Christian views of sin
There is a difference among Christians concerning the use of the word "sin". Protestants use it primarily for what they see as humanity's inherently sinful nature, and only secondarily to actual instances of sin. Roman Catholics by contrast reserve the word only for actual instances of sin, calling the sinful nature of humans "concupiscence". Catholics distinguish between venial sin, which warrants only temporal punishment in Purgatory, and mortal sin, which warrants eternal punishment in Hell, if left unconfessed. The Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox use sin both to refer to humanity's fallen condition and to refer to individual sinful acts. Neither form of Orthodoxy makes formal distinction among "grades" of sins.
According to Roman Catholicism, in addition to Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary also lived her entire life without sin. She is believed to have gone directly to heaven after the end of her life on Earth; this doctrine is the Assumption of Mary. A belief in Mary's sinlessness is shared by many Eastern Orthodox theologians, but is not universally held and is not generally considered to be a point of dogma. In addition, the Orthodox view of the sinlessness of the Theotokos is not quite of the same nature as that held by Roman Catholics, since Immaculate Conception is not an Orthodox doctrine.
Original sin - Most denominations of Christianity interpret the Garden of Eden story in Genesis in terms of the fall of man. Adam and Eve's disobedience was the first sin ever committed, and their original sin (or the effects of the sin) is passed on to their descendants (or has become a part of their environment) and is a primary reason that people must be born again and gain salvation.
In Western Christianity, sin is often viewed as a legal infraction or contract violation, and so salvation is also tends to be viewed in legal terms. In Eastern Christianity, sin is more often viewed in terms of its effects on relationships, both among people and between people and God. One Greek word in the New Testament that is often translated "sin" is hamartia, which literally means missing the target. Consequently, salvation is viewed more in terms of reconciliation and vastly improved relationships. These two perspectives are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
There also tends to be a distinction between Roman Catholic and some Protestant views of the effects of sin. Many Protestants teach that sin, including original sin, has entirely extinguished any human capacity to move in the direction of reconciliation towards God. Salvation is sola fide, by faith alone, and sola gratia, by grace alone, and by God's initiative alone. This view is called total depravity, and is associated with Calvinism and to some extent with Lutheranism.
Roman Catholics, by contrast, typically teach that while sin has tarnished the original goodness of humanity prior to the Fall, it has not entirely extinguished that goodness. Under this view, humans can reach towards God to share in the Redemption which Christ won for them. This view is shared by some versions of Protestantism also, including Methodism; among Protestants, at least, it is known as Arminianism. It is also logically necessary for Pascal's wager to be effective.
One theological tenet gaining currency among Protestant Evangelicals and Fundamentalists is that original sin resulted in imperfections at the genetic level. This seems to be an attempt to incorporate some findings from science into what has been called Creation science. This claim is rejected as theologically wrong by Catholics and liberal Protestants, and is widely regarded as pseudo-science by scientists.
Christian views of atonement
In Christianity, atonement refers to the redemption achieved by Jesus Christ by his crucifixion and resurrection. Its centrality means that it has been the source of much discussion and some controversy throughout Christian history. Christians begin with the proposition that the death of Jesus Christ was a similar sacrifice that relieves believers of the burden of their sins. But what was the actual meaning of Christ's death? Why did He have to die? The meaning of an event of such transcendent significance to Christians is hard to capture in any one verbal formula. But several have been ventured:
- Origen taught that the death of Christ was a ransom paid to Satan in satisfaction of his just claim on the souls of humanity as a result of sin. This was opposed by theologians like St. Gregory Nazianzen, who pointed out that this would have made Satan equal to God.
- St. Irenaeus of Lyons taught that Christ recapitulated in Himself all the stages of life of sinful man, and that His perfect obedience substituted for Adam's disobedience.
- St. Athanasius of Alexandria taught that Christ came to overcome death and corruption, and to remake humanity in God's image again. See On the Incarnation by St. Athanasius.
- St. Anselm taught that Christ's death satisfied God's offended sense of justice over the sins of humanity. Also, God rewarded Christ's obedience, which built up a storehouse of merit and a treasury of grace that believers could share by their faith in Christ. Anselm's teaching is contained in his treatise Cur Deus Homo, which means Why God Became Human.
- Abelard held that Christ's Passion was God suffering with His creatures in order to show the greatness of His love for them.
- John Calvin taught that Christ, the only sinless person, volunteered to take upon Himself the penalty for the sins that should have been visited on the rest of humanity. Calvin's view is called substitutionary atonement.
- Karl Barth taught that Christ's death manifested God's love and His hatred for sin.
The several ideas of these and many more theologians can perhaps be summed up under these rubrics:
- Substitution: the idea that God assumed the penalty for human sins on the Cross, and volunteered punishment so that the faithful might escape it;
- Example: the idea that Christ's death was meant as an object lesson in ideal submission to the will of God, and to show the path to eternal life;
- Revelation: the idea that Christ's death was meant to reveal God's nature to us, to help us to know Him and His nature better, and to show us the coming resurrection.
- Victory: the idea that Christ defeated Death through his death, and gave life to those in the grave.
For the Christian, full appreciation of the mystery of atonement may require a balance of all four themes.
See also: Penance; Repentance; Reconciliation; Catholic sacraments
Muslim views of Sin
Islam sees sin to be anything that harms Allah's creation or goes against the will of Allah.
Surely, there is more to be said about Islamic views of sin and atonement.
See also: God, Religion