Men are often heard to remark that they are willing to bear the
consequences of their sin. Is it possible for any individual to
experience in himself the entire result of his wrong-doing? In the
Genesis story the woman's deliberate disobedience would seem to
have had very direct influence upon her husband. Mankind has
almost universally come to regard certain acts as wrong and to
prescribe definite modes of punishment. Such decisions have come
about not simply because of the effect of sin upon the individual
but more especially because the sin of the individual affects
society. State the different influences that deter men from sin
and note those which from your experience seem the strongest.
_Questions for Further Consideration_.
Is an act that is wrong for one man necessarily a sin if committed
by another? Are men's tendencies to sin due to their inheritance
or to impulses which they share in common with brutes, or to
influences that come from their environment? In the light of this
discussion formulate your own definition of sin.
Is the final test of sin a man's consciousness of guilt, or the
ultimate effect of his act upon himself, or upon society?
May the woman in the Garden of Eden be regarded as the prototype of
the modern scientist? Are there ways in which the scientist may
sin in making his investigations? Illustrate. How about
vivisection?
Does sin bring moral enlightenment? Distinguish between Jesus'
attitude toward sin and toward the sinner. What should be our
attitude toward the sinner?
If the man and woman had frankly confessed their sin, what, by
implication, would have been the effect: first, upon themselves,
and second, upon the attitude and action of God?
Does temptation to sin, as in the case of Adam, often come in the
guise of virtue? What is the value of confession to the sinner?
To society?
_Subjects for Further Study_.
(1) The Babylonian and Egyptian Idea of Sin. _Hastings, Dictionary
of the Bible_, extra vol. 566-567; Breasted, _History of Egypt_,
173-175; Jastrow, _Religion of the Babylonians and Assyrians_,
313-327.
(2) Milton's Interpretation of Genesis 3 in Paradise Lost.
(3) The Right and Wrong of the Attempted Surrender of West Point
from the Point of View of Benedict Arnold, Andre and Washington.