Sin and immorality

Started by Clare, July 21, 2017, 01:32:44 PM

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Clare

July 21, 2017, 01:32:44 PM
Are the words "sinful" and "immoral" interchangeable? Or can a thing be sinful without being immoral? I would imagine a thing can't be immoral without being sinful, or can it?
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Daniel

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July 21, 2017, 02:49:14 PM Last Edit: July 21, 2017, 03:08:23 PM by Daniel
Sin is moral evil (and vice versa), so I think the two terms are more or less interchangeable.

But in everyday speech the word "sinful" carries the connotation of divine retribution (i.e. an action is sinful because it offends God, and because a person has done the sinful act he is worthy of punishment for it), whereas "immoral" is more vague and neutral (i.e. something is immoral because it's contrary to the moral order); an atheist would probably not go saying that e.g. murder is "sinful" even if he does admit that murder is "immoral". But if you acknowledge that the moral law is because of God, and that God is just, there really isn't any distinction as far as I'm aware.
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