It is usually thought of as the violation of natural law or the commands of a deity. A person's sins are ordinarily characterized in terms of actions or omissions, but in some cases sin can be more meaningfully construed in terms of faults of character or in terms of states, such as a state of rebellion against God or estrangement from God. From medieval times the Church has distinguished mortal sins from venial, or less serious, sins. More controversial is the notion of original sin , or guilt inherited from Adam, the first man. Those who take seriously the notion of original sin place great emphasis upon the effects of sin in the world.
Some religious traditions allow for the possibility of the forgiveness of sin.
H. Davis, Moral and Pastoral Theology , 4th edn. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy 2. Oxford Paperback Encyclopedia 3. The Macmillan Encyclopedia 2001 4. The Oxford Companion to Philosophy 5.