How Do We Know A Sin When We See One?

A recent letter to our diocesan newsletter chided church leaders for failing to teach that homosexuality is a “sin.” I don’t want to tackle the question of whether homosexuality is a sin or not on a blog. It takes more words and more serious reflection than this medium affords. But it does raise an important question I want to ponder a little. What is a “sin”?<br /><br />The letter to the editor sparks this question for me because Scripture does not define homosexual acts as sins. Only one specific homosexual act is prohibited and it is described as a ritual purity violation, which is quite a different matter. Ritual purity violations are in the category of planting two kinds of crop in one field or wearing a poly-blend suit, not the category of murder, theft, adultery, and other such moral issues having to do with justice and integrity. But if something is not defined as sin in Scripture, that doesn’t resolve the question. Scripture doesn’t say anything about “enhanced interrogation techniques” (torture), toxic waste dumping, or human trafficking – but I feel certain in my heart that those things are sins. So how do we know if something is a sin?<br /><br />We get some interesting notions about it. I grew up in East Texas where there were many small denominations of the Free Church traditions. They were divided over whether certain specific acts were sins. Some said all dancing was a sin; others believed only fast dancing was a sin, and others thought fast dancing was ok but slow dancing was a sin. Some believed it was a sin to go to a movie -- ever; others held it was ok to see a film on Saturday night but it would be a sin to do so on Sunday. Some believed smoking was a sin. Others thought smoking was a sin if done by women, but it was ok for men. The there was hair! We had letters to the editor of the Texarkana Gazette arguing that the male hair styles of the 70’s were sin. Others held that it was a sin for a woman to trim her hair at all. (That incidentally is the only one of these notions that actually had a Biblical basis.)<br /><br />One of the great virtues of the Anglican Tradition, always held, then made explicit during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, is that we are free to disagree about such things, but we don’t divide up over them. We still pray together and love each other as family. It is the nature of families to disagree. That keeps it interesting. But as we disagree, what kinds of arguments can we use? How do we discern right from wrong? How do we engage in moral reasoning?<br /><br />Scripture may not answer all our questions, but it is our starting point. The letter of the law kills, but the Spirit gives life. So we read our Bible looking for the mind of God and the heart of Christ. “What would Jesus do?” is a solid way to start.<br /><br />But when Scripture doesn’t give us a clear answer, we have tradition to draw from. That doesn’t mean we are stuck with the morality of primitive times. If so, we would still be practicing slavery and executing people for stealing sheep. Tradition is our warehouse of experience -- what have we learned from the past? Some practices have proven over the centuries to be wise and merciful. Others have done more harm than good. Tradition means we look at our experience and learn from it.<br /><br />And we use our God-given reason. Logic is part of that. Kant may be out of fashion, but not with me. He demonstrated that there is a rational core to the moral order. His principles of moral reasoning are an essential step: Is this a rule we can apply to everyone? Are we faithful to the rule to never treat another human being as a means to an end, but always as an end in himself or herself. Kant used logic to validate the Golden Rule laid down by Jesus. But there is more to Reason than logic. All we can learn from psychology, sociology, biology, economics, and the whole field of human learning is properly part of our moral reasoning.<br /><br />So that makes the question of sin something to ponder carefully. It takes a lot of thought and a lot of humility. I have come to the opposite conclusion from the man who wrote the letter about homosexuality. But I deeply respect many people who disagree with me. I just pray that those of us who disagree will study, think, pray, feel, and talk with each other patiently and in good faith. We may have much to learn from each other. That’s how you can tell a community of faith from an enclave of the like-minded doomed by their homogeneity to become small minded.

How Do We Know A Sin When We See One?

A recent letter to our diocesan newsletter chided church leaders for failing to teach that homosexuality is a “sin.” I don’t want to tackle ...

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Contagion Anxieties and the Common Cup

Ever so often, I encounter folks who are anxious about getting sick from receiving Communion. Nationally, there is a wave of that concern these days related to the swine flu outbreak. Our office is e-mailing a helpful web site on the subject to all our Nevada priests this week. Anyone interested may want to check <a href="http://www.anglican.ca/faith/ministry/69">www.anglican.ca/faith/ministry/69</a> for a concise, accessible discussion.<br /><br />Bottom line, the common cup used with wine (preferably with a high alcohol content) wiped appropriately by the chalice bearer after each communicant poses no significant risk. The practice of intinction does not improve hygeine. It may actually decrease hygeine. The riskiest part of worship is walking in the door. The only thing we do in worship that noticeably ups the risk is shaking hands at the peace. (Hugging is healthier.)<br /><br />That said, I have seen some pastoral relationships crash quite unnecessarily on the rocks of telling people how they should or shoud not recieve communion. And I have not found the laity in Nevada to be at all worked up about it recently. So I recommend calm. As Jesus and numerous angels said, "Fear not" -- aptly paraphrased in The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy, "Don't panic." If you want more info on this, google "common cup hygeine." There have been upteen studies and you can find a wealth of reassuring information. But facts don't always assuage anxiety, so if you have someone who is really worried, assure them they don't have to receive the cup to receive the full grace of the sacrament. Reception in one kind is quite sufficient.

Contagion Anxieties and the Common Cup

Ever so often, I encounter folks who are anxious about getting sick from receiving Communion. Nationally, there is a wave of that concern th...

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Days 190-192 (Wednesday 5/13-Friday5/15)

Hello everyone!!<br /><br />Well I already blew my May goal of blogging everyday! I will give you a quick re-cap. I am in Wisconsin for the weekend visiting family for a baby shower!<br /><br />Wednesday was an OP day....until we went out for 50 cent tacos and I had a few too many drinks! For my use only I think I am going to list my daily stats! Hope I don't bore you!! Oh the good news about Wednesday is that I FINALLY left the 160s!! My scale said 159.5!! And I got a morning workout in! Oh and since I am in the 150s now, I can have 1 less point per day. <br /><br /><strong>WEDNESDAY'S STATS</strong><br />POINTS = 31/22<br />WEEKLY ALLOWANCE POINTS = 9 used/24 remaining<br />WATER = 72 oz<br />ACTIVITY POINTS EARNED = 3 today/3 week<br />EXERCISE = 35 min cross ramp<br /><br />Thursday I stayed within my points...but I was a little naughty! I had frosted sugar cookie at work! I am counting them at 3 points each. I didn't weigh Thursday morning, I didn't want to see what kind of damage those drinks the night before caused! DH and I went for a run in the evening, it was actually DH's 2nd run of the day! He is quickly building his endurance...will probably outrun me soon!! I am so proud of him!!<br /><br /><strong>THURSDAYS'S STATS</strong><br />POINTS = 22/22<br />WEEKLY ALLOWANCE POINTS = 9 used/26 remaining<br />WATER = 96 oz<br />ACTIVITY POINTS EARNED = 3 today/6 week<br />EXERCISE = 30 min run<br /><br />Friday I only worked till 2:30 and then my Mom, my sis, and one of my little cousin's all hopped in the car and headed north to Wisconsin to visit family. And I am proud to say I was right on track! Oh and the scale went down another 1/2lb Friday morning to 158.5!! I could hardly believe it!! We were on the road for supper and they all wanted to stop at McD's, but I was good and went across the street and got Subway!!<br /><br /><strong>FRIDAY'S STATS</strong><br />POINTS = 25/22<br />WEEKLY ALLOWANCE POINTS = 12 used/23 remaining<br />WATER = 72 oz<br />ACTIVITY POINTS EARNED = 0 today/6 week<br />EXERCISE = none...does riding in the car for 6 hours count?!?!? :p<br /><br />Well guys I need to get back to vising with family and get then get ready for the baby shower!! I hope everyone has a great weekend! I probably won't blog until I get on Sunday night or maybe Monday morning!<br /><br />Toodles my lovely blogger buddies!!

Days 190-192 (Wednesday 5/13-Friday5/15)

Hello everyone!! Well I already blew my May goal of blogging everyday! I will give you a quick re-cap. I am in Wisconsin for the weekend vis...

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