Daily Reflection

The English Biblical terms translated as “sin” or “syn” from the Biblical Greek and Jewish terms sometimes originate from words in the latter languages denoting the act or state of missing the mark. The original sense of New Testament Greek ἁμαρτία (hamartia) “sin”, is failure, being in error, missing the mark, especially in spear throwing; Hebrew hata “sin” originates in archery and literally refers to missing the "gold" at the centre of a target, but hitting the target, that is, error. "To sin" has been defined from a Greek concordance as "to miss the mark".
The doctrine of sin is central to Christianity, since its basic message is about redemption in Christ. Christian hamartiology describes sin as an act of offence against God by despising his persons and Christian biblical law, and by injuring others. So, sin is an offence against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbour caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined by St. Augustine as “an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law”. Also, Sin is an offence against God: “Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight” (Ps 51:4). Sin sets itself against God's love for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the “first sin”, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become “like gods”, knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus “love of oneself even to contempt of God”. In this proud self- exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation. St. Thomas Aquinas presented sin and vices as contraries of virtues. To recognise the possibilities of sin in man is equal to acknowledge his human nature, his control and mastery of his own actions. Sin is a motion to the goal; it is judged by the object to which it is directed. The field of sin is the same as the field of virtue. There are three major fields: relationship with God, with oneself and with the neighbour.
As it were, there are two main types of sin; Original Sin (inherited from Adam and Eve’s sin, as it corrupted our human nature), and Actual Sin – Mortal and Venial Sin. The gravity of sins is determined principally by their objects. So, Sins can be distinguished according to their objects, as can every human act; or according to the virtues they oppose, by excess or defect; or according to the commandments they violate. They can also be classed according to whether they concern God, neighbour, or oneself. To choose deliberately - that is, both knowing it and willing it - something gravely contrary to the divine law and to the ultimate end of man is to commit a Mortal sin. This destroys in us the charity without which eternal beatitude is impossible; Unrepented, it brings “eternal death”. On the other hand, Venial sin constitutes a moral disorder that is reparable by charity, which it allows to subsist in us. They require some sort of penance either on Earth or in Purgatory.

According to Aquinas the gravity of sin depends also on some disposition of the agent. Sin, venial by reason of its object, may become mortal. It happens when a person fixes his/her ultimate happiness, the last end of his/her life, in the object of that venial sin. When venial sin is used as a way to provoke mortal sin it becomes mortal as well; an example is, when someone uses empty conversation or a chat to seduce someone to commit adultery. Also sin, mortal by reason of its object, may become venial because of the agent's disposition when his/her evil act does not have full moral capacity, that is, is not deliberated by reason. That may happen, for instance, when sudden movements of unbelief arise in the mind. However, no matter the gravity, through the Sacrament of Penance man obtains pardon from God's mercy for the offences committed against Him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labours for their conversion.

Finally, sin can be categorized into four, viz; Sins of attitude, which include false pride, unjust anger, bitter envy, malicious hatred, and that sort of thing. The Sins of action, which refer to things we might do to displease God, such as getting drunk, committing adultery, stealing, blaspheming. Sins of neglect, which consist of failure to do things we know God has commanded us to do (James 4:17), for example, Missing the Lord's Supper when you should have been there, or letting a needy person go hungry whom you ought to have fed. Then, Sins of intent, which is simply a sin committed in wish but not in reality, for example the adultery committed in a man's heart which Jesus described in Matthew 5:28. The man does not commit adultery, but would, if he could. He is not guilty of adultery. But he is guilty of the intention to commit it.