sin

1. A transgression of a religious or moral law, especially when deliberate.
2. Theology.
   1. Deliberate disobedience to the known will of God.
   2. A condition of estrangement from God resulting from such disobedience.
3. Something regarded as being shameful, deplorable, or utterly wrong.

1. To violate a religious or moral law.
2. To commit an offense or violation.

[Middle English sinne, from Old English synn.]

noun

1. A wicked act or wicked behavior: crime, deviltry, diablerie, evil, evildoing, immorality, iniquity, misdeed, offense, peccancy, wickedness, wrong, wrongdoing. See right/wrong.
2. That which is morally bad or objectionable: evil, iniquity, peccancy, wickedness, wrong. See right/wrong.
3. Something that offends one's sense of propriety, fairness, or justice: crime, offense, outrage. See right/wrong.

verb

To violate a moral or divine law: err, offend, transgress, trespass. See right/wrong.

Definition: illegal or immoral action
Antonyms: behavior, good, goodness, morality, virtue

v

Definition: commit illegal or immoral action
Antonyms: behave, comply, obey

For more information on sin, visit Britannica.com.

Nearly 30 different words are used in the Bible to refer to all kinds of sins; of these, three are primary. The most important word is ḥet; with its numerous verbal and nominal variations, ḥet occurs nearly 600 times in the Hebrew Bible. The root meaning of the word is "to miss the mark." While the word ḥet and its derivatives apply to all kinds of sin---social and ritual, deliberate and unwitting---it is the only term which describes the least offensive category of sin: an unwitting transgression of the ritual law.

The second most prevalent term, with all its variations, is avon. Usually translated as "iniquity," it implies a sin which is far more deliberate and outrageous than ḥet. Although it is occasionally used in reference to ritual sin, it is most frequently connected with punishable crimes against the social law and ethic, e.g., acts of injustice, lawlessness, or perversion.

The third term is pesha. The usual translation of its verbal form is "to transgress," but "to rebel" is more accurate. It implies a more serious offense than avon and is different from the simple meaning of ḥet. Thus, "For he adds transgression [pesha] unto his sin [ḥet]" (Job, 34:37). Pesha is never used to refer explicitly to a ritual sin. According to R. David Kimḥi, it always implies "a willful departure from the authority of the master or from the one who has given the command." In the framework of a religious concept, pesha usually denotes a deliberate rebellion against God by transgressing His law.

In rabbinic writings the three terms are used in the above order to describe the comprehensive character of sin (Yoma 36b). Every sin includes some element of each of the three categories: "missing of the mark" (ḥet) with respect to the highest ideal; a deviation (avon) from the right and lawful way; and an act of rebellion (pesha) against the authority of the law and the lawgiver. In rabbinic theology some sins are, however, more serious than others. For example, sins of commission are more serious than sins of omission. Those sins which go against the law of the Torah are weightier than infractions of rabbinic law. The most serious offenses are idolatry, murder, and incest; a person should be prepared to die rather than commit any of these.

Rabbinic literature also uses the term averah to connote a sin. The word means, literally, "a transgression" and generally points to a sin of commission, whether against a ritual or a social law.

In general, Judaism adopts a pragmatic attitude to human failings and the remedy for a breach of the law is largely practical, e.g., the bringing of a sin offering, restitution, and Atonement. In this system of practical religion little is said about the origin of sin, or about any difference in man before and after Adam's sin. Accordingly, there is no significant recognition in Judaism of the effect of man's first sin on his descendants. In spite of a few ambiguous references, mainly in ḥasidic and kabbalistic literature, the mainstream of classical Judaism clearly rejects any suggestion that sinfulness in human nature is a legacy from Adam's "original sin." The assertion that God will "visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children" (Ex. 20:5) is not taken as a theological statement of the inevitable transmission of sin from generation to generation. In fact, it does not actually teach that children will be punished for the sins of the fathers but refers to a situation in which the children are also "them that hate Me." The doctrine of individual responsibility that is expounded in Deuteronomy 24:16 and Ezekiel 18:1-4 is central in Judaism.

Whenever the rabbis attempted to trace the psychological origin of sin, they ascribed it to the yetser ha-ra, the "evil inclination" that is innate to human nature. This approach to the "psychology of sin" is also prominent in kabbalistic thinking and in the ethical literature of ḥasidism. It is also the meaning of the statement, "For there is not a righteous man upon earth who does good and does not sin" (Eccl. 7:26). For with the yetser ha-ra there is also the yetser ha-tov, the "good inclination" (see Good and Evil). Moreover, Judaism insists, as one of its basic teachings, that man is blessed with Free Will. The consequence of such freedom is that while he may be overcome, even momentarily, by his evil inclination, which leads him into sin, he can choose to master it. Man is thus free to obey or disobey, to fulfill the commandments of God or to reject them, and this is the challenge with which he is faced. In Jewish thought, every normal person enjoys such freedom, at least to an extent that enables him to make a moral choice.

While the Jewish concept of sin often appears to be formal, involving the legal minutiae of the law that has been broken, in its developed and spiritualized form sin is shown to result in a feeling of deep guilt experienced in man's sensitive conscience. This idealized concept is found in the later books of the Bible. Habakkuk (2:10) describes sin as an "offense against the soul," anything which disturbs man's spiritual equilibrium and causes his alienation from God (cf. Job 5:6, 18:5-21, 20:4-29; Ps. 38:3; Isa. 48:22, 57:21). Sin is the obverse of the holy and cuts man off from God.

While Jewish philosophers, both medieval and modern, relate to both the biblical and rabbinic concepts of sin, there is less emphasis on sin in the rabbinic sense of averah and a greater stress upon the psychological effect of sin as a state of alienation from man's noblest ideal or highest potential.

Throughout the entire literature, it is made abundantly clear that sin can be remedied and that the estrangement of man from God can be repaired by the exercise of sincere Repentance, which alone can restore man's wholeness. (See also Confession of Sins.)

A moral category going beyond that of simple wrongdoing by its implications of evil, disobedience, depravity, stain, and wickedness. Sin therefore requires atonement, penitence, and self-abasement, not to mention punishment. The abjection and lack of self-respect implied in the cluster of ideas serve to emphasize the importance of redemption. They are therefore an important buttress to the power of those who claim to know how to provide it. The concept is only at home in a religious tradition built around the possibility of God's disgust, and is not found pure and simple in classical thought, where offences were equally liable to divine vengeance whether voluntary or not. See also hell, original sin, predestination, Seven Deadly Sins.

Buddhism does not accept the existence of an omnipotent deity and has no concept of sin as the offence against such a being by the contravention of his will as expressed through revelation or deduced by reason. It does, however, in the doctrine of karma, distinguish clearly between good and evil deeds.

For other uses, see Sin (disambiguation).

"Sinners" redirects here. For the 2007 drama film, see Sinners (film).

"Sinful" redirects here. For the 1979 hard rock album, see Sinful (album).

A Sistine Chapel fresco depicts the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden for their original sin.

Sin is a term used mainly in a religious context to describe an act that violates a moral rule, or the state of having committed such a violation. Commonly, the moral code of conduct is decreed by a divine entity, i.e. Divine law.

Sin is often used to mean an action that is prohibited or considered wrong; in some religions (notably some sects of Christianity), sin can refer to a state of mind rather than a specific action. Colloquially, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, shameful, harmful, or alienating might be termed "sinful".

Common ideas surrounding sin in various religions include:

• Punishment for sins, from other people, from God either in life or in afterlife, or from the Universe in general.
• The question of whether an act must be intentional to be sinful.
• The idea that one's conscience should produce guilt for a conscious act of sin.
• A scheme for determining the seriousness of the sin.
• Repentance from (expressing regret for and determining not to commit) sin, and atonement (repayment) for past deeds.
• The possibility of forgiveness of sins, often through communication with a deity or intermediary; in Christianity often referred to as salvation.

Crime and justice are related secular concepts.

Contents 1 Etymology 2 Jewish views of sin 3 Christian views of sin 4 Islamic views of sin 5 Bahá'í views of sin 6 Hindu views of sin 7 Buddhist views of sin 8 Atheist views of sin 9 See also 10 Notes and references 11 Bibliography

Etymology

Look up sin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The word sin derives from Old English synn, recorded in use as early as the 9th century.^[1] The same root appears in several other Germanic languages, e.g. Old Norse synd, or German Sünde. There is presumably a Germanic root *sun(d)jō (literally "it is true").^[2]

But in the biblical Hebrew, the generic word for sin is het. It means to err, to miss the mark. It does not mean to do evil.^[3]

The Greek word hamartia (ἁμαρτία) is usually translated as sin in the New Testament. In Classical Greek, it means "to miss the mark" or "to miss the target" which was also used in Old English archery.^[4] In Koine Greek, which was spoken in the time of the New Testament, however, this translation is not adequate.^[5]

Jewish views of sin

Main article: Jewish views of sin

Judaism regards the violation of any of the divine commandments to be a sin. Judaism teaches that sin is an act, and not a state of being.

Christian views of sin

Main article: Christian views of sin

In Western Christianity, sin is viewed as a legal infraction or contract violation, and so salvation tends to be viewed in legal terms, similar to Jewish law. In Eastern Christianity, sin is viewed in terms of its effects on relationships, both among people and between people and God. The Bible portrays sin as not following God's moral guidance, based on the account of Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis. Sin is to know God's will, but willfully choose to ignore it.

Islamic views of sin

Main article: Islamic views of sin

Islam sees sin (dhanb, thanb ذنب) as anything that goes against the will of Allah (God). Islam teaches that sin is an act and not a state of being. The Qur'an teaches that "the (human) soul is certainly prone to evil, unless the Lord does bestow His Mercy" and that even the prophets do not absolve themselves of the blame (Qur'an ^{[Qur'an 12:53]}).

Bahá'í views of sin

Main article: Bahá'í views of sin

In the Bahá'í Faith, humans are considered to be naturally good (perfect), fundamentally spiritual beings. Human beings were created because of God's immeasurable love for us. However, the Bahá'í teachings compare the human heart to a mirror, which, if turned away from the light of the sun (i.e. God), is incapable of receiving God's love.

Hindu views of sin

Main article: Hindu views of sin

In Hinduism, although the term sin (pāpa in Sanskrit) is often used to describe actions that create negative karma by violating moral and ethical codes it is different from other religions like Judaism, Christianity and Islam in the sense that sin is against the will of God.

Buddhist views of sin

Main article: Buddhist views of sin

Buddhism does not recognize the idea behind sin because in Buddhism, instead, there is a "Cause-Effect Theory", known as Karma, or action-reaction.

Atheist views of sin

Atheism often draws a distinction between sin and an ethical code of conduct. Sin is a term generally associated with a theological belief system (which is antithetical to atheism), and is separate from the concept of "right or wrong." Atheists typically do not use the term "sinful" to refer to actions that violate their particular moral system (particularly if "sinful" is taken to mean "acting against the wishes or commands of a deity"), preferring terms such as "wrong" or "unethical," which do not carry religious connotations. Most atheists hold that moral codes derive from societal mores or innate human characteristics, rather than religious authority. Atheists may still adhere to a strong ethical code, even if they do not use the concept of sin.

"Atheism" is as vague a category as "theism", however: just as there is no universal doctrine of "theism" (apart from the basic assertion that some divine entity or entities exist), there is no universal doctrine of "atheism," and no unified atheistic view on the concept of sin.

See also

Look up sin in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sin

• Abomination
• Actual sin
• Atonement
• Concupiscence
• Eternal sin (also known as Unforgivable sin or Unpardonable sin)
• Ethics
• Evil
• Fall of Man
• Hamartiology
• Impiety
• Internal sin
• Karma
• Morality
• Mortal sin
• Original sin (also known as Ancestral sin, Hereditary sin, Birth sin or First sin)
• Repentance
• Salvation
• Seven deadly sins (also known as the Capital vices or Cardinal sins)
• Sin-offering
• Taboo
• Ten Commandments
• Total depravity (also known as Total inability or Total corruption)
• Vaitarna river
• Venial sin
• Vice
• Virtue

Notes and references

1. ^ Editorial board. Oxford English Dictionary (1971) ISBN 0198612125. Earliest citation c.825.
2. ^ Bartleby - Sin
3. ^ The Science of God: The Convergence of Scientific and Biblical Wisdom by Gerald L. Schroeder
4. ^ Liddell and Scott: Greek-English Lexicon 9th ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
5. ^ Danker, Frederick W. A: Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. 3d ed. Chicago/London: University of Chicago Press.

Bibliography

• Hein, David. "Regrets Only: A Theology of Remorse." The Anglican 33, no. 4 (October 2004): 5-6
• Schumacher, Meinolf. Sündenschmutz und Herzensreinheit: Studien zur Metaphorik der Sünde in lateinischer und deutscher Literatur des Mittelalters. Munich: Fink, 1996

v • d • e Hamartiology Adam • Evil • The Fall • Original sin • Sin • Sin in theology • Supralapsarianism and infralapsarianism • Theodicy • Total depravity Related Theology: Apologetics, Soteriology and Demonology

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Dansk (Danish)
1.
n. - synd
v. intr. - synde

idioms:

• live in sin    leve i synd
• sin bin    skammekrog, rektors kontor, udskiftebænken

2.
n. - det første bogstav i det hebræiske alfabet

3.
abbr. - uden

Nederlands (Dutch)
zonde, vergrijp, zondigen

Français (French)
1.
n. - (Relig) péché, (fig) crime
v. intr. - pécher

idioms:

• live in sin    vivre dans le péché
• sin bin    prison, (fig) cendrier

2.
n. - shin (vingt-et-unième lettre de l'alphabet hébraïque)

3.
abbr. - (Math) sinus

Deutsch (German)
1.
n. - Sünde
v. - sündigen

idioms:

• live in sin    in Sünde leben
• sin bin    (ugs.) Strafbank

2.
n. - 21. Buchstabe des hebräischen Alphabets

3.
abbr. - Sinus

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - αμαρτία, ανόμημα, κρίμα
v. - αμαρτάνω, παραβιάζω τον ηθικό νόμο
abbr. - ημίτονο

idioms:

• live in sin    συζώ παράνομα
• sin bin    (καθομ.) τάξη απομόνωσης ταραχοποιών μαθητών, σωφρονιστικό ίδρυμα, (αθλοπ.) πάγκος τιμωρημένων παικτών

Italiano (Italian)
peccare, peccato

idioms:

• live in sin    vivere nel peccato
• sin bin    cella

Português (Portuguese)
n. - pecado (m), delito (m), letra (f) do alfabeto hebraico
v. - pecar, transgredir as leis, ofender as boas maneiras
abbr. - seno (Mat.)

idioms:

• live in sin    viver em pecado
• sin bin    caixa de pandora

Русский (Russian)
грех, ошибка, порок, оплошность, проступок, грешить, нарушать, противоречить

idioms:

• live in sin    жить в грехе, сожительствовать
• sin bin    скамейка штрафников

Español (Spanish)
1.
n. - pecado
v. intr. - pecar, cometer un pecado

idioms:

• live in sin    vivir en el pecado (sin casarse)
• sin bin    prostíbulo

2.
n. - vigésimo segunda letra del abecedario hebreo

3.
abbr. - (mat) seno

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - synd, försyndelse
v. - synda, försynda sig
abbr. - sinus

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
1. 违背习俗, 过失, 不合情理之事, 违反教规, 犯罪, 违命, 犯过失

idioms:

• live in sin    未结婚同居
• sin bin    冰球曲棍球受罚席

2. 希伯来语的地21个字母

3. 正弦

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
1.
n. - 違背習俗, 過失, 不合情理之事
v. intr. - 違反教規, 犯罪, 違命, 犯過失

idioms:

• live in sin    未結婚同居
• sin bin    冰球曲棍球受罰席

2.
n. - 希伯來語的地21個字母

3.
abbr. - 正弦

한국어 (Korean)
1.
n. - (도덕상의) 죄, 위반, 재치 없음
v. intr. - ~에 대해 죄를 저지르다, (예절 따위에) 어긋나다

2.
n. - 신 (헤브루어 알파벳의 제21번째 자모)

3.
abbr. - sine (정현)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - 罪, 罪悪, 違反, ばかげたこと
v. - 罪を犯す, 反する

idioms:

• sin bin    ペナルティーボックス

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) خطيئه (فعل) يخطأ (اختصار) جيب ألزاويه)sine(‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮חטא, עבירה, פשע, עבר עבירה, מעשה לא-מוסרי הנחשב לעבירה על חוק אלוהי‬
v. intr. - ‮עבר עבירה‬
n. - ‮שין שמאלית‬
abbr. - ‮סינוס - היחס בין הצלע שמול הזווית ליתר (טריגונומטריה)‬

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