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Sin is a general term for many different types of behaviour and failure.
It describes a problem and proscribes a solution in changed attitudes and behaviour
sacrifices offered and forgiveness accepted.
But as sin cannot be summarised in one word, equally looking at different meanings
or contradictions will not help.
Sin is essence is like an symtom of an illness from the heart. As Jesus described,
it is the heart that brings life to actions, and the actions defile us.
So unless you deal with the heart the cycle continues.
It describes a problem and proscribes a solution in changed attitudes and behaviour
sacrifices offered and forgiveness accepted.
But as sin cannot be summarised in one word, equally looking at different meanings
or contradictions will not help.
Sin is essence is like an symtom of an illness from the heart. As Jesus described,
it is the heart that brings life to actions, and the actions defile us.
So unless you deal with the heart the cycle continues.
J
OK. First, as a NEW person here, I have no credibilaty. So, before you do anything else, do these things--seek outside confirmation.
1) call your minister and confirm that the correct definition for amartais. is "To miss the God's best.
2)
a) contact a Greek scholar to confirm above
b) confirm that there is no "h" in the greek alphabet. The Greeks use an aspirated A to create the h sound.
3) If you are the assured that I am not a "heretic," then we can concede that is a closed matter.
1) call your minister and confirm that the correct definition for amartais. is "To miss the God's best.
2)
a) contact a Greek scholar to confirm above
b) confirm that there is no "h" in the greek alphabet. The Greeks use an aspirated A to create the h sound.
3) If you are the assured that I am not a "heretic," then we can concede that is a closed matter.
J
This pertains to the definition and not the stated purpose, the problem:What is the dictionary definition of sin? "A transgression of a religious or moral law, especially when deliberate. (Theology) A condition of estrangement from God as a result of breaking his law." This definition is correct for other (non-Christian) religions; however, Christianity and Judaism have their own, very different definition. The word "sin," as a matter of fact, doesn't occur in the original (Old or New) Testaments. The word used in the New Testament is amartais, and it simply means, “to miss God's best.”
For those who are not familiar with scripture, the New Testament was written in Greek. The writers chose to write in this language for a reason. At that time it was the language most commonly spoken by men of all nations. Just like English is spoken today the world over by air traffic controllers. If the world had a universal language, this would've been it.
The translator, seeking an English equivalent for amartais found none. There wasn't a word that even came close to the Bible's definition. The search began for a word that would explain the concept of amartais.
Fortunately, God provided a word that conveyed the concept of amartais. The translator chose the word sin. At that time "sin" had no religious connotation. It was taken from the sport of archery. It was a term that meant an arrow had missed the bull's eye. As a concept, it was uniquely close to amartais. In both cases, something was missed. In the case of archery, it was the black circle at the center of the target. In the case of amartais, it was missing God's best.
Everyone, even peasants, participated in archery. During a time when there was no baseball, football, rugby or soccer, the sport of archery dominated as a sport of skill. It was also used in hunting and war. In hunting, the bow was definitely the tool to use. Therefore, no other word was better known to more people. But even more important, it had the unique ability to convey the correct meaning of the word amartais.
Let’s look at amartais a little more closely now. Why was it necessary to define amartais so precisely? Well, in pagan religions, there were laws and men broke those laws. Breaking man's law is called committing a crime. Breaking religious law is similar to breaking man’s law. Man's punishment varies, but pagan religions said that the punishment for breaking their religious law was being sent to a relatively bad place, such as Hell.
A clear distinction between the Bible's definition and the definition of pagan religions is very important because God wants the world to understand that the Christian God is different from pagan gods. If men don't understand the importance of defining amartais, then they can't understand the sacrifice of the cross or follow in Christ's footsteps. So, you can see why great care was taken in the choice of an English equivalent for amartais.
For years, pagan religions had advanced the idea that man had control of himself and, through a bit of complicated legal logic, they also thought that man could control his entrance to Heaven! Let me explain. After years of pagan teaching, the popular belief was (and is) that Heaven and Hell are, respectively, the reward and punishment for the choices made in life. Some uninformed Christians think this pagan idea comes from the Bible.
At the heart of this pagan belief system was the idea that man could choose to be either good or bad. If you accept these concepts, then the final conclusion will be that with the proper currency (your good choices) entry to Heaven can be purchased. Yes, spoken simply, being good (following a pagan religion's laws) will buy you a ticket to Heaven.
This opposes Christian teaching. The Bible says that sin controls us and that we are all (without God's help) headed for Hell. Furthermore, the Bible clearly states that man cannot earn Heaven. In Ephesians 2:5-9 it says, ". . .by grace are ye saved. . . in heavenly places. . .by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." In plain English that means that you can't buy Heaven. Let me say it again, “You can’t buy your way into Heaven by being good.
Heaven is a gift. We recognize this as a Christian concept. We have been taught this concept by the modern church.
So why are modern Christians unable to define an important word like sin?
A few hundred years after the death of Christ, the church had a problem. It tried to answer the problem created by the Bible’s definition for sin, amartais, but couldn't.
For those who are not familiar with scripture, the New Testament was written in Greek. The writers chose to write in this language for a reason. At that time it was the language most commonly spoken by men of all nations. Just like English is spoken today the world over by air traffic controllers. If the world had a universal language, this would've been it.
The translator, seeking an English equivalent for amartais found none. There wasn't a word that even came close to the Bible's definition. The search began for a word that would explain the concept of amartais.
Fortunately, God provided a word that conveyed the concept of amartais. The translator chose the word sin. At that time "sin" had no religious connotation. It was taken from the sport of archery. It was a term that meant an arrow had missed the bull's eye. As a concept, it was uniquely close to amartais. In both cases, something was missed. In the case of archery, it was the black circle at the center of the target. In the case of amartais, it was missing God's best.
Everyone, even peasants, participated in archery. During a time when there was no baseball, football, rugby or soccer, the sport of archery dominated as a sport of skill. It was also used in hunting and war. In hunting, the bow was definitely the tool to use. Therefore, no other word was better known to more people. But even more important, it had the unique ability to convey the correct meaning of the word amartais.
Let’s look at amartais a little more closely now. Why was it necessary to define amartais so precisely? Well, in pagan religions, there were laws and men broke those laws. Breaking man's law is called committing a crime. Breaking religious law is similar to breaking man’s law. Man's punishment varies, but pagan religions said that the punishment for breaking their religious law was being sent to a relatively bad place, such as Hell.
A clear distinction between the Bible's definition and the definition of pagan religions is very important because God wants the world to understand that the Christian God is different from pagan gods. If men don't understand the importance of defining amartais, then they can't understand the sacrifice of the cross or follow in Christ's footsteps. So, you can see why great care was taken in the choice of an English equivalent for amartais.
For years, pagan religions had advanced the idea that man had control of himself and, through a bit of complicated legal logic, they also thought that man could control his entrance to Heaven! Let me explain. After years of pagan teaching, the popular belief was (and is) that Heaven and Hell are, respectively, the reward and punishment for the choices made in life. Some uninformed Christians think this pagan idea comes from the Bible.
At the heart of this pagan belief system was the idea that man could choose to be either good or bad. If you accept these concepts, then the final conclusion will be that with the proper currency (your good choices) entry to Heaven can be purchased. Yes, spoken simply, being good (following a pagan religion's laws) will buy you a ticket to Heaven.
This opposes Christian teaching. The Bible says that sin controls us and that we are all (without God's help) headed for Hell. Furthermore, the Bible clearly states that man cannot earn Heaven. In Ephesians 2:5-9 it says, ". . .by grace are ye saved. . . in heavenly places. . .by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." In plain English that means that you can't buy Heaven. Let me say it again, “You can’t buy your way into Heaven by being good.
Heaven is a gift. We recognize this as a Christian concept. We have been taught this concept by the modern church.
So why are modern Christians unable to define an important word like sin?
A few hundred years after the death of Christ, the church had a problem. It tried to answer the problem created by the Bible’s definition for sin, amartais, but couldn't.
Been there done that!
(1) I haven't yet heard any minister use that definition except you (if you are one?) - Even if a minister uses that definition that doesn't give it any validation - what matters is what the Bible says about what sin is.
(2) The rough breathing mark over the initial vowel of a Greek word is considered to be part of the spelling of the Greek word and this is the "h" sound that is brought over when the Greek word is transliterated into English - a minor issue really
(3) Are you a heretic or not? We won't know until you tell us what you believe - some of us are really wondering
So go ahead . . . . .
(1) I haven't yet heard any minister use that definition except you (if you are one?) - Even if a minister uses that definition that doesn't give it any validation - what matters is what the Bible says about what sin is.
(2) The rough breathing mark over the initial vowel of a Greek word is considered to be part of the spelling of the Greek word and this is the "h" sound that is brought over when the Greek word is transliterated into English - a minor issue really
(3) Are you a heretic or not? We won't know until you tell us what you believe - some of us are really wondering
So go ahead . . . . .
J
This pertains to the definition and not the stated purpose, the problem:What is the dictionary definition of sin? "A transgression of a religious or moral law, especially when deliberate. (Theology) A condition of estrangement from God as a result of breaking his law." This definition is correct for other (non-Christian) religions; however, Christianity and Judaism have their own, very different definition. The word "sin," as a matter of fact, doesn't occur in the original (Old or New) Testaments. The word used in the New Testament is amartais, and it simply means, “to miss God's best.”
For those who are not familiar with scripture, the New Testament was written in Greek. The writers chose to write in this language for a reason. At that time it was the language most commonly spoken by men of all nations. Just like English is spoken today the world over by air traffic controllers. If the world had a universal language, this would've been it.
The translator, seeking an English equivalent for amartais found none. There wasn't a word that even came close to the Bible's definition. The search began for a word that would explain the concept of amartais.
Fortunately, God provided a word that conveyed the concept of amartais. The translator chose the word sin. At that time "sin" had no religious connotation. It was taken from the sport of archery. It was a term that meant an arrow had missed the bull's eye. As a concept, it was uniquely close to amartais. In both cases, something was missed. In the case of archery, it was the black circle at the center of the target. In the case of amartais, it was missing God's best.
Everyone, even peasants, participated in archery. During a time when there was no baseball, football, rugby or soccer, the sport of archery dominated as a sport of skill. It was also used in hunting and war. In hunting, the bow was definitely the tool to use. Therefore, no other word was better known to more people. But even more important, it had the unique ability to convey the correct meaning of the word amartais.
Let’s look at amartais a little more closely now. Why was it necessary to define amartais so precisely? Well, in pagan religions, there were laws and men broke those laws. Breaking man's law is called committing a crime. Breaking religious law is similar to breaking man’s law. Man's punishment varies, but pagan religions said that the punishment for breaking their religious law was being sent to a relatively bad place, such as Hell.
A clear distinction between the Bible's definition and the definition of pagan religions is very important because God wants the world to understand that the Christian God is different from pagan gods. If men don't understand the importance of defining amartais, then they can't understand the sacrifice of the cross or follow in Christ's footsteps. So, you can see why great care was taken in the choice of an English equivalent for amartais.
For years, pagan religions had advanced the idea that man had control of himself and, through a bit of complicated legal logic, they also thought that man could control his entrance to Heaven! Let me explain. After years of pagan teaching, the popular belief was (and is) that Heaven and Hell are, respectively, the reward and punishment for the choices made in life. Some uninformed Christians think this pagan idea comes from the Bible.
At the heart of this pagan belief system was the idea that man could choose to be either good or bad. If you accept these concepts, then the final conclusion will be that with the proper currency (your good choices) entry to Heaven can be purchased. Yes, spoken simply, being good (following a pagan religion's laws) will buy you a ticket to Heaven.
This opposes Christian teaching. The Bible says that sin controls us and that we are all (without God's help) headed for Hell. Furthermore, the Bible clearly states that man cannot earn Heaven. In Ephesians 2:5-9 it says, ". . .by grace are ye saved. . . in heavenly places. . .by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." In plain English that means that you can't buy Heaven. Let me say it again, “You can’t buy your way into Heaven by being good.
Heaven is a gift. We recognize this as a Christian concept. We have been taught this concept by the modern church.
So why are modern Christians unable to define an important word like sin?
A few hundred years after the death of Christ, the church had a problem. It tried to answer the problem created by the Bible’s definition for sin, amartais, but couldn't.
For those who are not familiar with scripture, the New Testament was written in Greek. The writers chose to write in this language for a reason. At that time it was the language most commonly spoken by men of all nations. Just like English is spoken today the world over by air traffic controllers. If the world had a universal language, this would've been it.
The translator, seeking an English equivalent for amartais found none. There wasn't a word that even came close to the Bible's definition. The search began for a word that would explain the concept of amartais.
Fortunately, God provided a word that conveyed the concept of amartais. The translator chose the word sin. At that time "sin" had no religious connotation. It was taken from the sport of archery. It was a term that meant an arrow had missed the bull's eye. As a concept, it was uniquely close to amartais. In both cases, something was missed. In the case of archery, it was the black circle at the center of the target. In the case of amartais, it was missing God's best.
Everyone, even peasants, participated in archery. During a time when there was no baseball, football, rugby or soccer, the sport of archery dominated as a sport of skill. It was also used in hunting and war. In hunting, the bow was definitely the tool to use. Therefore, no other word was better known to more people. But even more important, it had the unique ability to convey the correct meaning of the word amartais.
Let’s look at amartais a little more closely now. Why was it necessary to define amartais so precisely? Well, in pagan religions, there were laws and men broke those laws. Breaking man's law is called committing a crime. Breaking religious law is similar to breaking man’s law. Man's punishment varies, but pagan religions said that the punishment for breaking their religious law was being sent to a relatively bad place, such as Hell.
A clear distinction between the Bible's definition and the definition of pagan religions is very important because God wants the world to understand that the Christian God is different from pagan gods. If men don't understand the importance of defining amartais, then they can't understand the sacrifice of the cross or follow in Christ's footsteps. So, you can see why great care was taken in the choice of an English equivalent for amartais.
For years, pagan religions had advanced the idea that man had control of himself and, through a bit of complicated legal logic, they also thought that man could control his entrance to Heaven! Let me explain. After years of pagan teaching, the popular belief was (and is) that Heaven and Hell are, respectively, the reward and punishment for the choices made in life. Some uninformed Christians think this pagan idea comes from the Bible.
At the heart of this pagan belief system was the idea that man could choose to be either good or bad. If you accept these concepts, then the final conclusion will be that with the proper currency (your good choices) entry to Heaven can be purchased. Yes, spoken simply, being good (following a pagan religion's laws) will buy you a ticket to Heaven.
This opposes Christian teaching. The Bible says that sin controls us and that we are all (without God's help) headed for Hell. Furthermore, the Bible clearly states that man cannot earn Heaven. In Ephesians 2:5-9 it says, ". . .by grace are ye saved. . . in heavenly places. . .by grace are ye saved through faith and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast." In plain English that means that you can't buy Heaven. Let me say it again, “You can’t buy your way into Heaven by being good.
Heaven is a gift. We recognize this as a Christian concept. We have been taught this concept by the modern church.
So why are modern Christians unable to define an important word like sin?
A few hundred years after the death of Christ, the church had a problem. It tried to answer the problem created by the Bible’s definition for sin, amartais, but couldn't.
J
The following text is taken from a thread posted in 1994. A week long survey resulted in the fact that not one Christian could name the definition for sin. A minister, from overseas, came close. He said, "To miss God's best." It seems he got this from Strong's. Which is surprising because I like Strongs. Today we have the internet and google, so we found "To miss the mark," sooner.
R# The study arises from one word: sin. We recently went to the Internet to see if Christians could define sin. The Bible has a unique definition for sin. It comes from the Greek word "amartais." We went to a Christian Forum and asked, "Can you define sin?" After a few days, we found that no could define it. So we explained the definition. In brief, we told them that the original word for Sin was "Amartais," and that "Amartais" means "to miss God's best." Then we asked them a second question. This question was, "Do you see any problem with (arising from) this definition?" Again, no one could identify a problem. After a few days, they were impatient, so we explained.
Perhaps you can see the problem. Let me say that again. "Amartais" means "to miss God's best." The forum reached to all parts of the world, so people from every continent were represented. Initially, they quoted scripture. One astute minister came close. His answer was "to miss the mark." Later we will more completely explain why this is wrong.
R# The study arises from one word: sin. We recently went to the Internet to see if Christians could define sin. The Bible has a unique definition for sin. It comes from the Greek word "amartais." We went to a Christian Forum and asked, "Can you define sin?" After a few days, we found that no could define it. So we explained the definition. In brief, we told them that the original word for Sin was "Amartais," and that "Amartais" means "to miss God's best." Then we asked them a second question. This question was, "Do you see any problem with (arising from) this definition?" Again, no one could identify a problem. After a few days, they were impatient, so we explained.
Perhaps you can see the problem. Let me say that again. "Amartais" means "to miss God's best." The forum reached to all parts of the world, so people from every continent were represented. Initially, they quoted scripture. One astute minister came close. His answer was "to miss the mark." Later we will more completely explain why this is wrong.
J
Let's get to work. Before we begin, perhaps you'd like to get a cup of coffee and a bagel?
The pagan definition of sin is to violate (break) a law of whatever religion. Nordic religion had laws. The religions of Rome had laws. Every pagan religion has, or had, laws. And men were obviously able to break those laws. Therefore, we can agree that sin is common to these religions. In fact, it may be impossible to have a religion without sin.
So, what is different about our religion? The word amartais puts us in a whole different category. Wycliffe (Please see my prior post.), the man who translated the Bible from Greek to English, recognized this and, subsequently, he took care to select a word that would properly explain "amartais."
Amartais means, "to miss God's best." In this definition, we see two outcomes and they are that we either find God's best or we miss God's best.
Now, let's see this concept in action. A Christian is allowed to choose one of three choices. His goal is to find God's best. The first choice is a trip to a communist country. The second is an automobile. The third is a vacation in Hawaii. Which would you choose?
The pagan definition of sin is to violate (break) a law of whatever religion. Nordic religion had laws. The religions of Rome had laws. Every pagan religion has, or had, laws. And men were obviously able to break those laws. Therefore, we can agree that sin is common to these religions. In fact, it may be impossible to have a religion without sin.
So, what is different about our religion? The word amartais puts us in a whole different category. Wycliffe (Please see my prior post.), the man who translated the Bible from Greek to English, recognized this and, subsequently, he took care to select a word that would properly explain "amartais."
Amartais means, "to miss God's best." In this definition, we see two outcomes and they are that we either find God's best or we miss God's best.
Now, let's see this concept in action. A Christian is allowed to choose one of three choices. His goal is to find God's best. The first choice is a trip to a communist country. The second is an automobile. The third is a vacation in Hawaii. Which would you choose?
J
The fact is that "to find God's best" is something we have to do every time we make a decision! The early church saw this as a major problem and decided to trash the Bible's definition. Here is a portion of the 1994 post:
This problem was recognized by the early Church. It is a standard that is impossible to achieve. Any study of the word amartais will bring this immediately to the surface. Since you can't run a church with this definition, the early church leaders adopted a simpler definition. Forgive me (for making a simple statement) and that is that "sin is similar to committing a crime."
You may recognize this statement. Incidentally, this is the same definition that pagan religions use. It allowed the church to proceed, but it wasn't a good thing.
Now, let's go back to the problem. What is the answer to the problem? Well, I won't ask you any more questions. Let's jump forward and pretend that we have meditated on the issue.
What is the end result of considering amartais? I will just throw it out. In the end we must ask, "What manner of God do we serve?" Is God nice? Would God ask a small child to move a heavy object? No!! In like manner, God would never ask us to do the impossible. So, if you believe that God is good, then there is an answer somewhere.
Before I give you the answer, let me ask you this: “Can you imagine finding God's best in every choice?” Please try to imagine that! Take a few moments and imagine what it would be like to never make a mistake. To be able to pick the perfect car, the perfect house, the perfect job, and never make a mistake!
Well, here's the answer:
This problem was recognized by the early Church. It is a standard that is impossible to achieve. Any study of the word amartais will bring this immediately to the surface. Since you can't run a church with this definition, the early church leaders adopted a simpler definition. Forgive me (for making a simple statement) and that is that "sin is similar to committing a crime."
You may recognize this statement. Incidentally, this is the same definition that pagan religions use. It allowed the church to proceed, but it wasn't a good thing.
Now, let's go back to the problem. What is the answer to the problem? Well, I won't ask you any more questions. Let's jump forward and pretend that we have meditated on the issue.
What is the end result of considering amartais? I will just throw it out. In the end we must ask, "What manner of God do we serve?" Is God nice? Would God ask a small child to move a heavy object? No!! In like manner, God would never ask us to do the impossible. So, if you believe that God is good, then there is an answer somewhere.
Before I give you the answer, let me ask you this: “Can you imagine finding God's best in every choice?” Please try to imagine that! Take a few moments and imagine what it would be like to never make a mistake. To be able to pick the perfect car, the perfect house, the perfect job, and never make a mistake!
Well, here's the answer:
