SIN?

SIN?

A notion within Judaism, Christianity, and Islam implying deliberate disobedience against the known will of God.

In a wider sense it can indicate any moral evil or failure to live up to some moral law, but more specifically it applies to those religions that worship a personal deity.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam explain mankind's fallen state and the presence of evil by referring to the idea of original sin: Adam, the first man, misused his free will in choosing to eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge, and as a result mankind became predisposed to sin.

Roman Catholic theology distinguishes between this original sin and what it calls actual sin: evil acts performed in thought, word, or deed.

There are further distinctions between venial and mortal sins: venial sin does not wholly deprive the soul of God's grace, while mortal sin involves deliberate disobedience against the known will of God with full knowledge and consent; it must furthermore concern a grave matter.

Unless such a sin is confessed to a priest and fully repented, the sinner will be condemned to hell. Traditionally the seven deadly sins are pride, covetousness, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. Practices to remove sins or repent from them include Baptism, Confession, and periods of abstinence and repentance such as Yom Kippur and Lent.