Understanding sin in religious and philosophical contexts

¶ … Genesis 4:6 (NIV), "Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it." With this quote in mind, perhaps the first crime ever committed in the world would not have occurred if Cain, the son of Adam and Eve, had listened to God's words, for He was warning Cain that certain types of behavior can lead to sin. No matter what type of sins tried to control him, Cain knew that he had to be strong and willing to deter these sins. However, Cain killing his brother Abel is considered as a mortal sin borne by temptation from the devil, and any kind of heinous or malicious behavior that leads to a departure from God's obedience is also considered as sin, driven by temptation from the devil.

Since the creation of mankind, sin has followed him. Our father and mother Adam and Eve committed the first sin when they chose to eat the forbidden fruit. Then, there was their son Cain who motivated by envy, murdered his brother Abel. Another example is Joseph's brothers who threw their little brother into a deep well, thinking that as a result of this sin that they would gain their father's love and kindness. In essence then, sin is a form of internal collapse and is an innate violation common to all humans. A person who falls into sin might be a poor person with bad, sullen luck who then surrenders himself to the devil with all his will and spirit and who leaves himself to suffer the pains of his own conscience. If a person continues to sin, this means that he no longer possesses his own will and has no resistance to evil which in effect forces him to sin. Thus, sin was born with the creation of human beings and with the temptation and insistence of the devil who whispered into the ears of Adam's sons so as to make them fall into sin and thus drag them down with him to burn in Hell.

Exactly what forces a human being to commit sin is related to the spirit of evil which waits for all until we fall into its diabolical trap. However, human beings are fully knowledgeable about this, yet they seem to be indifferent to it, perhaps because they think punishment will be deferred or that they are above being obedient to God's will.

What happened to previous nations via demolition and separation due to their sins is a lesson that people must be aware of in order to avoid sin. Noah always preached to his people to obey God's commands and he also warned them about God's punishment. He tried to apply the truths of God and did whatever he could for his people. However, Noah's people did not respond, for they kept committing sins and ignored Noah. God said to Noah, "I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth" (Genesis 6:13, NIV). Thus, God's anger against Noah's people erupted when they continued their disobedience and sinning, so He sent the flood on Noah's people and eradicated all living things except for Noah, his sons and their wives, and all of the animals kept within the ark.

Sin can either be apparent or internal; it can be obvious to the public and can be part of the bad feelings one has toward other people. Apparent sin is what people observe and because of this, sin can be divided into two misdeeds. First, the guilt of the sin itself, such as stealing, drinking wine, or adultery; second, the guilt of saying it with pride and in public which demonstrates one's indifference to God's commands. This also sets a very bad example for people because it encourages them to commit their own sins as if it was something natural. Thus, within time, people will become accustomed to sinning which ultimately will help to spread corruption in the entire community.

Internal sins are also another way to disobey God and be driven away from His mercy. It is like willing a bad feeling to another person or knowing about the truth of something, but one does not say anything for one's own or another person's benefit, such as injustice, spying on other people, or gloating over another person's's grief. The Holy Bible says, "A poor man's field may produce abundant food, but injustice sweeps it away" (Proverbs 13:23, NIV). Thus, insisting on committing sin brings about the wrath of God and the Holy Bible proves that God

sends His punishment to those who are unjust, proving that God does not defer His punishments until Judgment Day. Conversely, God sends His accelerated punishment into the current world. Certainly, internal sin is the most repulsive of all sins; therefore, people cannot be judged from the inside and internal sin is one of the main reasons why communities and countries are being destroyed.