In Abrahamic contexts, sin is the act of violating God's will. Sin can also be viewed as anything within individuals that violates the ideal relationship between them and God.
Some crimes are regarded as sins and some sins are regarded as greater than others. In this nuanced concept of sin, sins fall in a spectrum from least corrupt and evil to greatest evil. Catholicism regards the least corrupt sins as venial sins—which are part of human living and carry little divine consequence. Conversely, sins of great evil are mortal sins—which bring the dire consequence of going to Hell if unrepented.
Sins of careless living are considered destructive and lead to greater sins according to the Seven Deadly Sins. Another concept of sin deals with things that exist on Earth but not in Heaven. Food, for example, while a necessary good for the (health of the temporal) body, is not of (eternal) transcendental living and therefore its excessive savoring is considered a sin.
Read more about Sin: History of The Term
Famous quotes containing the word sin:
“Alas! this is the crying sin of the age, this want of faith in the prevalence of a man. Nothing can be effected but by one man. He who wants help wants everything. True, this is the condition of our weakness, but it can never be the means of our recovery. We must first succeed alone, that we may enjoy our success together.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“We permit all things to ourselves, and that which we call sin in others, is experiment for us.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“Who are you to condemn another’s sin? He who condemns sin becomes part of it, espouses it.”
—Georges Bernanos (1888–1948)