Community is distinct from culture in that culture refers to a fairly broad range of practices and expectations that are found among several communities. The term community is used most often to refer to a specific group of people sharing a common residential area. Given the circumstances in which the community finds itself, the people of the community may share common values. For example, in a farming community the possession of land might be valued, as well as the willingness to work hard to have a productive farm. Land and hard work are seen as goals worth striving for as they produce more land and more wealth. In a similar manner, wealth might be seen as an important value in some communities.
Finally, our values can come from or at least be shaped by our religious tradition. Many Catholics note that the Church has not been particularly supportive of divorce as an option for unhappiness in a marriage. One result is that many Catholics will stay in a bad marriage longer that people who come from a religious tradition other than Catholic. Their decision to persevere in the marriage is influenced by the value of marriage as a permeant commitment.
It isn’t that any single factor produces the value that an individual may hold but all of these conditions contribute to the shaping of one’s values. It is one’s values that influence one’s choices when faced with a decision on which path to take. So, for example, one’s decision about abortion can be influenced by having been pregnant in the past (life experience), a cultural value that honors having a baby without any stigma for not being married at the time (culture), a community value in support of pro-choice, as well as a religious value that is pro-life (religious value). Each of these values has a role to play in the final decision and course of action by the individual.
The concept of sin comes into play when we look at such behavior choices from the perspective of religion. Religious traditions prioritize certain values over other values. They also offer examples of certain behavior patterns that are inconsistent with the religious values and are prohibited among those who are part of that religious tradition. So, for example, fidelity in marriage is a prominent Christian religious value. Matthew 19 contains a specific prohibition about divorce and remarriage. One consequence is that within the religious tradition divorce and remarriage is seen as a sin. It is a course of action that is contrary to Christian values and specifically prohibited by Christian scripture. These religious values and specific prohibitions are understood to be an expression of divine revelation, God is seen as the ultimate law giver and authority behind religious law.
So, sin is seen as an offense against God. It is a human act. That is, it is a conscious choice that one makes to act in a manner that is contrary to the values of a religious tradition or is contrary to the specific prohibitions encountered in Scripture. To be a conscious choice, one must be acting in knowledge of what one is doing and acting freely.
In the Christian tradition and its Sacred Scriptures we encounter a variety of metaphors to help explain the nature of sin. These metaphors help us to develop a more nuanced understanding of sin, than just the general metaphor of sin as a violation of divine law.
The word used for sin in the New Testament is “hamartia”. It is a technical term from archery and means to “miss the mark”. Sin, in this context, implies a lack of skill on the part of the offender. There is no intention toward evil but simply the clumsy attempt by an individual to make a wise life decision and choosing the lesser of the options available. With practice greater skill at discernment will develop and the person won’t “miss the mark” as often. The consequences of one’s actions, because of the poor decision, serve as the negative reinforcement (punishment) and motivate the individual to do better the next time and learn from one’s past mistakes. The image of the supernatural judge with the long white beard determining whether one suffers eternal punishment or reward, which the atheist student found offensive in the earlier story, is not part of this understanding of sin. Culpability worthy of reward or punishment is not part of the metaphor. It is the natural consequences of our actions that teach us in this metaphor. The goal is development of skill in acting in a manner consistent with the best in our religious tradition. In the Christian tradition, this is acting in a manner that is more Christlike; more clearly the image of God shining through us.
There are other metaphors that we encounter in Scripture. A powerful metaphor for sin is slavery. The slave was the property of another in Roman law. There were a few restrictions on what a master could do with a slave but for the most part the slave master could do almost anything to the slave. The slave was under the utter control of the slave master.
Sin is seen in this metaphor as the slave master who has total control over the sinner. The type of sin that best fits this metaphor involves addiction. The addiction can be related to alcohol, drugs, sex, domestic violence, gambling and anything else that leaves us with a feeling of hopelessness and lack of self-control.