Sunday, March 20, 2011
Our greatest sin
Whenever some tragedy such as the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown in Japan occurs, some goof goes on radio or TV and claims it is because of that nation or city's "sins." It's incredibly unchristian, for one thing, to respond to a victim with blame (Jesus provided the opposite example time and again), and it also has a strange idea at its core-- that communities have "sins."
I have always thought of sin as something that relates only to individuals, and their moral accountability to their society and God (depending on belief). I'm not sure that a community can sin as a whole, because that community will always contain dissent in some measure to whatever is happening.
This leads me to two questions, which I leave to you fine people of the Razor:
1) Is there such a thing as "sin" which is related to a group larger than an individual?
2) If so, what are the sins of our own society?
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For question "1" I say yes. Medieval history and world history aside, one example from this country's history: lynching. For the current time collective sins: African tribal wars and atrocities and most offenses directed or related to the environment, i.e. hunting or fishing a species to the point of extinction to the detriment of their own communities (think of how many fishing towns are pretty much economically dead).
With that in mind I get to “2” America's current collective sin is the mass outsourcing of highly polluting industries that would be too expensive to regulate here. So we have not just cheap labor outside, but a big nasty mess for others to deal with, while shareholders here enjoy healthy profit margins.
With that in mind I get to “2” America's current collective sin is the mass outsourcing of highly polluting industries that would be too expensive to regulate here. So we have not just cheap labor outside, but a big nasty mess for others to deal with, while shareholders here enjoy healthy profit margins.
I believe that sin, at its root, is a matter between an individual and God, but when sins are attributed to a community/society at large, I think it is because a certain type of sin(s) is so commonplace, that the society has become desensitized to it.
I immediately think of countries around the world that tolerate the beating/sale/abuse of women/girls. Closer to home, our society has plenty of its own "commonplace" sins, not the least of which is greed.
I immediately think of countries around the world that tolerate the beating/sale/abuse of women/girls. Closer to home, our society has plenty of its own "commonplace" sins, not the least of which is greed.
Ang is on target with my thoughts and Marta's #2 is the result of greed and hypocracy. The hypocracy in us complaining to China about the smog and pollution when we were the ones who sent the polluting industries to their country in the first place.
I believe that sin belongs to the individual who committed it. But if every last member of a group commits the same sin, I suppose you could say that the group has sinned.
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