About Sins
Ethical behavior in the United States is as complex as its society. The dominant value system in the United States reflects a Judeo-Christian morality. Other values are enshrined in our Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Because the U.S. is made up of multiple communities with varying value systems, a sin may violate the values of one community and not another. For instance, a person who does not believe in God is not sinning by not going to Church because that person is not a member of a religious community. (That does not change the Christian community's view that it is a sin to not attend Church or to deny the existence of God.) Thus, a sin is any violation of a community's values that disrupts the individual's desired relationship with that community or damages the community. A community can be as small as two individuals like two friends or a husband and wife.
Some sins have a small and diffused affect on the community. Other sins have an immediate and large destructive affect. The ranking of the relative sinfulness is also a community value. The punishment will thus vary by sin. Running a stop light warrants a small fine while murder will land an individual in jail or worse. Religious communities also have a hierarchy of sins with respect for God and murder often near the top. In the Jewish and Christian religions, violation of any of the Ten Commandments is the most sinful.
Sins can be grouped by the person or community hurt: sins against oneself, a friend, a family member, a community, a nation, a race of people, or humanity. Sins are often defined by the type of value violated: honesty, integrity, justice, liberty, respect, loyalty, bravery, trust, honor, humility, love, compassion, generosity, mercy, and peace. (Ethical dilemmas of course arise when an individual must sacrifice one value in order to uphold another.) Lastly, sins have been classified by motive or human failing (i.e. the seven sins): anger, covetousness, envy, gluttony, lust, pride, and sloth.
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