Another Practical Guide to the Logic, Philosophy, and Thoughts of Christianity

Section 1 - Article 4

Article 4 - "2 Types of Sin"

This was written in response to what I interpret as the snowball effect of the original sin. Whilst there are no grades of sin in the Scriptures, and also no distinction of sin as made out in this article, the classification of the 2 types of sin is proposed purely for the sole purpose of discussion.

It is not surprising to note that Sin can be a rolling stone that destabilizes the mountain side to cause an avalanche. This is how the original sin, a simple disobedience to the Lord God's command to not touch the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil would eventually result in global devastation, damnation, and the tribulations mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

Why would sin snowball? Sometimes even a slight deviation of the path requires more sin to cover and hide the original transgression. Such would be what I shall term here as "Intra-sin", that is the sin that one commits to cover his earlier own sin. On the other side, is what I shall term as "Inter-sin" where the sin of one person can cause or lead another to transgress and stumble. For example, Eve caused Adam to sin (inter-sin), and in doing so, Adam committed intra-sin by shirking responsibility. Some examples of inter-sin can be seen in the classic novel "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" which illustrated how inter-sin can arise from bad social influence (see Social Responsibility of a Christian in Book 1). Similarly, inter-sin is also illustrated by cases where innocent parties bear the consequences other's sin. One such example would be where the parents of innocent babies in Moses' and the Herod's time may have to lie or cheat in order to escape the sinful commands to massacre infants.

In more recent times, the actions of a group can provoke another group to retaliate and sin as well. We see this in politics, and in modern day inter-group conflicts almost all the time. In fact, more often than not, inter- and intra- sins do occur simultaneously especially when intra-sin is used as a response to inter-sin.

"Instant retribution from inter-sin"

And one verse for the evidence of retribution is Galatians 6:7 which states that a man reaps what he sows.

Since examples of intra-sin are very common, I will not elaborate further on this. Here, I would like to elaborate on my ideas of "inter-sin", how it can lead to the avalanche, and how the Lord God uses it to teach us.

Firstly, inter-sin occasionally has "instant retribution when one gets a taste of our medicine, or for the more blessed – taste of your own medicine before you give it to others. And if we have and respond to the guidance of the Holy Ghost, we will realize that it is simply "whatever has been done unto us is also what we have previously done unto others" and should thus respond in repentance and submission to His divine will.

From personal experience, such "instant retribution" often helps us understand what evil we have done unto others in our past, and allows us to empathize with those who had similar evil done unto them. This empathy also needs to be accompanied by action in which we lend them a supporting hand in the building of the community of God's kingdom.

The other purpose of this instant retribution in which we have the realization that we have done this evil unto others before, is to stop us. In this, although Inter-sin from others is very much evil as with all sin, the correct holy response to it can lead to reduction in intra-sins.

Some good examples of this realization can be seen in the examples of the progression of transition from a child to a parent (taking care of a child); from a young and impatient young person to an older and slow person (and have someone young and fit treat you badly); being a student to being an educator; being an employer to becoming an employee under a mean boss; and the list goes on. Ignorance, though not a sin on its own, does often lead to sin. And we have the fruit of knowledge, so ignorance can no longer be an excuse. Going through these various roles and stages of life as the Lord had mercifully and graciously put us through within our time on Earth, we will learn from our mistakes to not repeat them on an individual level. As much as we do not like them, we can respond and view inter-sin placed upon us as an opportunity to learn a painful yet valuable lesson of the past.

The fruits of the spirit (Gal 5:22-23) do not come from being zapped by God and 'Poof!', I am now patient, kind, etc (reference to the movie 'Evan Almighty'). Most of these fruits and traits are learnt the hard way - through the sin imposed by others (inter-sin). The Lord had never promised a life free from pain, suffering, and sin even for His children in this sinful world. But as He ascended back to the right hand of God the Father, God the Son promised to send the Holy Ghost who will guide us through this maze. Through His guidance, good can come out of evil – valuable lessons from pain, from inter-sin, and find meaning and daily comfort in Him Who brings us through each day, giving us our daily purposes to respond correctly and lovingly to Him.