What Ever Happened to Sin? John M. Buchanan
Romans 7:18-19 Broad Street Presbyterian Church
April 13, 1975 Columbus, Ohia

Phylis McGinley writes light and sometimes very witty verse.\ One of her
Lae nel =

peems, "Community Church", goes like this:

"The Rev. Mr. Harcourt, folks agree,

nodding their heads in solid satisfaction

Is just the man for this community

fail, young, urbane, but capable of action

He pleases where he serves. He marshalls out
The younger crowd, lacks trace of clerical unction,
Cheers the Kiwanis and the Eagle Seout,

Is popular at every function,

And in the pulpit, eloquently speaks

Ou divers matters with both wit and clarity:
Art, education, God, the early Greeks,
Psychiatry, St. Paul, true Christian Charity,
Vestry repairs that shortly must begin -

All things but sin. He seldom mentions sin."

(Times Three, Selected Verse, P 134)

Miss McGinley, I fear, has hit the proverbial nail right on the head, oA { ic
a

xe

Mr. Harcourt seldom mentions gins noe do very many of his collegues of the

—

cloth, nor does the church, nor does anyone else for that natter.\ Sin, cur-
—_—r iieiabiiamntaied Ld —

rently, has a very poor press and most people, it would appear, are rather
by Aetliag “res iow evil es

glad of the fact..| After centuries of making people feel guilty the church

Lean

has fallen silent; After centuries of bending under the burden of original

a

sin and total depravity, mankind has thrown it over and discovered that its
md —— el ee aaianienmsen ee’

mere’ Mets fun

O.K, to feel Q, aK 3| that Freedom is were than guilt and that while some

eM ARERCEEEE. a

Ane alee yf
tu, Fal ,

of the good things in life may still be fattaning they are no jonger al-
ire —_— 7
ways illegal mor tmorat .\ sieges freedom has arrived for guilty, des~
| iinet ba

pairing, self-effacing men and women. | Hallelujah!

And yet, strangely, people have not stopped feeling guilty, | tere has
Le fo

been no marked increase in personal happiness :\ peace of mind seems more
Cd ro

elusive than ever: | there are net enough psychiatric couches to go around.
ec S| bee |

And more to the point, there is a growing sentiment among behavior scientists

that we may be doing ourselves grave disservice by simply elliminating from
= i

our vecabulary and our categories of self understanding any concept of sin,
oe =:

Besides, sin is obviously alive and in the best of hearth. Justice Petter
a LO, ae ll — ro,

Stewart confessegh that he might not be able to define pornography but he

eee

recognized it when he saw ie. \ so, I would submit, any rational person might
Ju

ee Dl

f wituy witt Wine wala bh fat

confess about sia.\ We may be embarrassed by the way our fathers described ét;
Stee

we may react cooly to the traditional "hell-fire and brimstone” pulpit perform-

tn nal

ance: \ we may not be willing to revert to the guilteinducing systems of the

past \ But from a purely pragmatic posture we must, it seems to me, acknow-

ledge that something is wrong with the status quo, that people still feel
EEE Bo] |

uilt that human behavior - with alarming regularity - can only be des-

eribed as bad, evil, sinful if you will.
m= °F” = =—s ess

Thus, a three part series of sermons on Sin:| beginning today with an
mn ss EE Ses

overview and an attempt to discover what happened to it,\and then proceeding
ne, ba etciadimern|

in subsequent weeks to an under&tanding of sin in terms of pride and sloth,
Sram =o oem TD

But, first, what is it? \ mat is sint | m the third chapter of
— De am eee |

* ——
G enesis, the Bible asserts that there is a fundamental fracture between
ew De
God and san: another way of putting it is that man never quite lives up
te eT Le I sinnes

to his potential.\ Man is, that is to say, separated from his true self.
eT — eevee, ee

: : - “ * a . '
The outcome, of this situation, in Biblical terms, is that pegple don't

a_i,

get along very vet. \ the fracture between man and God, man and self,
=e Cn] — —_ i or

rather quickly expresses itself between man and man.\ The first reper-
Oc —_ weet Ce]

cussion of "Paradise Lost", you will recall, is that Cain murdered his
| 7

brother.
_——e!

Now, for a lot of us, its been a long time since we took that
ee rr

story very sertousty.\ we concluded tong ago that Genesis is not
naman ee be]

history, that the garden of Eden is a myth and Adam and Eve the cre-

ations of a very fertile ancient poetic imagination. \ that takes care
=A. eo _

is: 1 ; in. .
of Genesis: let ug learn our anthropology from Mr. Darwin.\ Trouble is,

we Learned our theology from the eminent scientist \ cheerfully ignoring
o_ee Oil

the fact that ‘ad ham" means "man" and Eve, "woman" and that the biblical
eed eo _—, i ae Dt

intent is not, and was not, to teach biology but theology,jand futher-

more that apart from the question of historicity, what happened to Adam

—— |) emit

and Eve happens to a lot of people with alarming regularity, maybe even
—— | sate sane ea aan ital

all peopte: \ and that we still are seeking for a paradise that is lost,
ene, eel ed

Socrates, no superficial observer of the human animal observed

that \"2%en know what is good but do what is bad. | Ovid, the Roman Poet,

may or man not have read Socrates, but in any event he did say, 1 perceive

the better and approve of it but T follow that which is worse."| And the
Le el le es

Said —

ho-ana hool h b teachi for L ent ow that
psycho-analytic schoo as been teaching for nearly a century nm

human motivations are a mixture of love and hate, and that there are
Nance, — ee

both conscious and unconscious structures in the human personality.
———— ee

Atl of which supports but does not improve St, Paul's candid confession,

G ean will what is right, but EZ cannot do it." }(Romans 7:18)

Ever since the human intellect has been turned to the investigation
Lil a pei

of human behavior, men of intelligence and candor have comcluded that some-

= bl emia)

thing is weong. \ te has been called by different names, but allow for the
—— Pe eel Sana

-3-

+ heen keto ovk of love’ when it hes
po

N ; wert
moment that the Church has“retained the three letter femmebetibem "sin".
ep Sra

What ever happened to iet\ rizse, the religious definition of sin
aS aD -

became superficial and finally irrelevant | Defining what is and what is not
SSS Salas east a

a sin has been a difficult task at best.\ But just at the time that be-
a Se a aa
havior science was probing the unknown of human motivation, @@d just at
Reed od
oy
. F ; _ nak Were are
the time that real progress was being made in understanding pi AA ll
=>

dore © irrotiowel areas of the uwan psyuchr.
Pedpbhimitimiemapmbhemeties, American Protestantism was busying itself
ag

railing against drinking, smoking, dancing, card playing, having fun

on Sunday, etc. etc. at infinitum.
= = — Pans Se

Lawrence S. Kubie, a leading voice in the psychoanalytic movement

vrote,\ "the concept of Sin has fallen into disrepute precisely because

it has failed to help people to change and by failing has betrayed human

[ao

aspirations and culture". (Karl Menninger, Whatever Became of Sin? p 47)
ey, eRe a

That is to say, popular Christianity failed to take sin seriously
—= OPE ee SSS ee F
< i th iatrist esti that ther
enough \ Just a¥ the time the psychiatrists were suggesting e
really is something to this matter of sin, the Christian pulpit was
Ee

Fever. *e

coming down hard on its list of poeny wices.\ And it doesn't take much
ap Sata

theological erudition to conclude that if there is something wrong with
Ee aR

the human condition, it manifests itself in more substantial ways than the
eae Ses Ce eS SSS SE

choice of wine instead of Kool aia. Thus a lot of people concluded that
ey SS ey

the Church, epitomized in the voice of Protestant piety, was simply irr-
aa

elevant on the subject of sin, which it was and is.
eo as =a

=

Dr York MenerrAll wat ‘ a y)
qua colt patter, es A more complex and helpful inygstigation has to do with our_culture .¢

. ue ———
Mente cagera aad GEN —_ A fA
ween yo t= Dr. Menninger observes that Vas a nation we officially ceased sinning Ww ‘
t wp Kroe wars

anges " int ord "sin"
Ae aks ¢ some twenty years ago."J(p 15) It was at that _point that the w sin

with refers 20 on
wer "\e ff Ybis stopped appearing in Presidential roclamations. \ He quaiesman article
We = pe EA al

geen « in Theology Today Which observes that\"since 1953, no president has
-4=

aud They were

mentioned sin as a national failing. .J tne Republicans referred to the
[ee Od eee
problems of 'pride’ and 'self-righteousness' . | The Democrats referred
fine i el

to 'shortcomings'.\ But none used the grand old sweeping concept of sin.
nd

I cannot imagine a modern President beating his breast on hehalf of the
onal ia el

Nation and praying (oa be merciful to us sinners 1) though experts agree
bed el

this is one of the best ways to begin,” (Ibid. p 14-155

Centuries before American Presidents eliminated the worgd, however,
i el

r
the process had begun. | In the Middle Ages the responsibility & dealing

besiatinieemtiecs menial
ou fore ehay
with misbehavior was transferred from Church to scate.\ Most sins became

crimes .| Sing could be repented of and forgiven but crimes had to be 9un aye

punished,y, indeed, with a vengeance \ Menninger calls it the punitive

hore aay,
ritual" and describes how shockingly c cruel and hopelessly ineffective

(ho = bub alse
how dee gh the system was amd. fThe American Indians, for instance, expressed
a aerar — wiagges
theo goysio surprise at this race of people who Met their children as punishment for

wis * walena
a Ma Maro wrong behavior. \ tm any event, sin became crime and the response of séciety

gee,

oe Ct

aus

of eating off Aa

Binoy
to crime was to punish ic The punishments became very cruel and a reaction
=o Dl — bel Si]

set it - a good one. \ a2 compassion softened the idea of reprisal and iwatea a
oF e

wore rs Wwe began Ww Gok “TORQ persm le
pol perce - \ The behavior sciences lamdgead 6¥t leu,

Game cake pein

Ae

and a lot_of healthy movements and humanizing institutions were born in

our culture\ But at the same time, sin which had become crime, was now
—n_ beatin it _— __eae

becoming the symptom of a sicness. [Less aud less were pevgle tut
bu yesp ms ble mad Zolguw \dole Cor Sle Vaelreriname «

Nowhere is the inony of that transition more eloquently expressed
a

than in the song from the Broadway Musical, West Side STory, "Gee, Officer
|
Krupke",
“OQ, Officer Krupke, you've done it again,
This boy don't need a job, he needs a year in the pen,
It ain't just a question of misunderstood:

Deep dawn 'inside him, he's no goodi"

-5e

Now | Ors be CareSe\ Were: ne, one whe 45 Sexe hu tristan to
coker, 4a Whe” ponckive gikee\s” of A pest JI Foch, we need be aegelerete
our we shi ger him ine Hen “wag 5
Aa tatkilebioss un lo exbeloltled fo deal Gar crime: Awe!

Unfortunately, the transition did net help people deal with ghike stubborn
ee eae i a

o© ‘Duran oe heein + aed te. Kee © Wu mind 2 sme

. = . T : . - .
guilt;}not did it resolve St. Paul's dilemma of willing what is right but

doing what is wrong.\ Nor has any of it caused people to behave better.
beatae Ln anne ae

The old deadly sins seem to be doing rather well with some ingenious
[ieee

contemporary variations,

Consider stealing or cheating..| No one would disagree that it is wrong,
baie eae tial al

==

bad, harmful, sinful.) In 1969 four billion dollars worth of goods were
eaa_ — rh Deel =a

stolen, not by professional theives, but by employees from their employers.

The Chicago Sun-Times did a study which revealed that 72 per cent of the
a el

department store employees, 82 per cent of the bank employees and 86 per

cent of the truck drivers tested were involved in some stealing from their

employers.

i

Menninger observes that [me one would faintly suggest that 72 per cent
of store employees or 83 per cent of bank employees are sick because they
Ce ae a =

pitser.\ almost no one is charged s\ no one is convicted. | Obviously these
aeiamanial bate

rae ee

are not criminals.\ What is this, then, I would ask, other than clear,

Daan) en —a cettieiienniaeel

typical unadulterated sin? \ What else can you call it?" (fbid. p 158)
iil — Destine”

A Cornell University study showed that ene average child of ten in

Date neni

the United States has already developed a noncondeming attitude toward

—=

cheating", |(Ibid. p 159) The tragedy is that the average child of ten

has learned that from his average parents.
—- Bn

One need only read the newspapers to document the reality of sin -
ee

wrong doing: | erom the flouting of the laws of the land by the government
eit. =e

itself to major corporations which simply ignore the Supreme Court to the

millions of individuals who will Lie to the government or on before April

15. \sin has never been healthier, and its robust state of tealth is due

and renara ve sine es a

. -6-
norens\ American YW, \s 44).

ee.
in large measure to the fact that we have made our rec with it, and
—_ cy

will wink and look the other way.

A \or of people are crmcerned ahovt Ma ehak of ovr wares by

Or. Menninger suggests that the healthiest thing we could do would be to

‘eect

reaffirm sin as a reality: to acknowledge it, feel ashamed of it and
eS. ae

confess it:~ por i Lndivi in,
onfe it corporate, group sin and individual, personal sin | Not

abstract, theoretical sin, but the actual behavior which pains, harms,
ad aaa

destroys my neighbor or myself: ] actual behavior which causes me to be

Sd [ER S|

tess than I was created to be and which stands between God and myself.
—" SE

For mot only is our easy acceptance of sin pulling us apart as a

& Poche leg igk |
nation, it hurts personally.| Professor Hobert Mowrer wrote,{'"So Long as
a =o - =, =

a person lives under the shadow of real, unacknowledged and unexpiated
| Fe ee

guilt he will continue to hate himself and suffer the inevitable consequences
Cl er |

of self-hate,| But the moment he begins to accept his guilt and his sinfulness,
ed nee | a]

the podsibility of radical reformation opens up:land...a new freedom of

self. respect and peace..." (Ibid. p 195)

The Gospel of Jesus Christ is about the love and forgiveness of God,
eee

rE —

j i i j i t and
But if a person is feeling guilty, and there is no way to confront an

confess that guilt, the Good ae" oe love will not ba heard. | The
tat 4
First Epistle of John puts Lt jmblepeocevonaden: ‘Tf we say we have no sin,
Be a Leen anand

we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
=e See

In the final chapter of his book Dr, Menninger speaks a personal

/eR Ee VEE

word to Ministers and advises them how to help their people.| Listen
See RA TITETRA TI NNMITN NE ETIA Dial

to his words: | let me borrow them so thoroughly that they become my words
‘cece Ce animal Pe

fo you.

©
ws
<<

Var dae

den

Ww er 2 Se prcoymplio, hase Gre | ie ns
wit\ beneS > by AW Cre ietian unders andy of A basic
a aaa

"What have you done this week to hurt your neighbor, your sister,

your wife? \ what have you done to hurt yourself? \ what have_you done

to hurt this church or the ideals for which it stands? | What have
ee | eri =

you done to hurt this city, this land, on which we Live? | whae

have you done this week against the interests of the next generation?
Fe Sahel

What have you left undone for the suffering, damaged, polluted,

Caine ame aeen a eal

exploited earth and its hungry, miserable, exploited population?

i —

(Ibid. p 196)

What you and T need most from our religion is not a pat on the
Le ed

back, and the easy assurance that God will love us regardless of what we
FT ee eee i EL

do.\ What we need most is ha e:| hope that we can be better and the world
fewer OE

can be better| Our religion teaches that God does not ignore sin, but
ee Peet

forgives it: | that hope and peace and freedom are gifts given to us
eee NITE

bees ins annimeenscinel

when we acknowledge who we are and what we have done toa
bd —_—

-?

Will you excuse my presumption g7iinmnenebe; if I invite you to

+9 +
examine your Lite,| Sckngvledse your wrong doing,| ask God to forgive you,
ae i = Sa |

forgive yourself, and then take up the tasks of life on a better, more
SC STE enamel eeewewerrerenee

solid, more honest footing? Amen.
wee UENCE,

Father, give us integrity. Forgive us for the many ways we have failed
to be the people you created us to be. Help us to forgive ourselves and to

live lives that are pleasing in your sight: through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen,

Sugacat “Tak “en aud

Soleus and Be Clessig _yneded of deoling wate ib?