what are your thoughts?

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Do not abandon yourselves to despair.
We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.

Pope John Paul II

Behavior is essentially our only outward form of portraying who we are as a person.  Since no one besides ourselves can possibly be conscious of what our true beliefs, attitudes, feelings and morals are; our actions must speak for us.  Therefore, sin (to me) has to be a state you exist in.  

True, sin is an action.  But those actions are the basis for how you are perceived before others, and before God.  It would be ridiculous to say, "Yes, I sinned but that's not what I really believe so therefore I'm not a sinner."  That's like saying, "Yeah I smoke but I don't think I should....so I'm not a smoker."  Intention does not negate action.

That being said, of course people make mistakes and no can be expected to never sin.  I believe that ties in more to the idea of free will....we have the ability to create that seperation from God, and (in my opinion) everyone does it at some point.

In the end, we all may be considered sinners to some degree.  Ehhh....Romans 3:10

Read Romans 1-6 in particular 5:12-14  

Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned— for before the law was given, sin was in the world. But sin is not taken into account when there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who was a pattern of the one to come.

Post edited at 5:17 pm on Nov. 5, 2008 by gronk

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Goodbye LW! 2 things to leave you with- 1 the points dont matter
2. There should be able to have topics within groups

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"Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny."

 
Behavior is essentially our only outward form of portraying who we are as a person. Since no one besides ourselves can possibly be conscious of what our true beliefs, attitudes, feelings and morals are; our actions must speak for us. Therefore, sin (to me) has to be a state you exist in.

True, sin is an action. But those actions are the basis for how you are perceived before others, and before God. It would be ridiculous to say, "Yes, I sinned but that's not what I really believe so therefore I'm not a sinner." That's like saying, "Yeah I smoke but I don't think I should....so I'm not a smoker." Intention does not negate action.

That being said, of course people make mistakes and no can be expected to never sin. I believe that ties in more to the idea of free will....we have the ability to create that seperation from God, and (in my opinion) everyone does it at some point.

In the end, we all may be considered sinners to some degree. Ehhh....Romans 3:10

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and yet I think many try to claim "I lie, but I am not a liar. Or, I had committed the act of adultery but I am not an adulterer etc. some attempt to differentiate between the action and the actor.

It bothers me, and in class today it bothered me, that we attempt to differentiate, compartmentalize, seperate it all out and attempt to distance ourselves from the concept of sin.

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Do not abandon yourselves to despair.
We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.

Pope John Paul II

Edit: You know it just takes me a minute to systematize. Here, I made a chart. The more I think about this though, it is less about your question and more about the metaphyisical implications of sin with regard to the eternal disposition of one's soul.

Edit 2: Okay, that's tiny, but you can enlarge it in my Public Album.

Post edited at 7:21 am on Nov. 6, 2008 by Prince o palities

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"It is the wrong question to ask, and therefore, as one  might expect, has
no right answer." - Hans von Campenhausen

This is the philosophy of my life.

Sin being the state of "free will depravity"

and sin being the acts you commit?

so both is your answer? you did indeed get a bit sidetracked, but it is helping the conversation.

Question to you/anyone willing to answer:

Do you believe that it is possible, theoretically, for a normal person to be sinless?

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Do not abandon yourselves to despair.
We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.

Pope John Paul II

Moreover, what is the incarnation if it does not represent the real human capability to live without sin?  If Jesus was only sinless because of his divine nature, then he has set an impossible standard for man.  He is an ethical type which cannot be mimicked.  We cannot be imitators of Christ if he was not just as susceptible to sin on earth as we are.

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"It is the wrong question to ask, and therefore, as one  might expect, has
no right answer." - Hans von Campenhausen

This is the philosophy of my life.