Sin In Scarlet Letter
The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, deals with many difficult issues. One of those issues is the topic of sin. Throughout the story the main protagonists, excluding Pearl, struggle with their past sins and how they deal with it. One line spoken by the narrator about Dimmesdale’s sin, “This had been a sin of passion, not of principle, nor even purpose” (187) suggests that there are different types of sins. In this case sins of love or passion versus sins of hate or principle. Hawthorne deals with sins of love or passion as well as sins of hate with different characters including Hester, Dimmesdale, and Chillingworth. Are there different degrees of sin, if so how were they used in the story, and what consequences did it have for
…show more content…
Some argue that all sins are equal; others say it is not. Is stealing a pen from church as bad as robbing a bank or stepping on an ant as bad as shooting a neighbor? In the modern justice system it is pretty clear that there are different degrees to sin. Take the different degrees of murder for instance. When someone accidentally kills someone as a result of negligence and had no intent to harm or kill it is classified and third degree murder and results in ten to twenty years in prison. On the other hand if someone willfully killed someone with the intent to kill or harm it is classified a first degree murder and results in either life in prison or the death penalty. Many great christian thinkers and preachers of the day also believe that there are different degrees to sin. These thinkers include R.C. Sproul, J.I. Packer, Billy Graham, etc. According to Packer, Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Regent College and Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology, “Scripture shows that in God's estimate some sins are worse and bring greater guilt than others, and that some sins do us more damage.”(christianitytoday.com) He reference passages like John 19:11 when Jesus tell Pilate that “He who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” (ESV) or passages like Mark 3: 28-30 where it says “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies
Some argue that all sins are equal; others say it is not. Is stealing a pen from church as bad as robbing a bank or stepping on an ant as bad as shooting a neighbor? In the modern justice system it is pretty clear that there are different degrees to sin. Take the different degrees of murder for instance. When someone accidentally kills someone as a result of negligence and had no intent to harm or kill it is classified and third degree murder and results in ten to twenty years in prison. On the other hand if someone willfully killed someone with the intent to kill or harm it is classified a first degree murder and results in either life in prison or the death penalty. Many great christian thinkers and preachers of the day also believe that there are different degrees to sin. These thinkers include R.C. Sproul, J.I. Packer, Billy Graham, etc. According to Packer, Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Regent College and Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology, “Scripture shows that in God's estimate some sins are worse and bring greater guilt than others, and that some sins do us more damage.”(christianitytoday.com) He reference passages like John 19:11 when Jesus tell Pilate that “He who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” (ESV) or passages like Mark 3: 28-30 where it says “Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies