Sin, etc. Tonight at Church we discussed sin, which leads to a whole host of other topics: evil, grace, confession, absolution. We didn't talk about redemption or repentance because we're Episcopalians and we don't talk like that. This post may ramble because I am more inspired than organized right now.
We couldn't really talk about sin and grace until we had working definitions of them, and the first definition of sin (breaking one of the Ten Commandments) wasn't enough. The Book of Common Prayer describes sin as asserting our personal will in preference to God's will, thus damaging our relationship with God, each other, and creation. We took a more general and expanded definition of sin: Sin is anything that damages our relationship with God, our neighbors, creation, or ourselves.
Then it was a matter of understanding the relationship between Evil and Sin. Note the capitalization; I'm now talking abstractly. Is Evil the same thing as Sin? Some thought that they were the same, but I think Evil is a subset of Sin. Evil has an intentional quality to it that Sin does not have. It is possible to commit a sin and not realize it, but it is impossible to commit an act of evil and be oblivious. Fine, many sin-obsessed list makers ask, but what acts are Evil and which acts are Sinful? There is no distinction. The act of aiming a gun at another person and pulling the trigger is not always evil, and not always sinful. It is evil when the intention of the act is to kill the other person. It is a sin if you are not aware of the person standing there, or you are an actor on stage and the gun is not loading with a blasting cap like it is supposed to be, etc. At this point I've made a specific example, and I'm not sure I would say that the actor who shoots another actor, thinkging it is safe, but kills them, is not morally responsible for the act. On the other hand, I'm nor sure if I would generalize that into a rule.
Anyway, once I decided for myself this distinction and definition of Evil and Sin, then Grace came up. What is Grace? If Sin is anything that diminishes these relationships, then Grace, if it is the opposite of Sin, is anything that enhances or improves or grows these relationships. I'm sure there's a better word for it but I can't think of it. To be Sinful, therefore, is to fail to act Gracefully. We have to mean that 'Gracefully' means 'God's Grace' and not the gracefulness of a ballerina skipping across a stage and leaping around and making it look easy. This is another great question: Does God have a monopoly on Grace? Is it merely a distinction between capital-G Grace and grace? When we are graceous, are we doing more than (or something different than) extending the grace of God amongst ourselves? I'd like to think so, but does that mean I'm dismissing the graceful acts of non-believers? Well, if we can sin unknowingly, then we can spread God's grace unknowingly. Part of Faith in God is seeing the world as God's, so even if someone else's act of kindness towards me comes from them for their own entirely different reason, my decision to see it as an extension of God's Grace is an act of Faith on my part. I cannot be completely responsible for their worldview.
So Grace is sorted out, but Sin is the topic of this post, so what else can I say about sin? What does it mean to be free from sin? Christ frees us from our sins, but what does that look like? I don't think it means that once we accept Jesus as Christ we are incapable of sinning. I've met people like that, but they are very few in number and, in my opinion, evil. I think what it means, and I quote the Right Reverend Steven Charleston, is that we (Progressive Christians) are not obsessed with sin. We don't feel the need to purge ourselves from sin with a mania. We sin, and we have to live honestly to recognize our sins, but we don't put effort into protecting ourselves from falling into sin. That sounds wierd, but what I mean is this: we don't not drink for fear of alcoholism or being dangerous when drunk. We don't avoid certain books for fear that they will turn us against God. We don't censor someone because we think they are false prophets. We do trust God and our own strengths to hold us through the rough spots. We fearlessly read Harry Potter without worrying that we will drop God and take up wizarding and witching. That is only half the battle.
To say that I am free of Sin is, or at least should be, stating that I am living in Grace. More than simply living in the absense of Sin, I am living a life that promotes my relationships. I do not want the life of a person who runs from sinful things, afraid of temptation. I want to life the life of a person who is a light for others to see. I want to live the life of a person whose every action reflects the Grace of God. I think that every Christian will agree with that.  ¶ 9:46 PM