meltzerboy
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Why are Western religions (Christianity, Judaism, Islam) so much more preoccupied with the topic of sin than Eastern religions (Buddhism, Hindu, Taoism, Shintoism)?
Preoccupation with Sin
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benidict
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I dont know. What are your thoughts? I find Jewish teaching much more enlightening than the Christian perspective at times. It May have to do, with the belief of a more personal relationship with the Divine. Just as we dont want to offend those we love, in this world, we dont want to offend our Creator. Peace and blessings for you.
J
JRKH
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I don’t know that this is true. Certainly Jesus did not teach a “pre-occupation” with sin…What He did teach was keeping your eye on the prize and avoiding sin (error) that would deflect one from the goal of eternal life with God in heaven.
Now - That said, I think that there IS something of a preoccupation in how the teachings are applied…
This is something difficult to express but has to do with our fallen nature and an unwillingness to give up completely our sinful natures…This leads to people asking two questions.
What must I do to be saved…and What is the least that I have to do…
The Church has tried to answer these questions as best she can but her answers tend to lead to lead to more questions of the, “Yes but what if…”, nature.
Over the course of 2000 years (longer for the Jewish faith) this back and forth of teaching - questions - expanations - more questions - More explanation…has resulted in a body of “Rules”.
Because of this, many people begin to define “sin” in the same way they define “crime”…Everything is legal that does not break a rule…A very dangerous way to look at things.
The Judeo-Christian faiths are NOT based on “avoidance of sin” but on the seeking after God.
I can’t speak to Islam, as I know very little about it.
Peace
James
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AveChriste11
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I have yet to meet any Orthodox Christians that are preoccupied with their sins to the exclusion of other things. That seems to be more of a Western phenomenon, coming out of a Roman juridicial way of thinking. A lot of Western thought is defined as crime and punishment, and satisfying God’s wrath.
The Greeks don’t hold such a view, to them sin is sin period. We don’t try to divide it up between mortal and venial, nor are we satisfying anyone’s wrath. For his ways are not our ways, nor are his thoughts our thoughts. We avoid sin not for negative reasons, but because we want to become United to Him through his energies as He, in his essence, is ultimately unknowable.
That’s why He said to Moses you can not behold my face, for no man shall see me and live. But he did say hide behind something, and you can see my back as I pass by…
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JRKH
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Sufjon
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I think there was a transformation of the meaning of the word sin in Abrahamic faiths, especially Christianity. Some of the earliest translations of the New Testament were in Greek. The Greek word hamartia (ἁμαρτία) was usually translated as sin in the New Testament. In Classical Greek, it meant “to miss the mark” or “to miss the target,” rather than being indicative of wrongdoing. Eastern faiths like my own see sin in more of the former fashion rather than the latter. It means to be out of alignment with the proper order of things, or to miss the mark. The English word sin derives from the Old English word synn. This word has more of a connotation of “being guilty,” which is how I think most Christians have come to use the word over time.
So if you tell someone in an eastern faith that they have sinned, they would take it that they have some development to do, and most of us would believe that we have all of eternity to work that out. If you tell someone in the Christian faith that they have sinned, they seem to take it that they are guilty or that they are wrongdoers. If you couple that view with the uniquely Abrahamic idea of one life in which to get it right with a judgment at the end that either admits someone to heaven or commits them to hell, I think you start to see a very understandable preoccupation with sin.
This doesn’t mean that people from eastern faiths don’t have any incentive to get it right. Being out of alignment or missing the mark prolongs your suffering. Being in alignment and hitting the mark produces a fuller, happier existence and eventually frees one from the cycle of birth and death.
Anyway, this illustrates the differences you mentioned at least in my thinking. I’d like to add that I don’t think one way is right or the other is wrong. They’re just different, and I respect them both.
Your friend
Sufjon
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Robert_in_SD
Guest
Perhaps it stems from the Judeo/Christian thought that all human beings are created in the image and likeness of God and as such are to be accorded a level of respect and personal dignity that transcends the self, whereas eastern religions do not take up the the notion of the dignity of the person, but see individual human personhood as a barrier to the divine. By acknowledging that both self and others are to be accorded great respect as such, the failure to treat one’s self, and others with the required respect becomes significant in a way that eastern religions do not address. Feel free to disagree if you think I am I off base here?
Peace,
Robert
meltzerboy
New member
I wish to thank all of you for your very interesting and informative comments and perspectives on this topic. Although your views may differ, they all sound reasonable to me.
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edwest2
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Jesus said, I came to call sinners to repentence. Everyone is liable to sin. This sensitivity to our own actions, and an examination of conscience, helps us make a good Confession. This is not a preoccupation but to present ourselves as a worthy sacrifice. Even the Pope goes to Confession.
Peace,
Ed
Peace,
Ed
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OrdinaryMelkite
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Peace
James
As Well.- Status