Are all sins equal?

We Never Know said:

Are all sins equal or are some worse than others
For example the 10 commandments are..

• I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have any gods before Me.” ...
• “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” ...
• “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.” ...
• “Honor thy father and mother.” ...
• “Thou shalt not kill.” ...
• “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” ...
• “Thou shalt not steal.”
• “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
• “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.”
• “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.”

Is it just as bad to lie as it is to kill?

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Mankind was punished for sins at Sodom (two towns destroyed).

Mankind was punished for sins before God flooded the world (saving only Noah et al).

But, the world survived after those sins.

One sin is the grandfather of all sins....it is huge....it is unforgivable.....you can't pray to expunge it.....it will kill all life in the world.

That huge sin is written about in Revelation. It will end the world. The sin is "attacking Iraq," which is what we just did. The sin and punishments for the sin are written about in Revelation (a chapter of the New Testament bible).

Some will lie about it, and say that Revelation was talking about some other Babylon....but there is one and only one Babylon, and that is in Iraq.

There must be a lot of soldiers who are asking if God will forgive them for murdering some of the million Iraqis who died in the war. The answer is....no. This is one sin that will not be excused. The result of this sin is to go to heaven (if lucky) and go to hell if not lucky. But, death is inevitable, and forgiveness is impossible.

Killing is a greater sin than most.

However, the killing in Iraq, which defies God's orders, is far far far more serious than merely killing a million Iraqis. God commanded, and the United States defied God.

We Never Know said:

So basically its worse to attack the creator than the creation?

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God is the judge with the gavel. He decides what is worse. Since he is the one being attacked, he considers that attack to be worst (or at least the one that carries the greatest punishment).

KenS said:

So... do you forgive your parents, the one who murders your loved one, and those who don't wear masks and don't want a vaccines?

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Yes, Ken. I do. That took me a long time, but I got there. And the main beneficiary of that, selfishly, was me.

Altfish said:

Very good; why can't this Holy Book be amended to make such things clear? Instead of leaving it open to interpretation.

Also, no one has addressed the missing commandments...I gave 3, but I'm sure you could think of more...

Don't harm children, look after and care for the,
Don't treat other humans as slaves, pay them well for their labours
Look after this planet and all living things in/on it

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Not sure…

And, I’m still thinking about no.4
Its interpretation is not fully satisfying to me.


Humbly
Hermit

Altfish said:

As if I don't.
You spend most of your posts telling me to do more...
I do plenty of that . This is a forum, I try to keep things simple.

btw I have an engineering degree, am a Fellow of my Institute (Not that that should matter)- 'sophisticated arguments' are something I thrive on and have spent my life debating

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I didnt mean to say you have no sophistication in life. Dont take me wrong. But this specific post is just lame. Nothing sophisticated, but just completely an attempt at ridicule. But I must give you the credit that this kind of unsophisticated insults, ridicule and such kindergarten level "analysis" is so common with atheists especially these days its really strange.

Peace.

firedragon said:

I didnt mean to say you have no sophistication in life. Dont take me wrong. But this specific post is just lame. Nothing sophisticated, but just completely an attempt at ridicule. But I must give you the credit that this kind of unsophisticated insults, ridicule and such kindergarten level "analysis" is so common with atheists especially these days its really strange.

Peace.

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Good grief, you are still at it.

Altfish said:

Good grief, you are still at it.

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Lol. As are you Altfish.

We Never Know said:

Are all sins equal or are some worse than others
For example the 10 commandments are..

• I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have any gods before Me.” ...
• “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” ...
• “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.” ...
• “Honor thy father and mother.” ...
• “Thou shalt not kill.” ...
• “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” ...
• “Thou shalt not steal.”
• “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
• “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.”
• “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.”

Is it just as bad to lie as it is to kill?

Click to expand...

Sin is any action, feeling, or thought that goes against God’s standards. It includes breaking God’s laws by doing what is wrong, or unrighteous, in God’s sight. (1 John 3:4; 1 John 5:17) The Bible also describes sins of omission ... that is, failing to do what is right. (James 4:17)

Are some sins worse than others? Yes. Consider three factors that determine the gravity, or weight, of sin.

1. Severity. The Bible warns us to avoid such serious sins as sexual immorality, idolatry, stealing, drunkenness, extortion, murder, and spiritism. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; Revelation 21:8) The Bible contrasts these with thoughtless, unintentional sins, for example, words or actions that hurt others. (Proverbs 12:18; Ephesians 4:31‐32) Nevertheless, the Bible encourages us not to minimize any sins, since they can lead to more serious violations of God’s laws. (Matthew 5:27-28)

2. Motive. Some sins are committed in ignorance of what God requires. (Acts 17:30; 1 Timothy 1:13) While not excusing such sins, the Bible distinguishes them from sins that involve willfully breaking God’s laws. (Numbers 15:30- 31) Willful sins come from a “wicked heart.”(Jeremiah 16:12)

3. Frequency. The Bible also makes a distinction between a single sin and a practice of sin over an extended period. (1 John 3:4-8) Those who “practice sin willfully,” even after learning how to do what is right, receive God’s adverse judgment. (Hebrews 10:26-27)

The Bible says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) But the Bible also offers this hope: “Let the wicked man leave his way and the evil man his thoughts; let him return to Jehovah, who will have mercy on him, to our God, for he will forgive in a large way.” (Isaiah 55:7)

Evangelicalhumanist said:

Yes, Ken. I do. That took me a long time, but I got there. And the main beneficiary of that, selfishly, was me.

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Well.... congratulations.

Are all sins equal?
I took the Lords name in vain once but I think I got away with it.

KenS said:

Well.... congratulations.

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Not sure why that feels insincere, somehow.

I tell you in all honesty, there is nobody that I know of -- alive or dead -- that I am angry with, or wish to see suffer any consequence of anything that has happened to me.

Like I said, this was hard. I had to fully grasp that those who hurt me when I was young were -- like me -- people who had been hurt by others when they were young. And who carried that forward. This is very much part of the human condition.

And it is why forgiveness is so incredibly powerful -- it breaks that connection completely and permanently. I can't think of very much that is more powerful in terms of the mental and emotional health of all members of a community or society.

I really mean this. It is heartfelt. I'm not writing for applause.

Evangelicalhumanist said:

Not sure why that feels insincere, somehow.

I tell you in all honesty, there is nobody that I know of -- alive or dead -- that I am angry with, or wish to see suffer any consequence of anything that has happened to me.

Like I said, this was hard. I had to fully grasp that those who hurt me when I was young were -- like me -- people who had been hurt by others when they were young. And who carried that forward. This is very much part of the human condition.

And it is why forgiveness is so incredibly powerful -- it breaks that connection completely and permanently. I can't think of very much that is more powerful in terms of the mental and emotional health of all members of a community or society.

I really mean this. It is heartfelt. I'm not writing for applause.

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Actually, it is good. Forgiveness lets you move forward.

We Never Know said:

Are all sins equal or are some worse than others
For example the 10 commandments are..

• I am the Lord thy God, thou shalt not have any gods before Me.” ...
• “Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” ...
• “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.” ...
• “Honor thy father and mother.” ...
• “Thou shalt not kill.” ...
• “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” ...
• “Thou shalt not steal.”
• “Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”
• “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife.”
• “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s goods.”

Is it just as bad to lie as it is to kill?

Click to expand...

If you fall from a tightrope is it worse if you fall to the right or fall to the left? How do people propose to compare sin to sin?
Will people say, "Yes, I sinned, but it wasn't that bad a sin: I only lied, but that guy over there killed."

We Never Know said:

Is it just as bad to lie as it is to kill?

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It's entirely contextual.

I'm not sure how many people Adolf Hitler killed with his own hands, but his lies certainly killed a LOT.