The Social Effects of Sin in America

It seems this is beginning to degenerate into various squabbles only tangentially related to the question at hand. Whether it is the fact that I refer to the definition I am defending as "my" definition, that I presented a rationale for considering homosexuality a sin and yet do not consider it necessary to pursue this as a foundation of my position(or the position I am defending or what have you), or even a light-hearted reference to musical pop-culture to make a point; it seems difficult for my partner to stay on focus. Perhaps it would help if I made something of a condensed version of the argument. A sin is a transgression of God's law, and by its very nature takes those who commit it (by word, action or omission) further away from objective Good. This differs from "mistake" in that mistakes can and often do refer to morally neutral things, such as mistakenly putting salt rather than sugar in a yogurt. A mistake, but not a sin. (Hopefully my bias against salty yogurt is not taken as a sign of egotism) This also differs from other transgressions in that it directly offends the ultimate, objective good, while it is sometimes moral to transgress man made laws, as in the case of the Civil Rights movement's advocacy for civil disobedience of unjust laws. Truth is not indifferent to the good of society If is objectively evil, it cannot be said to be good for society. The generalized sin against human dignity of Apartheid in South Africa, or Slavery in the United States negatively affected society insofar as it led the members of those society away from the common good. Mankind is a social animal, and thus one's actions affect the general society. If I behave in an immoral way I adversely affect those around me. Therefore sin is bad for society If sin is a transgression of God's law, and negatively affects individuals who commit the sin and those around them, sin cannot be said not to affect society. This is even more strongly the case given mankind's social nature, whereby an individual's action, whether sinful or virtuous will affect the general society. In order to show that sin is not detrimental to society, one would have to show that one persons actions are indifferent to the general society. Discussions as to whether homosexuality or apostasy ought to be considered sins is moot, as we are not taking on this discussion from any particular religion's point of view, but rather considering sin more generally. In any case, contrary to what Pro may believe, those who do follow a particular religion will look to their faith tradition's source of authority (be it the Bible, the Koran or the living Church) in order to define what constitutes sin. I have yet to find a protestant who is willing to cite the Oxford Dictionary of English with the same zeal and conviction as his trusty King James Version. In matters pertaining to religion, therefore, I will trust to those authorities and sources more readily than a dictionary.As I say, however, whether truth lies in the halls of academia or the pews of the corner Baptist Church, it behooves us actively to seek it out, as the matter of truth not only affects us as individuals, but also the greater society. Whether or no it is a sin to act on romantic impulses towards those of the same sex is important, just as it is important to know if God disapproves of my Bacon Lettuce and Tomato sandwich; because it is not indifferent to those involved and society at large one way or the other. This is the crux of the argument: the very reason people will argue so passionately on both sides of all these different issues. Whoever is right, the salvation of souls and the good of humanity are on the line; because truth matters, and because it does, so does sin.(I have not made reference to the comment about bullying and suicide because the response given last round already addresses the concerns raised this time around. I will summarize it to save the reader time in looking for it: Bullying someone into suicide is gravely sinful, and so this only serves to give more credence to the position that sin does indeed adversely affect society.)