Did Jesus Christ commit sins? That depends on what counts as a sin, so I've used various criteria. I have also used how he was depicted in the canonical Gospels. Here is which ones he has committed of the Seven Deadly Sins of medieval Catholicism.
- Lust? No evidence.
- Gluttony? No evidence.
- Greed? No evidence.
- Sloth? He failed to do his Second Coming in the lifetimes of his listeners.
- Wrath? He foamed at the mouth at the scribes and Pharisees, and those who would not listen to him.
- Envy? No evidence.
- Pride? Calling himself the Messiah, the King of the Jews, and even God himself.
The first set of Ten Commandments:
- Worship no other god in preference to me. ? No evidence of violation.
- Do not worship depictions of anything. ? No evidence of violation.
- Do not misuse my name. ? No evidence of violation.
- Do not work on the Sabbath. ? He performed lots of cures on the Sabbath and said that it was OK to collect food on the Sabbath if one is hungry.
- Honor your father and mother. ? He violated that one and he urged his followers to also do so.
- Do not commit murder. ? No evidence of violation.
- Do not commit adultery. ? The closest he came was some obstruction of justice in an adultery case. Otherwise, no evidence of violation.
- Do not steal. ? He tells his followers to steal a donkey and a colt so that he can ride these animals into Jerusalem.
- Do not make false accusations. ? The closest he came was his foaming at the mouth at the scribes and Pharisees.
- Do not covet anything. ? No evidence of violation.
Athenian reformer Solon (from Diogenes Laertius's Lives of the Eminent Philosophers):
- Trust good character more than promises. ? No evidence either way.
- Do not speak falsely. ? He did not practice what he preached about name-calling, and he (1) claimed to uphold the entire Old Testament law and (2) revoked some of it.
- Do good things. ? Rather vague, so hard to say.
- Do not be hasty in making friends, but do not abandon them once made. ? He withdrew from public view after his crucifixion, he appeared to only a few followers after his resurrection, and he soon rose up into Heaven.
- Learn to obey before you command. ? He was rather snotty to his parents when they found him studying in the Jerusalem Temple.
- When giving advice, do not recommend what is most pleasing, but what is most useful. ? No evidence either way.
- Make reason your supreme commander. ? He never celebrated reason as good to use, and he threw temper tantrums, like in the Jerusalem Temple and at a certain fig tree.
- Do not associate with people who do bad things. ? No evidence of violation.
- Honor the gods. ? No evidence of violation.
- Have regard for your parents. ? How he violated "Honor your father and mother".
So Jesus Christ committed a lot of sins.
1
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9 comments
Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.I like this! I believe the point made about the Sabbath is a big one. Is that "Gods" version of editing?
Aaaaaatheist
Level 5
Mar 24, 2019
0
I reject the concept of sin -- even that supposedly committed by fictional characters, so I find this poll to be a little silly.
ladyprof70
Level 7
Mar 24, 2019
0
Have to have a god to have sin, and since there is no such entity...
1of5
Level 8
Mar 22, 2019
0
I agree. there are illegal acts, immoral acts and unethical acts but sins should remain in the fantasy world of religion.
1of5:
@Antifred no, it's the establishment of an entirely new religion, not a different president. Fucking A.
They were subject to invasion. A lot. They also did a lot of invading.
You should run that theory of Jesus being the sacrifice past current Jews, they'll get a good laugh out of it. Jesus, BTW, doesn't even tick off half the things the messiah is supposed to.
There is still at least one Jewish sect that still performs animal sacrifices. But most see it as an outdated practice they don't need to do anymore for some reason. Ask them why.
1of5:
@Antifred first, there's an edit button so you don't have to multiple reply.
Second, what the fuck is this gibberish? Why are you bringing up widows and orphans? Someone switch out your meds or change a dosage?
Third, just because they use the same word doesn't mean any prophecy has been fulfilled. It's almost like you think the psycobable in the bible is true, which is insane.
Anyways, this is turning even more pointless than anticipated, so go ahead and have the last word, which I doubt will make a lick of sense.
I don’t usually participate in such discussions because I’m not interested and don’t see why it matters anyway.
Still, there’s one little thing in the Bible that arouses my interest. Wasn’t Jesus said to have sent ahead for an ass to be “borrowed” without permission so that he could ride into Jerusalem upon such conveyance, thereby fulfilling prophecy?
I personally don’t believe in sin, however that episode seems rather unethical if not illegal.
Not that it matters at this late date.
WilliamFleming
Level 8
Mar 22, 2019
0
Yes indeed: Matthew 21:1-7, Mark 11:1-7, Luke 19:29-35
Well, since I don't believe there has ever been any credible evidence of the existence of Jesus Christ as a real person, I'm going to say "no".
He didn't commit any "sins", because fictional characters don't actually DO anything
KKGator
Level 9
Mar 22, 2019
2
I was discussing this issue in a hypothetical sort of fashion, the way that one would discuss a fictional character. How historical the Gospels are is an entirely separate issue.
Didn’t he go all Castlevania on some dudes with a whip?
indirect76
Level 7
Mar 22, 2019
1
Yes, his Temple temper tantrum: Matt 21:12-13, Mark 11:15-17, Luke 19:45-46, John 2:13-16
I would add cursing the fig tree as evidence of pride, and arguably even coveting. A plant doesn't grow fruit when it's out of season, so you decide to chastise it? I've always thought that this was a sort of parable meant to show that people should be prepared to serve God at any time regardless of circumstances, but really? You curse a fig tree when it hasn't produced fruit during a period of time when it's biologically evolved not to do it? That really has some terrible implications for how Jesus/God and the Gospel writer(s) look at people. The whole relationship is based on unreasonable expectation and/or goals, occasionally violating the laws of basic biology.
IntoTheMist
Level 4
Mar 22, 2019
1
Jesus Christ vs. a certain fig tree: Matt 21:18-19, Mark 11:12-14
When I first read it, it struck me as extremely irrational, since it was not the fault of that fig tree that it did not have figs for him. I still think that. In any case, if JC was God, then he could easily have poofed into existence whatever he might have wanted to eat.
His temptations in the desert? Some would say in your heart is a sin. I can't remember more than the movie version of his desert temptations.
Beowulfsfriend
Level 9
Mar 22, 2019
1
Most depictions of Jesus' temptations in the desert are pretty close, from what I can remember. It all essentially amounts to "Satan offers Jesus more and more stuff up to and including dominion over the world if he will bow down and worship/serve Satan, but Jesus turns it all down because it's ultimately already his and was never really Satan's in the first place." I know the Mary Magdalene thing was invented for "The Last Temptation of Christ", but I only watched the first few minutes of that film and don't remember where it was that Jesus experienced this temptation. It seems like I read a few plot summaries here and there, but my brain seems to have filed those under "Information No Longer Deemed Important". I think that the Last Temptation thing was set after the desert temptations, i.e. very shortly before the crucifixion, but I'm fuzzy on that. They may have changed the timeline for the film or done some kind of a flashback. I only saw The Passion of the Christ once and don't remember much about Satan in that other than that he was always taunting Jesus and showed up with some kind of snake.
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