The Nature of Sin
The Nature of Sin
Roland Matthews (2020)
Anyone who has ever attended a Christian church service will have at some point heard the term “sin”. What does this mean and why should you care, even if you are not a Christian? On the surface, many religious teachers would say that a sin is an act, or in some cases, even a thought, that is a crime against the laws of God. The dictionary defines it as ‘an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law’. The etymology of the word suggests an old English root, syngian (verb) and synn (noun) connected with the Latin, sons, meaning guilty. However, the term used in the New Testament of the Bible is the Greek ἁμαρτία hamartia, from ἁμαρτάνειν hamartánein, which means "to miss the mark" or "to err".
Why split hairs over this? Well, for starters, there is quite a big difference between breaking a law and making a simple mistake. Typically, if one breaks a law, there is an implied punishment. For example, Romans 6:23 states “for the wages of sin is death”. But if we make a mistake, hopefully we learn from it and try not to repeat it and move forward. There is the possibility that if we don’t let go of the memory of making the mistake, we could potentially punish ourselves with a guilty conscious or feelings of shame and embarrassment. Of course, there is the prospect that a mistake can be large enough that it also breaks a law, in which case, the perpetrator may be penalized. But we usually don’t reprimand someone for a minor blunder. For example, if a toddler falls down while attempting to walk, we don’t send them into ‘time out’, or even more severely, mete out the capital punishment of death!
Why would a beneficent deity of love punish their living creations with death? This question opens up a plethora of other philosophical debates, such as whether or not the deity of the Bible is completely beneficent, whether reincarnations are part of human evolution, free will, and the notion of immortality. But all of that aside, this concept of sin all begins in the biblical book of Genesis with the story of the Garden of Eden. In this story, we have the first man and woman in a beautiful garden who enjoy peaceful co-existence with nature and direct communication with their maker. They are told they can do as they please with the caveat that they neither touch nor eat of the fruit of the Tree of knowledge. Then, according to the tale, a talking serpent appears and convinces Eve to do that very thing, who in turn persuades her mate Adam to do likewise. Long story short, God is upset with them for breaking the one and only rule, thereby committing the first and original sin, and evicts them from their home. Supposedly, this is done to prevent them from also consuming the fruit from the Tree of Life and becoming immortal. This is such a serious crime that God places an angel with a flaming sword as a guardian to thwart them from returning. An interesting point to make is that the book of Genesis is not the first version of this story. The Babylonian creation myth as well as several Greek myths, such as Heracles and the garden of the Hesperides, and Jason and the golden fleece all seem to have points in common. These are all metaphorical stories with many levels of interpretation, but for this article, we will attempt to stick with the idea of ‘sin’.
Now for some interesting science stuff. The endocrine system, consisting of the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, pineal gland, thyroid, parathyroid, adrenal glands, pancreas, and ovaries / testes, is responsible for producing the chemicals, called hormones, which coordinate the communication between the cells of our body. They regulate our growth, metabolism, reproduction, and even our moods. In short, these chemicals control our every experience, including our emotions. Some of the more well-known hormones are dopamine, serotonin, acetylcholine, oxytocin, melatonin, epinephrine, norepinephrine, estrogen, and testosterone, just to name a few. Each of these has a special receptor which modulates the amount that enters a cell by either accepting or inhibiting their flow through the cell wall. If we experience a certain emotion repeatedly, this can flood our cells to the point of blocking the other receptors. This is wonderfully exemplified in the film What the Bleep Do We Know!? (2004).
So, what do hormones have to do with sin? In medieval times, the clergy determined that there were seven deadly sins which should be avoided at all costs to be spared the tortures of hell. These sins are: envy, greed, lust, pride, anger, gluttony, and sloth. From a psychological perspective, these and other similar intense emotions could become quite dangerous if allowed to become obsessive. One can become addicted to a feeling, even negative ones. Besides, causing disruptions in our normal, social, and material day to day life, an obsessive emotion can flood our system with certain hormones while simultaneously inhibiting the production and / or reception of other hormones. This state of emotional unbalance could create a disruption in the flow of prana, blocking the chakras, resulting in psychological neurosis, or physical disease.
It will be of interest to note that the endocrine glands can be associated with the chakras, or mystical energy centers of the body. For example, the ovaries / testes could be seen to match up with the location of the root chakra, the pancreas with the sacral, the adrenals with the solar plexus, the thymus with the heart, the thyroid with the throat, the pineal with the third eye, and the hypothalamus with the crown. The nadis: ida, pingala, and sushumna, are the channels which energy or prana / chi flows through the chakras, and they could be associated with the Greek caduceus of Hermes. The sushumna or middle pillar, can be likened to the Tree of Life, and the kundalini coiled at the base as the serpent or dragon in the garden. This dragon, although very dangerous, also leads the way to a sacred treasure, and must be ridden like a bodhisattva on a tiger. Buddha being protected by the seven headed naga, Mucalinda, as well as the seven headed dragon from the book of Revelations are suitable symbols.
As mentioned in a previous post, the Babylonian myth of Inanna instructs us of how one may pass through the seven planetary gates to ascend. Each gate is blocked by a guardian who requires sacrifice to pass. These gates can be associated with the seven sins, the seven chakras, and the seven classical planets. By indulging ourselves in certain emotions and thoughts, we block our progress and hinder our ability to receive higher spiritual guidance. When we intentionally sacrifice the pleasure we would normally obtain by giving control over to these emotions, we can direct that energy up to the next level. It is also important to not repress these emotions because that can create blockages as well, which can explode with unpleasant results. Finding the balance between inhibiting and not repressing these emotions is the secret to riding the dragon.
In conclusion, the only real “sin” is to impede our own spiritual progress by letting our emotions and thoughts control us, instead of the other way around. However, when this happens, we can acknowledge the mistake, forgive ourselves, and do our best to not make the same error. Each time we choose the option of delaying our gratification, we become stronger and improve our mental, emotional, and spiritual “muscles”. This in turn, raises our level of awareness and has the side effect of improving our health. In this way, we may return to our Garden of earthly delights and redeem our lost communication with the divine.
