Why do some people worry so much about sin.?The word was not used prior to the 9th century.?

Question

The English word sin derives from Old English synn., recorded in use as early as the 9th century.

The Greek word hamartia (ἁμαρτία) is usually translated as sin in the New Testament; it means "to miss the mark" or "to miss the target.

So actually the bible should say that if you miss the mark you go to "hell," and that is "Geenna," or Gehenna, which refers to the valley of Hinnom in Jerusalem which was a refuse dump where the bodies of criminals and other "no-goods" were typically thrown to burn up instead of having a decent burial.

Sin and hell were man made words.

Answer 1

To play devil's advocate -- God's advocate -- .. ..

Anyway, almost all cultures have some word to describe something that is irreducibly unethical. Hell and Hades seems to be some manifestation of a similar karmatic mythology -- that what comes around goes around.

At any rate, I avoid the use of the word sin because of all the connotations you're bringing up.

Answer 2

How far from any truth can you get, Sin & hell is not man made words, It is in the Bible. & Jesus Christ died & rose again 9 century before your time slot. You say that the word sin did not come in until the 9th century, Then explain Numbers 15:28 & Numbers 16:38 & Deuteronomy 19:15 Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall surely die. & 2nd Peter 2:14 Plus there is many more scriptures I can use, Now what will be your next question, Since you think the word sin never was used until the 9th century, You are off by thousands of years.

Answer 3

Actually, the word Sheol refers to said valley near Jerusalem, which was used as a metaphor for hell, something visual to compare it to that the Jews of the time might understand. As for the sin question, to miss the mark is probably a very loose interpretation fo the word. Sin itself is to disobey God, which is where missing the mark comes in. The mark is obedience to God, whereas sin is missing that mark by doing what God considers wrong acts or thoughts. The problem there is that you have to go back to the original Hebrew of the Old Testament for the correct translation of the word sin, because of the limits of transliteration, the OT word for sin doesn't carry the same way in the Greek. In a similar way, the word sin does not translate well into Japanese. The Japanese word that we equate to sin really has more to do with a high level crime. So in order to transliterate words sometimes there is something lost in translation.

Answer 4

We all sin /miss the mark, even Christians, no one is perfect except Christ of course, but that messing up isn't what determines whether we go to hell or not, but rather if we ask Jesus the one who died for our sins to forgive us when we do miss the target,if we ask him to forgive us then we will spend eternity w/him in heaven. Hell may come from the word Geenna but whatever it comes from I know it's a place I don't want to be.

Answer 5

Words have changed over the centuries. But sin, in it's original form, appears in manuscripts that are thousands of years old.

You sure your'e not thinking about throwing darts at the pub with the guys, after having a few?

Answer 6

All words are man made words. The idea of sin is seen throughout the Bible. That is why the Hebrews were requires to make sacrifices...for their atonement.

Answer 7

Of course, to be precise, you have to know, that the greek word hamartia, does not only mean "to miss the target", but it also means "to fail", "to make a mistake" and "to lose".

Many greek words have more than one meanings.

Answer 8

sin is the english term for anything that is immoral or that goes against God. Disobedience to God.
And we all sin, we all have fallen short of God's glory (Romans 3:23)
So no matter how you look at it, we will all still be judged according to our sin, and those who have been washed clean through Jesus Christ, pass from judgment to life.
Look at God's Laws, and if you have broken even ONE of them you are a sinner---we all have broken at least one. And we all need forgiveness.
Sin separates you from God. What is wrong in God's eyes is a sin- an abomination.

Answer 9

In reality, ALL words, whether ancient or new, are man made.

Regardless of the words themselves which are simply words alone, the definition and meanings remain the same no matter how you refer to it.

Answer 10

I have never met a Christian willing to have a real conversation beyond what they think, I mean think, what the words mean in the bible.

History is still finding just how much Christians have missed the mark in their beliefs.

In a few more years all the people walking around lost and bewildered will be Christian that realize just how wrong they have been believing in their faith. Just show compassion for them because it is hard losing your religion and finding something new to beat over people's heads.

It will be hard for the religious to make the transition from imaginary reasoning to reality based thinking.