January 14, 2015

THE GREATEST SIN

Someone said the greatest sin in the world is to bore God.

Is that true?

How about the refusal to accept God’s love or forgiveness?

Is that true?

Someone said that the greatest sin is our inability to acceptance the otherness of the other person.

Agree ____ Disagree ____  Undecided _______

C.S. Lewis thought the greatest sin is pride.

Any comments about that?

Would the following comment by Walter Lippmann strengthen that opinion about pride? He wrote, "There is no arguing with the pretenders to a divine knowledge and to a divine mission.  They are possessed with the sin of pride, they have yielded to the perennial temptation." 

Joyce Meyer wrote, "There is a deceptive sin that can keep us from walking in love: pride.  It's deceptive because when you have pride, you're usually too proud to admit it. I know this because when I used to have teachings on pride and they didn't sell well."   

Agree ____ Disagree ____  Undecided _______

Pope Francis uses a qualifier when talking about the greatest sin. He uses the word “one” as in, “One of the greatest sins is being a divider instead of being a welcomer.”

Is that your experience or observation about people?

Someone asked, “Is non-belief in God, the greatest sin?”

Agree ______ Disagree______ Undecided _______

George Bernard Shaw sees the greatest sin towards our neighbor is indifference.

Agree ______ Disagree _______ Undecided _______

Norma McCorvey – the Jane Roe of Roe v. Wade fame said, " The holocaust against the unborn is the greatest sin they could ever do or even ever participate in." 

Agree or disagree?

Any comments about this comment of  Ellen G. White? "The sin which is indulged to the greatest extent, which separates us from God and produces so many spiritual disorders, and which are contagious, is selfishness."   

Any comments about this statement from Pope Francis: " Vanity, showing off, is an attitude that reduces spirituality to a wordly thing, which is the worst sin that could be committed in the church."

Anthony Hopkins said, “We're all caught up in circumstances, and we're all good and evil. When you're really hungry, for instance, you'll do anything to survive. I think the most evil thing - well, maybe that's too strong - but certainly a very evil thing is judgment, the sin of ignorance.”

Pearl Bailey said, "The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat one's self. All sin is easy after that." 

Any response to this comment from Carson McCullers: "The theme is the theme of humiliation, which is the square root of sin, as opposed to the freedom from humiliation, and love, which is the square root of wonderful."  

Henry L. Stimson said, “The only deadly sin I know is cynicism."  Agree _____ Disagree _____ Undecided _______ 

Do you agree with Bertrand Russell that “Sin is geographical."  Is the answer to all of the above, “It all depends?”  Or would you shout loud and clear for one sin being the greatest and it’s _________?

© Andy Costello, Reflections 2014