Being
raised in a household with a father who is Atheist and a mother who was raised
Christian, I have grown up hearing two very different opinions of what is right
and what is wrong. But, the truth of what is morally right and what
is a sin can only come from one place: The Bible. In reading the Bible, we can
learn all about sin, where sin started and what happens as a result of sin. Not
every branch of Christianity follows the exact beliefs and they all interpret
the Bible differently. However, one thing is consistent with the different
beliefs: human beings sin. 
One
of perhaps the most well known biblical stories is the story of Adam and Eve.
Most people, Christian or not, know this story as two people created by God,
put onto earth, who eat a fruit and are punished for it. But, not many people
are careful enough to actually read into the story and what resulted from Adam
and Eve’s actions. God created everything on this earth to be pure and clean.
His only demand to Adam and Eve was that they could not eat from the Garden of
Eden. However, when Eve is tempted by a serpent from the garden, she eats a
fruit that she then shares with Adam. Christians know this act as Original Sin.
The decision to eat the forbidden fruit effects humanity now and will forever,
as it resulted in humans being more tempted towards sin. But, what is sin? Why
does one sin? What is considered a sin and how can we be forgiven for these
acts? These are things that humans must learn now and must use forever. 
Often
times, anything that someone believes is wrong is quickly labeled a sin. Why?
Because many people are not followers of God and do not know the exact definition
of sin or what is considered a sin. In the Catechism
of the Catholic Church the word “sin” is clearly defined for us so that we
know exactly what a sin is. It says “Sin is an offense against God as well as a
fault against reason, truth and right conscience. Sin is a deliberate thought,
word, or deed, or omission contrary to the Eternal Law of God. In judging the
gravity of sin, it is customary to distinguish between mortal and venial sin.” If
one did not know what a sin was prior to reading this, they know now. In order
to understand any aspect of sin, one must be able to define the word first. A
sin is any act committed by a person that goes against the word or law of God. Jealous
of the girl in class? Sin. Stealing money from your grandmother? Sin. Murdering
the lady down the street? Sin. Sin varies and appears in all shapes, sizes and
colors. We all sin in our lives, it happens. But, will we be sorry for our sins
and ask Gods forgiveness or will we repeat the same sin within 48 hours? It’s
not how we sin that shows our character, but more how we react after the sin. 
An important piece of knowledge that one must know about sin is the difference
between mortal sin and the venial sin. These are two very different things that
one must not get mixed up because they have two very different consequences.
Article 13 of Christian Morality: Our
response to God’s love very carefully points out the differences of the two
different types of sin. The book describes mortal sin as “An action so contrary
to the word of God that it results in a complete separation from God and his
grace.” An example of mortal sin would be consistently cheating on exams to
increase your grade with the full knowledge that what you are doing is wrong.
For a sin to be mortal, the person committing it must be fully aware that the
act is wrong and against God. Then, the book describes venial sin as “A less
serious offense against the will of God that diminishes ones personal character
and weakens but does not rupture ones relationship with God.” An example of
venial sin would be cheating multiple times on tests. Once you have cheated
once, it becomes a habit and a vice for cheating is formed. This vice makes the
temptation to cheat irresistible. Knowing the difference between these two
types of sin is important because they can affect our relationship with God. One
type of sin just strains our relationship with Him, while the other completely
ruins it. We must be careful of our actions and always remember that every
action has a reaction, especially in the eyes of God.
Another
term that is important to know when understanding sin is “social sin”. The term
social sin is defined in Article 14 as “The collective effect of many personal
sins over time, which corrupts society and its institutions by creating ‘structures
of sin.” Some examples of social sin are people being homeless when there are
plenty of homes for everyone, people who have no job when there are people
being overworked and people who are starving when there is plenty of food to go
around. These are just a few examples of acts that are considered social sin.
The article gives a clear example to help readers better understand the
difference between personal sin and social sin. It says “…if one employer pays
a woman less than he pays a man for doing the same job, this is personal sin.
But if many employers in a city, state or country pay women less than they pay
men for doing the same jobs they have created a situation of social sin.”
Knowing what social sin is becomes important because it occurs when a group of
people become so used to a sin, that it is unchallenged. This is important
because it happens every single day and I believe that these sins should be
called out and challenged. 
When
determining if a human act is moral or immoral, there are three guidelines that
one must follow. Article 12 clearly points out these guidelines we must
remember to determine whether a human act is morally good or bad. The three
guidelines are:1- The object, that is, the specific thing the person is choosing to do
2- The intention of the person doing the action
3- The circumstances surrounding the act
These three things are very important to remember before we
judge the act of someone else. We must use these to determine if it is good or
bad and we must consider every aspect of the act and reason for the act.
Everything we do as humans has a reason; we don’t just do things for no reason.
But, before we judge others actions and before we label it a sin, we must
review every aspect to make sure we don’t falsely label it.
