Quote:
THE MEANING OF SIN
In contrast to the more popular “dilemma”, a “trilemma” is essentially the same thing, but with three options instead of two. One such trilemma is typically ascribed to the Greek scholar Epicurus (341-270 BCE), rejecting the notion of an omnipotent (infinitely powerful) and omnibenevolent (infinitely kind) God. Some believe it was an early skeptic who stated this idea, rather than Epicurus, but the trilemma itself is generally worded as follows:
1. If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not powerful.
2. If God is unwilling to prevent evil, then he is not kind.
3. If God is willing and able to prevent evil, then why is there evil?
I intend to challenge the second assumption of this trilemma; that is, the idea that an all-powerful God who is unwilling to prevent evil is not benevolent.
At first, it is easy to see why Epicurus might have presented this argument. It is, after all, rather straightforward. However, I would argue that God is able to prevent sin, but unwilling to do so, for a different set of reasons.
Christian doctrine, on the subject of man’s relevance to things, generally holds that humans were created to be companions for God. In the same book that we are given the Judaic and Christian creation narrative, we are also introduced to other creations of God, generally referred to as ‘angels’. While debates continue as to the exact nature of angels, most agree that they are different from humans and typically fulfill the roles of messengers, guards, and other servants, usually to enforce the desires of God.
It may be helpful, at this point, to remember that angels are often attributed as saying things like “do not be afraid” when first appearing before humans. Some have advanced the theory that contrary to the traditional portrayal of humans with white wings, angels may actually be very frightening in appearance, and so telling people to relax might have been important. They’ve also been suggested as appearing like completely normal human beings at times, perhaps because that was what was called for at the time.
Regardless of the exact appearance of angels, they are not portrayed as companions of God. Servants, yes, but not companions, and this is a crucial aspect to keep in mind when considering humanity’s supposed role as the friends of God.
Even more important, however, is the proof (in Christian belief, at any rate) that God can, and has, created beings other than humans. We don’t have to be the way we are now; if one believes that God is all-powerful, then one must then conclude that God is capable of creating things any way He wants. In other words, sin does not have to exist, but it is permitted to exist. This brings us back to Epicurus, and his conclusion that if God is unwilling to remove evil, he is not a kind God.
I reject this notion. Rather than accept this line, I propose the following: Sin is one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity.
At first glance, this proposal is patently ridiculous. Sin and its companion evil are held by Christian theology to be inherently bad things. Sinning is wrong, as any Sunday School teacher is capable of telling you, and is something that a proper Christian will attempt to avoid as much as possible. So how could this possibly be a gift from God?
The answer to this question lies in the fact that if we are to be God’s companions, then we must have free will. If God simply wanted to create entities that would endlessly praise Him, then he could. In fact, some parts of the Bible suggest that He already has, when you take into consideration the idea of heavenly hosts that sing praises and so on.
However, if we are to be judged for our sins, then we must bear responsibility for them. If a tree falls onto your house, would it make any sense to condemn the tree for its wrongdoing? It’s not sentient, and certainly couldn’t control its actions the way we can control our bodies, so to place any kind of moral blame on the tree for its destruction of your home is silly.
In other words, for sin to matter, you must choose to sin. A mere puppet cannot control its actions, and cannot be held accountable for anything it does. If we could not choose to sin of our own free will, then we would not be in need of saving, because the responsibility for that sin would not lie with us, but with the one pulling our strings.
If God is good, and by nature cannot sin, then God cannot be controlling each and every action we make because we do sin.
However, another important piece of Christian theology is that we must also choose God; the fact of choice comes into play once again. God does not force us to repent of our sins; He merely offers us forgiveness if we truly feel we have done wrong. God cares about us so much that He will allow us to walk away from what He wants, even if we condemn ourselves by doing so.
Consider the story of Jonah. Some believe the whale was a literal whale, while others believe the story to be a metaphor about being inside of a Roman prison. Whatever the reality of that, the story is very clear on one thing: Jonah doesn’t go to Nineveh until he agrees to. God wants Jonah to do something, but though He gives considerable encouragement, He does not actually force Jonah to go.
I believe that God permits the existence of sin because it gives meaning to our choice of following him. If you are required to vote, and there is only one name on a ballot, can we really say that your vote means anything? I don’t believe it would. In the same way, if we are able to choose God, then we must by definition be able to not choose God. It’s only when you have more than one option that a choice acquires meaning, and I believe that what God wants is for us to freely choose him. With no sin, no choice of “not God”, our decision to follow God would have no meaning.
So the next time you hear about something bad on the news and wonder why God allowed it to happen, just consider… if the darkness did not exist, there would be no meaning to the light. Christians are often among the kindest and most generous people on the planet, and every act of good you do is truly valuable because you chose to do it.
When it comes to faith, choice is everything. I believe that God is unwilling to prevent evil from happening in this world because without it, we could not be the companions He wants. It is our choice to follow God that sets us apart from others, and it is our choice to sin that allows us to fall from grace.
I’d like to take this even further, though. As the saying goes, “God helps those who help themselves.” If it is our choices that matter, then when we pray, let us pray for the strength to make those choices and handle the results. Don’t pray for your path to be made easy, but to have the strength to walk it no matter how tough the going is. If we are to be God’s companions, then we shouldn’t be afraid to step up and decide things for ourselves.
From God comes choice. From choice comes sin. From sin comes salvation, and from salvation we return to God. Sin does not exist as an enemy to God, but as the means through which we can truly be together with Him of our own will as companions. And that is the Meaning of Sin.
In contrast to the more popular “dilemma”, a “trilemma” is essentially the same thing, but with three options instead of two. One such trilemma is typically ascribed to the Greek scholar Epicurus (341-270 BCE), rejecting the notion of an omnipotent (infinitely powerful) and omnibenevolent (infinitely kind) God. Some believe it was an early skeptic who stated this idea, rather than Epicurus, but the trilemma itself is generally worded as follows:
1. If God is unable to prevent evil, then he is not powerful.
2. If God is unwilling to prevent evil, then he is not kind.
3. If God is willing and able to prevent evil, then why is there evil?
I intend to challenge the second assumption of this trilemma; that is, the idea that an all-powerful God who is unwilling to prevent evil is not benevolent.
At first, it is easy to see why Epicurus might have presented this argument. It is, after all, rather straightforward. However, I would argue that God is able to prevent sin, but unwilling to do so, for a different set of reasons.
Christian doctrine, on the subject of man’s relevance to things, generally holds that humans were created to be companions for God. In the same book that we are given the Judaic and Christian creation narrative, we are also introduced to other creations of God, generally referred to as ‘angels’. While debates continue as to the exact nature of angels, most agree that they are different from humans and typically fulfill the roles of messengers, guards, and other servants, usually to enforce the desires of God.
It may be helpful, at this point, to remember that angels are often attributed as saying things like “do not be afraid” when first appearing before humans. Some have advanced the theory that contrary to the traditional portrayal of humans with white wings, angels may actually be very frightening in appearance, and so telling people to relax might have been important. They’ve also been suggested as appearing like completely normal human beings at times, perhaps because that was what was called for at the time.
Regardless of the exact appearance of angels, they are not portrayed as companions of God. Servants, yes, but not companions, and this is a crucial aspect to keep in mind when considering humanity’s supposed role as the friends of God.
Even more important, however, is the proof (in Christian belief, at any rate) that God can, and has, created beings other than humans. We don’t have to be the way we are now; if one believes that God is all-powerful, then one must then conclude that God is capable of creating things any way He wants. In other words, sin does not have to exist, but it is permitted to exist. This brings us back to Epicurus, and his conclusion that if God is unwilling to remove evil, he is not a kind God.
I reject this notion. Rather than accept this line, I propose the following: Sin is one of God’s greatest gifts to humanity.
At first glance, this proposal is patently ridiculous. Sin and its companion evil are held by Christian theology to be inherently bad things. Sinning is wrong, as any Sunday School teacher is capable of telling you, and is something that a proper Christian will attempt to avoid as much as possible. So how could this possibly be a gift from God?
The answer to this question lies in the fact that if we are to be God’s companions, then we must have free will. If God simply wanted to create entities that would endlessly praise Him, then he could. In fact, some parts of the Bible suggest that He already has, when you take into consideration the idea of heavenly hosts that sing praises and so on.
However, if we are to be judged for our sins, then we must bear responsibility for them. If a tree falls onto your house, would it make any sense to condemn the tree for its wrongdoing? It’s not sentient, and certainly couldn’t control its actions the way we can control our bodies, so to place any kind of moral blame on the tree for its destruction of your home is silly.
In other words, for sin to matter, you must choose to sin. A mere puppet cannot control its actions, and cannot be held accountable for anything it does. If we could not choose to sin of our own free will, then we would not be in need of saving, because the responsibility for that sin would not lie with us, but with the one pulling our strings.
If God is good, and by nature cannot sin, then God cannot be controlling each and every action we make because we do sin.
However, another important piece of Christian theology is that we must also choose God; the fact of choice comes into play once again. God does not force us to repent of our sins; He merely offers us forgiveness if we truly feel we have done wrong. God cares about us so much that He will allow us to walk away from what He wants, even if we condemn ourselves by doing so.
Consider the story of Jonah. Some believe the whale was a literal whale, while others believe the story to be a metaphor about being inside of a Roman prison. Whatever the reality of that, the story is very clear on one thing: Jonah doesn’t go to Nineveh until he agrees to. God wants Jonah to do something, but though He gives considerable encouragement, He does not actually force Jonah to go.
I believe that God permits the existence of sin because it gives meaning to our choice of following him. If you are required to vote, and there is only one name on a ballot, can we really say that your vote means anything? I don’t believe it would. In the same way, if we are able to choose God, then we must by definition be able to not choose God. It’s only when you have more than one option that a choice acquires meaning, and I believe that what God wants is for us to freely choose him. With no sin, no choice of “not God”, our decision to follow God would have no meaning.
So the next time you hear about something bad on the news and wonder why God allowed it to happen, just consider… if the darkness did not exist, there would be no meaning to the light. Christians are often among the kindest and most generous people on the planet, and every act of good you do is truly valuable because you chose to do it.
When it comes to faith, choice is everything. I believe that God is unwilling to prevent evil from happening in this world because without it, we could not be the companions He wants. It is our choice to follow God that sets us apart from others, and it is our choice to sin that allows us to fall from grace.
I’d like to take this even further, though. As the saying goes, “God helps those who help themselves.” If it is our choices that matter, then when we pray, let us pray for the strength to make those choices and handle the results. Don’t pray for your path to be made easy, but to have the strength to walk it no matter how tough the going is. If we are to be God’s companions, then we shouldn’t be afraid to step up and decide things for ourselves.
From God comes choice. From choice comes sin. From sin comes salvation, and from salvation we return to God. Sin does not exist as an enemy to God, but as the means through which we can truly be together with Him of our own will as companions. And that is the Meaning of Sin.
