Sin Is Not An Actual Thing Posted in: Divine Expression, The Self Divine

The word sin normally refers to transgression of absolute (non-contextual) laws of acceptable behaviour decreed by God. A sinner is defined as one to transgresses such laws in much the same way that a criminal is one who transgresses the law of the land.

But in my opinion sin is not an actual thing … it’s a construct that helps one who needs fear of punishment to motivate them to avoid activities that aren’t helpful to spiritual realisation. Useful perhaps at the beginning if one chooses the spiritual journey.

But I suspect that the goal of life, spiritual or otherwise, is not prescribed by God. Rather, God intends for the individual, as part of their expression and exploration of divinity, to choose their own life goals. And consistent with this, does not pre determine absolute laws of acceptable behaviour. If this is the case then sin cannot be understood in the traditional way. It becomes contextual, where one person’s ‘sin’ may indeed be another’s piety.

If in fact it is up to us to choose our life goals probably the word sin should be avoided altogether. It carries a lot of baggage from it’s use within religions. Better to talk in terms of desires, actions and thoughts unhelpful in the quest to realise ones’ chosen objectives. Within the dharmic tradition, Yama and Niyama are such concepts.