Sin and Culture

Q1 Give reasoned arguments for why you believe the concept of sin is diminished in the public square. Provide supporting evidence for your arguments.

Given the increased focus on individualism in our culture, the idea that any personal choice is a sin makes many people profoundly uncomfortable. The concept of sin suggests that there are eternal truths which must be obeyed and to deviate from them is absolutely wrong. Contemporary secular culture is much more relativistic and many people do not believe that very many things are wrong in an eternal, moral sense, so long as they do not immediately hurt other people. That they may hurt the person committing the sin or that they may have long-term harms for others is ignored.
Q2. Identify one area in society (the public square) where the concept of sin is eroding.
One area in society in which the concept of sin is clearly eroding is the idea of coveting thy neighbor’s goods. We are such a competitive society, the idea that jealousy is bad is not very popular, given that everyone is encouraged to view that they are in a race with the person beside them, including a race to accumulate material wealth. Even if people may grant that material goods are not the primary source of happiness, they still focus upon attaining them and often excuse immoral actions, so long as they result in a profit for someone. It is difficult for people to grasp the notion that simply because something may be financially profitable does not mean that the means by which the gain is achieved is moral.
Q3. Provide one or more specific examples (keep your description PG-13).
Today, aspiring for material wealth is considered to be an unqualified good and feeling jealous of other people is seen as a motivational force, rather than a source of sin. There is also reluctance to question material values. People often have a poor sense of what they really need, versus what they want, and confuse needs with wants. Just because someone may want a new car or a bigger house does not mean that they need a new car but this may be used to justify questionable ethical actions such as taking advantage of people at work to secure enough money to lead a lavish lifestyle.
Q3. Supporting arguments
The Bible stresses the need to serve God with an eye upon God alone, versus temporary, worldly estimation. Of course, it is important to be kind to people and to love others. But wanting to be admired by others solely because of one’s material goods and trying to conform to social expectations about money and wealth over spirituality is not the same thing as loving one’s neighbor.
Q4. . Bible verses addressing the sin issue (at least two verses provided then briefly explained).
“You are not to desire your neighbor’s house, nor your neighbor’s wife, his male or female servant, his ox, his donkey, nor anything else that pertains to your neighbor.” (Exodus 20:17)
One very interesting aspect of this Biblical passage is that it specifically prohibits people from desiring, not simply stealing, their neighbor’s goods. This suggests that even feeling jealousy can be sinful; for example, jealousy can be so distracting to focusing on spiritual things it can cause someone to turn away from God and to commit other sins to obtain what they desire.
“It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to get into the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25)
Sometimes having wealth, social status, and other worldly things can make people so worried about keeping them (like the rich young man of the parable), that people are unable to ignore their need for social estimation and forget about their spiritual life. Being spiritually poor and humble and ignoring the way in which the world evaluates the human character versus God is paramount.
Word count (excluding the prompts): 514

Bibliography:
Bible Gateway. Retrieved from: https://www.biblegateway.com/