All unhappiness rooted in sin?

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Maxirad said:
Is it true that all unhappiness is rooted in sin?
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I would argue that ultimately, it is.

Sin is the root cause of most loss and “lacking” that produces unhappiness. Take, for instance, a person who is unhappy because they are lacking food (Or another need). The issue is not that there is no food, there is plenty of food in the world, far more than enough to feed everyone. The issue is that people do not share the food they do have with those who don’t have it. This is ultimately rooted in either a sense of greed, or insecurity about the future. Without sin, neither greed nor insecurity would exist, so we would work to ensure that everyone has equal access to the necessities in life. This is true for all the basic needs that we require to live, the lack of access to which is one of the greatest sources of true unhappiness in the world.

Looking at unhappiness cause by things like death from natural causes, while it’s true that we are saddened by the loss of people we care about, we know that this loss is the direct result of sin. Had there been no sin, we would not die. Even if we did die, a sinless person goes to Heaven, so there is none of the uncertainty that accompanies death now. We may be sad that a person is gone, but we would not be unhappy because we would know that they are with God. In a sinless world, we would also not have to deal with the loss of people for unnatural causes, such as murder. No sin, no murder.

The last form of unhappiness I can think of is kind of inconsequential, and that is the unhappiness that comes from a lack of things we want. Not need, want. The only reason we have these wants is because we are lacking in our desire for God. We want material things because they are fun, or because they are novel and entertaining. Ultimately, all of these “wants” are a pale imitation of the innate desire for God every human being possesses. The only reason this desire is unfulfilled is because we are separated from God through sin.

So… yeah, I would say that unhappiness, all unhappiness, is then result of sin.
 
ProdglArchitect said:
I would argue that ultimately, it is.

Sin is the root cause of most loss and “lacking” that produces unhappiness. Take, for instance, a person who is unhappy because they are lacking food (Or another need). The issue is not that there is no food, there is plenty of food in the world, far more than enough to feed everyone. The issue is that people do not share the food they do have with those who don’t have it. This is ultimately rooted in either a sense of greed, or insecurity about the future. Without sin, neither greed nor insecurity would exist, so we would work to ensure that everyone has equal access to the necessities in life. This is true for all the basic needs that we require to live, the lack of access to which is one of the greatest sources of true unhappiness in the world.

Looking at unhappiness cause by things like death from natural causes, while it’s true that we are saddened by the loss of people we care about, we know that this loss is the direct result of sin. Had there been no sin, we would not die. Even if we did die, a sinless person goes to Heaven, so there is none of the uncertainty that accompanies death now. We may be sad that a person is gone, but we would not be unhappy because we would know that they are with God. In a sinless world, we would also not have to deal with the loss of people for unnatural causes, such as murder. No sin, no murder.

The last form of unhappiness I can think of is kind of inconsequential, and that is the unhappiness that comes from a lack of things we want. Not need, want. The only reason we have these wants is because we are lacking in our desire for God. We want material things because they are fun, or because they are novel and entertaining. Ultimately, all of these “wants” are a pale imitation of the innate desire for God every human being possesses. The only reason this desire is unfulfilled is because we are separated from God through sin.

So… yeah, I would say that unhappiness, all unhappiness, is then result of sin.
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And I suppose illness, disease, disability, suicide, murder, and war as well are ultimately rooted in sin because of the fall, which means that we are subject to these bad outcomes during our earthly life?
 
meltzerboy said:
And I suppose illness, disease, disability, suicide, murder, and war as well are ultimately rooted in sin because of the fall, which means that we are subject to these bad outcomes during our earthly life?
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Ermm… yeah.

Are you trying to make a counterpoint? I even covered murder in my post, and war is almost always either a direct result of need or of greed, both of which I also covered. Catholics believe that illness, disease, disabilities, etc, are the result of fallen human nature / the rejection of God. I was under the impression that this was also the general view of Judaism. Apologies if this is wrong.
 
ProdglArchitect said:
Ermm… yeah.

Are you trying to make a counterpoint? I even covered murder in my post, and war is almost always either a direct result of need or of greed, both of which I also covered. Catholics believe that illness, disease, disabilities, etc, are the result of fallen human nature / the rejection of God. I was under the impression that this was also the general view of Judaism. Apologies if this is wrong.
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Actually I was not trying to make a counterpoint. But as long as you brought it up, Judaism does NOT believe in any of this. First, it does not believe in the fall or original sin. Second, it does believe that G-d created the Earth and the whole universe but INTENTIONALLY not in a perfect way. In Genesis, G-d says that all His creation is “good,” until He comes to Man, which He proclaims is “VERY good.” Why the distinction? It is believed, according to Jewish thinking, that the creation of mankind entails the capacity of free will, which, if used correctly, can serve to rectify the imperfections of the world and make the earth a better place for all. That is thought to be our main earthly task. The focus is not so much on the sins of mankind but rather on the potential for his good deeds, every one of which adds to the betterment of humanity and the whole world.
 
Much unhappiness is due to ignorance and misfortune for which no one is responsible.
 
meltzerboy said:
Actually I was not trying to make a counterpoint. But as long as you brought it up, Judaism does NOT believe in any of this. First, it does not believe in the fall or original sin. Second, it does believe that G-d created the Earth and the whole universe but INTENTIONALLY not in a perfect way. In Genesis, G-d says that all His creation is “good,” until He comes to Man, which He proclaims is “VERY good.” Why the distinction? It is believed, according to Jewish thinking, that the creation of mankind entails the capacity of free will, which, if used correctly, can serve to rectify the imperfections of the world and make the earth a better place for all. That is thought to be our main earthly task. The focus is not so much on the sins of mankind but rather on the potential for his good deeds, every one of which adds to the betterment of humanity and the whole world.
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Hmm, interesting. Thank you for the response. I knew about the lack of belief in original sin, but not the rest. Incidentally, I think Catholicism generally teaches that the universe was created in a state of transition, but that we were created to not be subject to the negative effects of that transition. It is only due to our separation from God (through sin), that we became subject to things like illness and disability, as well as death from natural events.
 
Maxirad said:
Is it true that all unhappiness is rooted in sin?
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All unhappiness is rooted in man’s non-communion with God. And this is why we’re taught that true, lasting, inexhaustibly satisfying happiness is only obtainable to the extent that we’re in communion with Him, and this is only fully achievable in the next life with the Beatific Vision-which means the vision that causes happiness.

Sin, especially serious sin, is responsible for this rift with God, beginning with the *original sin *which was the choice to create the rift in the first place with Adam & Eve’s first act of disobedience, and then continuing on as we persist in sin ourselves. Man was made for communion with God; he’s lost, distorted, and disordered without it. Sin compromises that communion or relationship.
 
ProdglArchitect said:
Ermm… yeah.
Catholics believe that illness, disease, disabilities, etc, are the result of fallen human nature / the rejection of God. .
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Please show me in the Bible or in Catechism where our Catholic Faith believes this.

Then explain
  1. How a baby born blind is the the result of the rejection of God, the result of ancestral sin.
  2. How some of our greatest saints , loved by God immensly, have lived with illness and disibility. Start with the child saints.
 
STT said:
No, it is something natural/chemical in your brain. We can control it either by using medical or firm decision.
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If unhappiness is something natural/chemical in your brain then we cannot control it! Mental activity cannot be reduced to biochemical processes.
Otherwise we wouldn’t exist! The self is not a brain which controls itself…
 
ANV said:
No since all living creatures can feel unhappy and sad.
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We cannot possibly know what happens in a non-human mind. There is no evidence, for example, that animals have insight and self-control. Physical sensations of pain, hunger and physical frustration are not in the same category as abstract emotions.
 
tonyrey said:
If unhappiness is something natural/chemical in your brain then we cannot control it! Mental activity cannot be reduced to biochemical processes.
Otherwise we wouldn’t exist! The self is not a brain which controls itself…
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Have you ever take a pain killer? What is pain? Something you call mental. How something mental can be affected with something physical, a pill?
 
Maxirad said:
Is it true that all unhappiness is rooted in sin?
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Unhappiness is the absence of serenity, sadness the absence of contentment. Sadness and serenity, never exclusive one to the other, coexist peaceably as dispositions of mind and soul only when the underlying grief, anxiety, desolation or distress finally runs its course. Only when the cross is accepted does unhappiness retreat. The sadness continues. The Christian can be serenely sad.
 
meltzerboy said:
Actually I was not trying to make a counterpoint. But as long as you brought it up, Judaism does NOT believe in any of this. First, it does not believe in the fall or original sin. Second, it does believe that G-d created the Earth and the whole universe but INTENTIONALLY not in a perfect way. In Genesis, G-d says that all His creation is “good,” until He comes to Man, which He proclaims is “VERY good.” Why the distinction? It is believed, according to Jewish thinking, that the creation of mankind entails the capacity of free will, which, if used correctly, can serve to rectify the imperfections of the world and make the earth a better place for all. That is thought to be our main earthly task. The focus is not so much on the sins of mankind but rather on the potential for his good deeds, every one of which adds to the betterment of humanity and the whole world.
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Jews believe in sin though, for sure. What do you think that guilt complex is all about?
 
CHRISTINE77 said:
Jews believe in sin though, for sure. What do you think that guilt complex is all about?
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Oh yes, Jews believe in sin. We are not Buddhists. However, the focus should not be how sinful we are but rather in changing our behavior in a more positive direction. If one wallows in one’s sinful nature, then guilt will emerge, and the latter may inhibit us from changing.
 
tonyrey said:
Much unhappiness is due to ignorance and misfortune for which no one is responsible.
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I believe that much unhappiness arises from trying to extract happiness from lowly worldly pleasures. True happiness comes from God, through the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit!
 
tonyrey said:
If unhappiness is something natural/chemical in your brain then we cannot control it! Mental activity cannot be reduced to biochemical processes.
Otherwise we wouldn’t exist! The self is not a brain which controls itself…
Click to expand...
Have you ever taken pain killer? There are centers for producing the pain and we know that the state of being conscious of pain is the result of biochemical processes in the brain. There is a also a place for creating the self. You can google it yourself.
 
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