Hamartiology

Sin is an immoral act considered to be a transgression of divine law. The doctrine of sin is central to Christianity, since its basic message is about redemption in Christ.

Hamartiology, a branch of Christian theology which is the study of sin, describes sin as an act of offense against God by despising his persons and Christian biblical law, and by injuring others. Christian hamartiology is closely related to concepts of natural law, moral theology and Christian ethics. According to St Augustine of Hippo, sin is "a word, deed, or desire in opposition to the eternal law of God," or as Scripture states, "sin is the transgression of law."

Among some many scholars, sin is understood mostly as legal infraction or contract violation of non-binding philosophical frameworks and perspectives of Christian ethics, and so salvation tends to be viewed in legal terms. Other Christian scholars understand sin to be fundamentally relational --  a loss of love for the Christian God and an elevation of self-love ("conscupiscence," in this sense), as was later propounded by St Augustine in his debate with the Pelagians. As with the legal definition of sin, this definition also affects the understanding of Christian grace and salvation, which are thus viewed in relational terms.

Catholic doctrine distinguishes between personal sin (also sometimes called actual sin) and original sin. Personal sins are either mortal or venial.

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, mortal sins are sins of grave (serious) matter, where the sinner performs the act with full knowledge and deliberate consent. The act of committing a mortal sin destroys charity, i.e  the grace in the heart of the Christian; it is in itself a rejection of God. If left un-reconciled, mortal sins may lead to eternal separation from God, traditionally called damnation.

Venial sins are sins that do not meet the conditions for mortal sins. The act of committing a venial sin does not cut off the sinner from God's grace, as the sinner has not rejected God. However, venial sins do injure the relationship between the sinner and God, and as such, must be reconciled to God, either through the Sacrament of Reconciliation or receiving the Eucharist (after proper contrition fulfilled).

Both mortal and venial sins have a dual nature of punishmenrt. They incur both guilt for the sin, yielding eternal punishment, and temporal punishment for the sin. Reconciliation is an act of God's mercy, and addresses the guilt and eternal punishment for sin. Purgatory and indulgences address the temporal punishment for sin, and exercise of God's justice.

Roman Catholic doctrine also sees sin as being twofold: Sin is, at once, any evil or immoral action which infracts God's law and the inevitable consequences, the state of being that comes about by committing the sinful action. Sin can and does alienate a person both from God and the community. Hence, the Catholic Church's insistence on reconciliation with both God and the Church itself.

The Roman Catholic view of sin has recently expanded. Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, Regent of the Catholic Apostolic Penitentiary*, has said that "known sins increasingly manifest themselves as behavior that damages society as a whole," including for example:

• "certain violations of the fundamental rights of human nature, through genetic manipulations [or experiments],"
• "drug [abuse], which weakens the mind and obscure intelligence,"
• "environmental pollution,"
• "abortion and pedophilia," and
• the widening social and economic differences between the rich and the poor, which "cause an unbearable social injustice" (accumulating excessive wealth, inflicting poverty). The revision was aimed at encouraging confession or Sacrament of Penance.

(*The Apostolic Penitentiary is chiefly a tribunal of mercy in the Catholic Church, which is responsible for issues relating to the forgiveness of sins).

Mortal sins, which are any severe and intentional actions that directly disobeys God, are often confused with the seven deadly sins, which are pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony and lust. They are not, however, the same. The seven deadly sins are called "deadly" because they might lead another to commit other sins. Sone forms of the seven deadly sins (i.e, delibitating one's health because of their love for food) can constitute as grave matter, while others may just be venial (i.e. over-eating).

Another group of four or five sins distinguished by the Church are the sins that cry to heaven: murder, sodomy, opression of the weak, and defrauding the laborer.

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