I am beginning to talk about sin in my freshman class this week, and I find that the kids have a good sense of what is a sin (being in a Catholic school will do that!), but seem to be ambivalent about how to deal with it or whether they want to deal with it.
When I introduced the topic, I explained why talking about sin can be controversial. After all, these days it is more accepted to say “we’re all okay” than “you need work and I need work.” Most of the kids have been raised with the former mentality, and some are a little unsure how I, a priest, or even the Church, can get off telling them what is right or wrong. Some adults even lament, “I don’t like Fr so-and-so because he makes me feel bad” or “The Bible is too preachy, because it wants me to do things I don’t like to do!”
As I was writing the notes for the next lesson, the seven deadly sins, I began to think about how in our society some of these deadly sins are actually accepted and even valued. Think about it. Pride used to be defined as a too high esteem of the self. Does this sound familiar? These days “self-esteem” is the big thing. While I think general self-esteem is good, if we mean a healthy confidence in one’s self, self-esteem can too easily turn into “I am fine the way I am, so don’t tell me I need improvement.” Lust is now healthy and normal, according to some experts, unless of course it is pointed out that lust is often a man objectifying a woman, and then it becomes a sin again, cultural this time. I could point out how other deadly sins are now becoming valued, but I don’t want this to get too long.
My point is that, from a Catholic, Orthodox, and classically Protestant perspective, we have an uphill battle when discussing sin. We live in a culture where the self is valued above most anything else, and “I have my truth, you have yours” is oft-repeated and oft-believed too. Plus, we all like to emphasize the sins we don’t do, but get a little defensive when our actions are called sins. I find that the conservatives are glad to hear that homosexual sex and abortion are sins, but less comfortable when they have to confront the sins of greed, unjust wars, and torture. Liberals love it when I emphasize social justice sins, but get squeamish when the Church’s view on sex is brought up.
Yes, we have an uphill battle when it comes to teaching people about sin, but to relent would be, well, a sin.
David Bennett
Jennifer
asimplesinner
Fr. J.
Chad Toney
Jorge Flores
Jonathan B
carmelbennett
nicenehobbit
Jason S
jaybird68
papaz
October 11, 2006 at 3:23 pm
In your list of our least favorite sins, don’t forget anger. I believe it was Dorothy Sayers who brought this to my attention in a new way. Righteous anger is one of the Christian’s favorite attitudes, and we cannot stand to have it called a sin.
And … we have raised it to an art form that we glorify. Flip though the political roundtables or the talk radioshows. And do so remembering that anger — even righteous anger — is a sin. It is eye opening.
October 12, 2006 at 12:33 am
When I discuss sin, especially with teens, I find that the archery analogy works best. When we frame it as “hamartia”, or missing the mark, we can see sin less as a list of things we do (or don’t do) and more of a state in which we live.
Anyway, I’ve had several good conversation with both teens and adults by simply talking about the mark we aim toward (Christ-likeness, or sanctification) and where we end up.
PDH - a question about anger as a sin: was Jesus not angry at the temple courtyard when he whooped up on the money changers? I don’t know that anger is sin, but what we do with it can be.