Just to elaborate, I mean: Is stealing a car worse than stealing a pack of gum? And is stealing any better than killing someone?
Please explain your answer. (In other words, you'll get a thumbs down if you just write "yes" or "no.")
Feel free to answer the question from either your personal perspective or the perspective of a religious group.
2007-07-26 09:31:35 · 17 answers · asked by x 5 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Personal perspective:
For the sake of peace, a wrong-doing (or sin if you wish to call it that) should be considered based upon the harm it may bring to others. Consider the implications of stealing a pack of gum. That theft becomes a statistic called "shrinkage." The pack is only counted as a piece of inventory for which a company never received revenue. That's about it. Employees still receive their salaries. The company still continues to operate.
Then consider the implications on a family if a loved one is murdered.
One brings more harm than another. I don't think a wrong-doing can be "better" than another, but surely less bad.
2007-07-26 09:37:22 · answer #1 · answered by Buying is Voting 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
No...as with most things in life there is a hierarchy to sin. The degree of the "wrongness" of an action is affected by things like intent, circumstances, and the action itself.
While stealing and killing are both wrong, stealing on its face is less wrong than killing because the theft does not cause bodily harm to another person. Stealing a person's last scrap of food or last drop of water would be more serious than stealing a stick of gum or a CD.
With regards to killing, questions arise. Did you intend to kill or was it an accident? Are you killing another person to protect your life or the life of another. Does the killing take place in a defensive (just) war. These are just a few mitgating circumstances.
Judeo Christian scholars have struggled with this same question for millenia.
2007-07-26 16:44:17 · answer #2 · answered by Gerald R 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
All sins are equal...stealing is stealing no matter how much or little it is.
From a natural perspective murder is alot worse then stealing even though in both instances someone is getting hurt. From a spiritual perspective God still sees all sins the same, you are not living according to the simple rules that he has set for you to live by.
2007-07-26 16:37:57 · answer #3 · answered by suavi29 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Some sins are serious in their effects and repercussions .
Mortal sins(1 John 5),like the car theft and murder( ithink that murder ,even indirect murder,is worse than grand theft need to be repented of because they are spiritually deadly especially for people who falsely anfd fatally think that since they are 'born again' they will go to heaven even with unrepented mortal sin.
Other sins are not serious in their effects,acts and repercussions and are called venial or lesser sins. 1 John 5:16 says that there are sins that are not deadly(mortal). Stealing the gum would be a lesser sin
For a sin to be mortal you need not only the seriously immoral act but alsorealconsent of the will and sufficient awareness of the gravity of the act,its"mortal sin quality".
2007-07-26 16:44:54 · answer #4 · answered by James O 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I believe that sin is defined as an action that perpetuates something hurtful to others, and is intentional.
Stealing is intentional, generally, and stealing a car or gum is the same because the action is intentional and results in hurting someone else. God doesn't think in monetary terms or value, but in the result of the behavior or action. That is why they are not different, in my opinion.
2007-07-26 16:38:13 · answer #5 · answered by Grace 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The worst sin is Denying the Holy ghost with a close second of Murder and an even close third of breaking the law ofChastity/ commiting adultrury. These are the 3 worst sins.
2007-07-26 16:39:33 · answer #6 · answered by DJ_surfer 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, I'm pretty sure all sins are the same. Actually it's not about the acts of sin themselves but the condition of the heart. We're all capable of doing wrong things, right? Therefore we all have a sinful heart. What Christ does is transform the heart, not all at once and we'll never be perfect, but he gives us a heart that's main desire is to be good, right, and loving in all things. He gives us a heart after God.
Hope this helps. ;)
2007-07-26 16:37:34 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Other than the 7 deadly sins (look them up), which are the top sins, thou shalt not steal means ANY stealing. From a pencil at school to a bank robbery.
2007-07-26 16:36:51 · answer #8 · answered by Eric 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No...all sins are not equal. Certainly a sin that can be rectified...say stealing is not as severe as murder. But that is a fairly obvious case. Many other situations are not so clear and in most cases we cannot be the arbiter of what is a 'big' sin vs. what is a 'small' one.
2007-07-26 16:37:33 · answer #9 · answered by mzJakes 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No, all sins are not equal.
Killing someone versus a lie, which are both sins, are NOT equal. Killing of course being the more drastic sin.
That's why people are punished on different levels.
2007-07-26 16:40:03 · answer #10 · answered by Mistress Jade 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋