Does 'SIN' mean 'HARM'?

Question

If so, then why all the fuss about consentual sex betweem adults? Gay or Straight? Do religious people still rule this country?

Answer 1

Sin means missing the mark.

All we need do is try to do better the next time.

Love and blessings Don

Answer 2

Sin comes from the word to miss, like an arrow missing the bullseye.
People who follow a religion often but not always have covenants (agreements, contracts) with their deity. To "sin" is to miss fufilling the obligations of that contract.

That's why it's so damnably goofy when Christians and other Abrahamicists accuse non-Abrahamicists of sinning against their god. You can't sin against a deity you have no contract with, and to claim that people who are not Abrahamicists have such a contract is the utmost in cherry picking from the Bible.

Wait, no, that's not true. Since there is no covenant with ALL PEOPLE in the bible, it's not even cherry picking, it's just lying about what is there.

Answer 3

I guess if you think about yes, but I don't think so, I don't see the harm in having sex without being married, you can still get knocked up while you're married, and you can still get divorced and be a single parent. Gluttony is a sin, but you are only harming yourself not someone else, and on the opposite end being anorexic is harmful too. If your stuck in the middle neither gluttonous or anorexic, you can still eat in ways that are harmful to yourself. Wow what a question, it makes your think in circles.

Answer 4

Sin can mean to against the laws of nature, which is basically to harm nature. It can also be like an illness.

Answer 5

I like the way you think.
Sin does mean harm. Fornication (or promiscuity) causes harm, but consenting relationships among adults of any orientation do not.

Answer 6

yes becuase the soul is life force and killing it thru sins is harm..sex is what made you so yeah you would be here if it was a dictatorsh!t

Answer 7

The Bible says, for the wages of sin is death, But the gift of God is eternal life. God is still the Almighty one. He sits on the throne.

Answer 8

harming ourselves is the sin

Answer 9

A sin is an act in contrast to the will of Allah. We can act following His will, this is the meaning of the word Islam, or we can fail to pay attention to His will or we can deliberately act against His will. Islam is submission to the will of Allah. The purpose of our existence as Human beings is to worship and serve Allah - to do His will.

This is made clear in the Qur'an:

"I have only created Jinns and men, that they may serve Me."

Surah 51 Verse 56

Yusuf Ali Translation:

"I created the jinn and humankind only that they might worship Me." Pickthall Translation:

The most important names of Allah are ones expressing His compassion towards creation - Ar-Rahmaan and Ar-Raheem. These mean the most full of compassion and mercy (Ar-Rahmaan) and the most giving in that compassion and mercy (Ar-Raheem). The foundation of worship / service to Allah is to become humbly grateful for the great gifts we already have from Allah and as a result to seek to please Allah through serving Him. This happens through gaining knowledge of creation and recognition of the revelation sent by Allah to Mankind and learning to value and appreciate it. We then serve Allah by building in and on that creation to add ever more real value to it.

To serve Allah our intentions must reflect His intentions; our wills must be consciously submitted to His will. The basic principle for us then is to reflect Allah's 'rahma' by showing compassion and mercy towards Allah's creation in the hope, and with the assurance, that Allah will show compassion and mercy towards us.

One of Allah's greatest gifts is the gift of moral guidance through revelation. If we follow it, it brings the greatest benefits in this life and the next. It is in trying to do this that our intentions are purified and it is by our intentions that we are judged.

A fundamental precept of Islam is that Human nature is essentially good. There are many elements to Human nature and each one has the potential to bring benefits.

In general we can say that a sin is committed when someone causes harm to themselves or to others or to any part of creation. The guilt depends on the intention of the sinner. In its most extreme form someone does deliberately harmful and destructive acts rejecting any appeals to do what is for their own benefit never mind what is beneficial for others. They may claim that it makes no difference anyway since existence is pointless and therefore have no gratitude for the benefits they have in life.

The contrast to this is someone who tries to improve himself, others and all of creation. They believe in God and are always grateful to Him for all they have in life. Their works to improve creation flow from their will to please God.

Human beings have the capacity to sin largely as a result of having the capacity to plan. When someone plans their efforts, they need to be able to suppress their natural desires for a time. This is quite different from animals that live from moment to moment obeying their perceptions of the present and their instinctive drives. This is indeed a dramatic difference. Human beings are able to look to the future - conceptualise it and form an intention to act. This conscious intention can override even the most powerful of our instincts. Through it we have capacity to cause ourselves harm in the short term in order to realise the greater good in the long term. As an inevitable part of this we gain the potential to cause ourselves harm, i.e. the potential to sin.

We cannot see clearly into the future. What we do instead is to believe in some future circumstances and direct our actions accordingly. Taking planning to its logical limits we would try to do what is for the good over all time and certainly for our entire life (in this world and the next). This is the core of trying to do what is morally right. It is trying to do what is for the ultimate good. It is trying to do what Allah wills.