Can Atheists sin?

1. 75

   capncrunchposted 13 years ago

   Can Atheists sin?

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2. 60

   HOOWANTSTONOposted 13 years ago

   Rom 3:23     For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
   Just because the Atheist doesn't believe, doesn't mean they are different to any other human.

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3. 0

   AMBASSADOR BUTLERposted 13 years ago

   Sin is sin no matter who sin. To break it down for you: yes and that includes every single human being. Do not let sin keep you apart from GOD. GOD wants every single human being to know him and walk with GOD moment by moment like I walk and know GOD moment by moment in my life and GOD on August 1, 1982 A.D. a Sunday morning shown me in a vision the other side of death. It is glorious.

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4. 69

   chasemillisposted 13 years ago

   Yes, everyone sins. They are just captive to it.

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5. 60

   GNelsonposted 13 years ago

   Great question.  We are all in this boat together, sink or float, like it or not.

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6. 0

   AKA Winstonposted 13 years ago

   Without defining what you mean by sin there can be no answer.  So all you are asking is can atheists take actions which you believe to be sinful - and how would anyone know that except you?
   
   Not everyone in the entire world - theists included - have the exact same understanding of sin that you do.

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7. 60

   Scosgroveposted 13 years ago

   Wouldn't the better question be "Do Atheists believe in sin?"
   
   Atheists have an inherent idea of "right or wrong." So sure, atheists can do wrong, but without a belief structure focused around "sin" and "righteousness," an atheist wouldn't see doing wrong as "sin."
   
   But from the perspective of a person who's belief structure includes "sin," they could perceive that someone who doesn't have that belief is "sinning."
   
   I hope that's followable. Very philosophical!

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8. 94

   cat on a soapboxposted 13 years ago

   Sin has religous ramifications, so an atheist would look at it as perhaps immoral in going against  one's personal set of morals rather than "sin" in the eyes of God. Bad acts of behavior stand as deplorable no matter what the definition.

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9. 61

   mariahpooposted 13 years ago

   Definition:
   sin
   1 ? ?/s?n/ Show Spelled [sin] Show IPA noun, verb, sinned, sin·ning.
   –noun
   1.transgression of divine law: the sin of Adam.
   2.any act regarded as such a transgression, especially a willful or deliberate violation of some religious or moral principle.
   3.any reprehensible or regrettable action, behavior, lapse, etc.; great fault or offense: It's a sin to waste time.
   
   
   
   You can see that it does not have to be attributed to religion. However if you are asking the question in regards to being religious, I guess it just depends on what view point you have. At that point it becomes subjective.
   
   But as the definition is concerned, yes, everyone can and does sin.

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10. 59

    Norma Buddenposted 13 years ago

    Of course, they do! They just might not want to classify their behavior as "sinful."

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11. 61

    thejeffriestubeposted 13 years ago

    I don't think sin is the right word. Atheism is different than other religions, and a bit more self-centric. Therefore, instead of it being a sin, maybe it's more like "letting yourself down."

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12. 63

    housebuilderposted 13 years ago

    An Atheist can't sin. Sin is a personal belief based on religion, not law. Adultery isn't a sin to an Atheist. It's definitely a bad idea to cheat on ones spouse, but it's not sinning if you don't believe in it.
    
    If there was a God that came down and made up all the rules and sin was a part of that, then it would be different. Instead we have thousands of religious leaders who claim to talk to God and then go and make up some rules.
    
    I'm atheist. I know religion very well. I no longer believe in a God who can let 15,000 children die of starvation everyday, and still be worried about who pissed him off for worshiping an idol.

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13. 60

    Leni Estevezposted 13 years ago

    I'm surprised that so many people believe that atheists can sin. When judging a culture, one must judge it based on their values. Tribes that sacrifice people are not murderers, they simply believe that they're doing something good. So to answer your question, no atheists can't possibly sin, because they've already completely disregarded such religious belief.

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14. 89

    Doc Snowposted 13 years ago

    It's not a well-defined question.  As pointed out already, this can mean:
    
    1)  Can atheists transgress religious law?  Yes, since that law exists (at least for some people) regardless of one's adherence to it, or belief in it.  They may not be troubled by it, though, or even aware of it.
    
    2)  Can atheists have ethics sufficiently solid and well-formed that transgressions can reasonably be called 'sin?'  Yes, many atheists do exhibit strong ethical beliefs--often not all that different from the ethics of believers in various systems of religious belief.
    
    Additionally, it's not that far a stretch to interpret the question as:
    
    3)  Can an atheist construct a system of belief which has no ethical imperatives that reasonably map onto the concept of sin?  Yes, that's possible.  But it's also possible to do the same with views incorporating a God--for example, the 'clockmaker' God who creates a Universe but does not interact with it there after would presumably leave a pretty free field for ethical (or unethical!) invention.
    
    And in neither case would that mean that the person in question would necessarily be any more dangerous to know than anyone else.  Psychopathy is a condition of the whole personality, not merely (or primarily) a matter of belief.

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15. 60

    philemersonposted 13 years ago

    The answer to your question is extremely dependant upon who you ask!
    
    To the atheist, the concept of sin is inconsequential. It has no meaning because they have no religious framework against which to sin - unless they claim to be an atheist but secretly believe in a god. I suppose that's sort of sinning against their own framework of non-belief.
    
    I'm sure many people that consider answering this question will interpret the question from their own religious bias, quoting religous passages from the scripture of their preference to support their arguments.
    
    For a truly objective answer, you'd have to ask the deity of the one true religion... if you can find it. The trouble is most religions rely on you having faith and living their doctrine in the hope that you adopted the right one... and if you chose the wrong one, you're probably sinning whether you're an atheist or believer.

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16. 61

    TheBlondieposted 13 years ago

    I'm an atheist, and I personally don't believe in sin. Sure, there are some really, really bad things people do, and they deserve to be punished harshly or mildly depending on what they did. This includes Atheists, but it also includes Christians, Muslims, Jews, and any other religion or lack thereof. Sin is a way to scare people into being perfect. Of course people shouldn't do bad things, but the concept of sin is a little intense.

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17. 72

    Abhaque Supanjangposted 13 years ago

    It depends, to whom you ask this question. If you ask to muslim or Islamic people, of course we will say "yes". Atheists collect sins for all their lives, and they will be thrown into the hell and live there for good if they do not realize their wrong way of live before Allah calls him. But if they can set back to the straight way, even one day before his death, his still get opportunity to be forgiven.

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