Is breaking the law a sin?

Ethics, Morality, and Sin

Moderator: Moderators

dmart
Newbie
Posts: 7
Joined: Tue Nov 20, 2007 9:51 pm
Location: Michigan

Is breaking the law a sin?

Post #1

Post by dmart »

Under a Christian perspective is breaking the law always a sin?

For example under age drinking, smoking marijuana, and speeding.

I'd like to think not, which may or may not be from personal experience.

I know Jesus said to give unto caesar what is caesars and to give unto god what is gods, could this also be implied to all laws?

preacher
Student
Posts: 85
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:23 am
Location: currently in South East Asia

Post #25

Post by preacher »

@JoeyKnotHead:
why shouldn't He? He is God with absolute power. That's what happens when you challenge His authority by being wicked when you could've chosen to obey His commands. that's why Noah was saved.

@sirunknown:
I don't really understand about the ignorance scaling ignorance part. what is that?

book is enoch is never regarded as part of the bible. what about it?

User avatar
sirunknown
Student
Posts: 59
Joined: Thu Aug 30, 2012 12:33 pm
Location: Tennessee

Post #26

Post by sirunknown »

the ignorance scaling is referring to your statement.... AS assuming Noah really had an impossibly built boat. That could hold 10x the weight of a modern cargo ship max capacity,with technology that did not exist yet,then had the ability to get EVERY animal on the face of the planet (not just the middle east), and bring them ALL back to one spot. Yet the ONLY explanation for this (for believers), is that God's powers made all that impossible stuff happen.... Thats the scaling part im referring to


Book of Enoch, never being part of the bible huh? You ever wonder why that particular book was left out then?

preacher
Student
Posts: 85
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:23 am
Location: currently in South East Asia

Post #27

Post by preacher »

have you ever tried to build a boat as instructed to Noah in the bible? If you have the time and resources, try it out for yourself. If it works, then you will confirm God was quite proficient in science and technology of shipbuilding thousands of years ago, far before humans figure out the technology to build such thing. if it doesn't work, then you just found a hole in the bible. I assume that's your aim?

there are lots of books rejected as part of bible. why? the main requirement of a book to be included in the bible is that the book must include the story of or prophecy about Jesus. I'll just assume those books don't have it, so they got rejected.

User avatar
JoeyKnothead
Banned
Banned
Posts: 20879
Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 10:59 am
Location: Here
Has thanked: 4093 times
Been thanked: 2573 times

Post #28

Post by JoeyKnothead »

From Post 25:
preacher wrote: ignorance is never an issue. when God wiped out the entire earth with great flood, the bible has not existed yet. But God still wiped the earth clean, leaving only Noah and his family.
JoeyKnothead wrote: And he has the temerity to tell us humans what is "sin".
why shouldn't He? He is God with absolute power.
He just doesn't have the power to understand that where folks don't even know about him, per your "ignorance" charge, that punishing 'em is as evil as any notion one can present.
preacher wrote: That's what happens when you challenge His authority by being wicked when you could've chosen to obey His commands.
Actually, to me, it reads more like a Christian having a hissy-fit 'cause folks reject their claims to know this God exists, and to know what this God has to allow regarding humans.
preacher wrote: that's why Noah was saved.
But don't it beat all, those who never even heard of a god were given more water than they can drink in a thousand lifetimes.
I might be Teddy Roosevelt, but I ain't.
-Punkinhead Martin

preacher
Student
Posts: 85
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2012 12:23 am
Location: currently in South East Asia

Post #29

Post by preacher »

JoeyKnothead wrote: He just doesn't have the power to understand that where folks don't even know about him, per your "ignorance" charge, that punishing 'em is as evil as any notion one can present.
in Genesis 5, you see that Noah lives in the era no that far from Adam. so everybody knows God and the story about Eden. Enoch was lifted up to heaven alive not long before Noah's time. it's just people chose to do evil and tey only have evil desires in their heart. that's why they must "swallow more than they can drink".
JoeyKnothead wrote: Actually, to me, it reads more like a Christian having a hissy-fit 'cause folks reject their claims to know this God exists, and to know what this God has to allow regarding humans.
what's hissy-fit? english is not my first language, so you might want to go easy on the slangs.
JoeyKnothead wrote: But don't it beat all, those who never even heard of a god were given more water than they can drink in a thousand lifetimes.
as I said earlier, everybody in Noah's time must've heard of God. Noah's era was not that long after Adam passed.

User avatar
amptramp
Student
Posts: 64
Joined: Sat Mar 17, 2012 11:34 pm
Been thanked: 1 time

Post #30

Post by amptramp »

We are supposedly still on the topic of whether the breaking of man-made laws constitutes a sin. Jesus didn't think so:

Mark 7:7 "They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men."

Later contradictions by Jesus, who said to "render unto Caesar what is Caesar's" and statements in the early church to obey the rules of men were made to avoid premature persecution that would have killed the church. This is no different from the special dispensation given to Naaman in 2Ki 5:18 after Elisha cures him of leprosy to be able to return to the king of Aram and bow down at the Temple of Rimmon without incurring the wrath of God.

The ultimate blasphemy is to call yourself God. It is lesser blasphemy for men to claim their rules are ordained by God, but it is blasphemy for them to claim any special relationship to God. Any politician running on a religious platform is guilty of blasphemy and a bad choice for candidate - after all, if he will step on God to get where he wants to go, who won't he step on? God intended sinners to be his footstool, not the other way around.

User avatar
Serpent Oracle
Scholar
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:06 pm
Location: UK

Re: Is breaking the law a sin?

Post #31

Post by Serpent Oracle »

dmart wrote: Under a Christian perspective is breaking the law always a sin?

For example under age drinking, smoking marijuana, and speeding.

I'd like to think not, which may or may not be from personal experience.

I know Jesus said to give unto caesar what is caesars and to give unto god what is gods, could this also be implied to all laws?
Jesus was talking about paying your taxes, notice the contempt he has for what is Caesar's, coinage, money. Material worth.

Certainly if a sin is something against God's law then this may well directly conflict with man made law.

The Commandments say; Thou Shalt not Kill, a clear directive.

Yet many nations kill people with legal authority everyday. By execution or warfare or for whatever expediency so ordered.

They may well argue they are not killing or murdering, that they are 'eliminating' or 'punishing'. Well...are you sure, are you, are you really sure you have interpreted the law of God correctly?

Because...if you have got it wrong and God meant 'Literally don't (intend to or attempt to) actually kill each other' then you're going to have problems when you meet old St Peter at the pearly gates.

;)

YahDough
Under Probation
Posts: 1754
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 4:44 pm

Re: Is breaking the law a sin?

Post #32

Post by YahDough »

dmart wrote: Under a Christian perspective is breaking the law always a sin?

For example under age drinking, smoking marijuana, and speeding.

I'd like to think not, which may or may not be from personal experience.

I know Jesus said to give unto caesar what is caesars and to give unto god what is gods, could this also be implied to all laws?
We are supposed to obey our laws for punishment sake and/or our conscience sake.

Romans 13 is a good study about obedience to the "power".

Having doubt about our actions is probably what makes it a sin. This Bible scripture applies to food, but I think it applies to other things as well.

Rom:14:23: And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

User avatar
Serpent Oracle
Scholar
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:06 pm
Location: UK

Re: Is breaking the law a sin?

Post #33

Post by Serpent Oracle »

YahDough wrote: Having doubt about our actions is probably what makes it a sin. This Bible scripture applies to food, but I think it applies to other things as well.

Rom:14:23: And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.
Self reflection and critical thought is a sin?

I knew I chose wisely when I chose atheism. 8-)

User avatar
Serpent Oracle
Scholar
Posts: 367
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2011 3:06 pm
Location: UK

Re: Is breaking the law a sin?

Post #34

Post by Serpent Oracle »

YahDough wrote: We are supposed to obey our laws for punishment sake and/or our conscience sake.
.
So what if I changed the law so that all Christians are to be summarily executed unless they abandon their faith and embrace atheism?

Are you supposed to obey that law?

Helping me round up Christians for the gallows?

Fascinating logic.

Post Reply