A world without sin

More and more our culture has moved away from the language of religion. Some of this is being done based on particular reading of the non-establishment clause in the constitution. Much of it – as a flight from the guilt that churches are accused of heaping on people in the past. In this flight from religion one of the words we have thrown out is the word “sin.”  There is just one problem. People continue to do bad things. 

Without the word sin, we paint ourselves into a corner. How do we deal with wrongdoing? The only word, the only lens we have left for viewing bad behavior is “crime.” We then move to criminalize it. We ask the law to do what law was never meant to do. And when that fails we then move to public shaming (the online world which inflicts the life sentence). 

Perhaps we would be better off calling sin “sin.” Sin names to quality of the behavior. It identifies the violation of the moral law.  The advantage is that the word sin also admits of contrition, repentance, and forgiveness. 

Today’s first reading begins with the words, 

To the penitent God provides a way back.

Imagine if, here in Vrginia, we called the recent “blackface” scandal sin. 

The offender woud express contrition, do some appropriate penance, and receive forgiveness. The offense is not ignored. Nor is it simply left hanging out there, hanging over the person’s head forever. It is punished for what it is. There would be a way back.

St Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans that,

all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. 

When we forget this truth, we become judgmental, unforgiving.  Wednesday we begin Lent, 40 days in which we are called to judge no one but ourselves.