Survey Results from 81 who responded
Some common elements from your input:
| Top | Bottom |
|---|---|
| Murder | Disunity |
| Sexual Sin: Incest, Rape, Pedophilia, Adultery | Perks on the job |
| Kidnap, Torture, Enslavement | Cheating |
| Hate, Anger | Little White Lies |
| Rebellion, vindictiveness | Inhospitality |
Others to add to the list:
| Suicide | Greed |
| Turning away from God/ worshiping other false gods | Lying |
| Causing someone else to lose their faith in God | Stealing, Petty Theft, Fraud |
| Disobedience | Disobedience |
| Distrust | Speeding |
| Self centredness | Slander |
| Fear | Anger |
| Indifference/rebellion to God | Playing Sport / Working on Sunday |
| Bearing false witness/ slandering other people | Cheating in Exams |
| Arrogance, haughtiness | Gossip |
| Not loving the Lord | Rude words |
| Not loving your neighbour | Forgetting appointments |
| Leading children into sin | Burning dinner |
| Not obeying an ungodly government | |
| Not obeying institutionalized church rules | |
| Feigning illness when there’s a church working bee | |
| telling the pastor his sermon was terrific when it wasn’t | |
| Inferiority, putting yourself down |
Other Comments:
- Arrogance/haughtiness – I think too highly of myself and insult others
- Inferiority/depreciation – I think too little of myself thereby insulting God who made me
- I choose the Ten Commandments as the top list. Why invent a new list of sins when God has clearly told me what Adonai thinks is ok or not?
- Second, I believe all sins are alike. Even though I don’t murder, steal or commit adultery, I have my own issues with negativety, complaining, rebellion and pride.
- Every human being has rebellion and pride, they are just at different levels but they come from our sinful nature.. Rebellion and pride is the source of all of the other sins.
- To me they all pale into nothingness in comparison to the sin of unbelief and rebellion against God. If you ask me which is the greater I think rebellion against God simply because you rebel knowingly in deliberate rebellion to His voice or inspired word.
- Filipinos would likely put shaming as #1 and disrespect to elders would be right up there too), and the lowest 5 “white” lies that protect someone.
- Too much homework from Ian in the early hours of the morning is the smallest sin
- I also think that the worst sin, would be breaking the greatest commandment. i.e. Not loving God with all your heart.
Every sin is the same in God’s eyes, so I will not be helping you with your survey. All sin is sin and is abhorrent. All can be forgiven if confessed.
Ian’s comments:
If we take into account cultural differences in the ranking of sin it is all changed. For instance many of the tribes of Papua New Guinea, Indonesia would rank murder the lowest. In terms of the pay back system you are honour bound to avenge the life that was taken even if the family member died in a road accident. It matters not, the person must pay with their life for the life which was taken. Is that a sin you ask? No way they would say. In fact the Papuan, Indonesian or Filipino would rank inhospitality at the top of the list.
Among many tribes of Melanesia for example the Yali, to be deceitful is highly prized. To deceive someone and to do it with cunning and disguise is to be applauded. So this makes Judas the number one man. In the ancient Roman context sexual “sins” were considered permissible. In fact the more depraved, the better. Klaus Pieter Kugler, who worked among the Fayu of Irian Jaya (currently Papua), noted there was no concept of stealing being a sin or wrong. It was a totally acceptable thing to do.
Little wonder God has to make a summary judgement when human cultural perspectives are so varied. Left up to us humans no decision would be made. We would leave it all hanging. Just as it was in the days of the Judges – everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Culturally top sins become bottom sins and vice versa. Interesting too in “our” list many items are included on both sides of the list. As a result of your comments I am going to extend this over 4 days as we dig into the text before us.
I leave you with this thought from one recipient of Gems:- ‘Pride is the root of all sin and “I” is at the center of “sin.”
Anon
Often we call upon God to ease our pain without wanting Him to change our character.
A R Bernard
Most people would rather make excuses than admit that they have failed [sinned]. That’s why they never change.
Jeffrey Rachmat