns out he's the least forgiving and most petty and vindictive being ever.

I think both sin and morality are slippery words that theists try to use to mean two different things. They may be hoping we don't notice, or may actually not realize they are doing it due to indoctrination.

Sin: A bad thing to do; an immoral action or something God doesn't like.

Morality: Doing the right thing, caring about the wellbeing of others or doing what God tells you to do.

The two meanings are totally different, so I think it's very important to get the theist to define what they mean. So good thread

[Nope]

Human nature, criminalised.

Best answer yet.

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Like many words, "sin" has more than one meaning, which one can easily see from looking it up in a dictionary:

http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/defini...ctCode=all

An offense against god is the first meaning listed at the above link, but the word can simply mean 'wrongdoing,' as one can see from the second definition at the above link.

 That definition really doesn't make any sense. If an all powerful, all knowing, eternal being did exist, what exactly is an offense against him? How do you offend such a being?

When I was a Christian, I was taught that all humans sinned but now I realize, I don't actually know what sin is.   

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A sin is that which creates a spiritual rift between human and God.

Thank you for the answer.

How does a spiritual rift work? What happens when there is a spiritual rift between god and a human? 

Do you believe that humans have to understand that something is a wrong in order to commit a sin or can you accidentally sin?

[Polaris]

I accidentally committed a version of adultery according to the New Testament version.

A spiritual rift is when the presence of God is not found in the life of a person. The person becomes less than what they are supposed to be.