Religious reflections tend to distinguish the major human problem as sin. This is so even from the very definition where sin is regarded as ignoring the powers of the divinity and therefore centering life and its value on the individual self, the world and what one has. This makes it impossible to recognize the fact that there is a power that is behind everything that exists (Livingston 113). One may want to consider this as ignorance yet but this does not substantially explain why the center may not be anything else but the individual self and the world and that is in it. It is therefore of importance to note that sin totals up to the separation of oneself from the powers of the divinity and this leads to a complete isolation of a person from the rest of nature. One then ends up creating their own world where they are the head and seem to be like the most powerful because they will have to consult only them, revere only them and therefore let everything happen around them. This thus culminates to what is generally considered as the human problem which religions try so much to solve in an effort to reconcile the self to the divinity.
When ignorance is brought into this picture, it creates a totally different perspective all together but the bottom line is that sin, will always be the problem that separated man from the gods and therefore the world religions are keen to reconcile man with God by persuading man not to commit sins (Callutheran 157). There is no single religion that preaches against ignorance but rather they all speak the same language, of getting man out of sin and making him stay away from it. These two, sin and ignorance are therefore two very different entities. While sin refers to diverting attention from god and focusing it on man and the worldly things, religious ignorance maintains the fact that people believe what they are not told about anything and everything. This ignorance cannot total to going against that which is expected by any religion and therefore this is where the difference between sin and ignorance comes in.
The difference that exists between sin and ignorance lies in the fact sin is committed willingly where the individuals know what is right and choose not to do it in light of what their fundamental beliefs is, ignorance on the other part may be as a result of one not knowing where the truth lies because their religion has not really outlined what is true and untrue in which case, it misleads the said person (Fieser & Powers 68). The difference therein lies on what one is told with regard to the fundamental beliefs that form the pillar upon which a religion is built on and what the fundamental beliefs cite with regard to belief and trust in the supernatural powers, the gods or divinity. It s therefore clear that the beliefs and doctrines upon which religions are based on are different but matters god in a way do not vary and if they do, the difference is very small.
It may total up to ignorance too, when humans choose not to acknowledge the fact that the human problem cannot be accounted for. This is so because sinners more often than not live a lie because they deny the limitation of the true state with which the natural affairs happen. It is beyond humanity that gods exist unless one chooses not to believe in the powers of the gods which is a different matter all together and this amount to sinning (Callutheran 158). Humans can account for their sins, they are judged according to the degree of that which they do which is against the doctrines. Many of the religions of the world preach dire consequences such as loss of life forever. People can even be excommunicated from their societies on account of committing grave sins. This is one way that people account for the human problem.
Also, when repentance is involved, it leads to the atonement of sins. There are those sins that cannot be forgiven under the law butt in religious circles, any sin can be forgiven when human beings repent and ask for forgiveness. Deliverance from the human problem comes as a result of one acknowledging their mistakes and asking to be pardoned, at least if religions such as Christianity are put into perspective. Society views this differently and even if one repented, it is difficult to make others see that indeed, one has apologized and therefore, people end up paying for their sins as long as they live. Society will always see one as a law breaker or sinner for that matter and will therefore be forced to carry the blame.
Q 1
The picture of human nature that is evident all through the religions is that sin as sinful as it is ignorant. Sinful because people know of the divine power of the gods, and they also know that which is expected of them as followers of the religious groups in regard to the gods, but they choose not to do that which is expected of them and therefore end up sinning. Ignorance plays a very crucial role here. Yet is a problem that needs to be solved so that people are given room to explore on their own, what the other religious groups have to say about their beliefs. The problem of sin too needs to be solved because it is that which man should be guarding against in the first place. Man needs to be reconciled to his maker and acknowledge the fact that it is the divinity that holds the world in its place. Humans are creatures who were given the powers to make decisions about their lives but the decision of having god in their lives should be unquestionable .
Q. 2
Suffering is as a result of our sins and the decision to go against the will of God is solely made against religious teachings. Man therefore suffers because they have to pay the hard price that came with the sin that was committed at the very beginning. Every religion teaches the origin of sin and man’s ignorance of what is expected of him by God then leads to suffering. It is expected too, that bad things have to happen to those who disobey the will of God (sin). And when bad things happen to people, it is translated that these bad things happen as a result of ignorance and sinning. It even gets to a point where death is called upon to come over those who sin or ignore the divine calling or a religion. This is because it is believed that death is the ultimate punishment for sinners and therefore is has to serve as a consequence that many may not want to face. Punishment is therefore called upon because it will also serve to scare man from going against tradition because no one willingly wants to die anyway.
Works Cited
Callutheran. edu.The Human Problem and its Solution: Ernest Becker and Christian Theology. Chapter 10 PDF. http://www.callutheran.edu/schools/cas/programs/religion/program/documents/Streeter hapter10.pdf
Fieser, James. & Powers, John. Scriptures of the World Religions. New York: McGraw Hill. 1998
Livingston, James. Anatomy of the Sacred: An Introduction to Religion. Upper Saddle River: Pearson.2009
