Sin

The term sin may initially appear as anachronistic in the 21st century, yet some observers consider it disturbingly relevant. Carl Jung, the Swiss psychoanalyst, once responded to an inquiry regarding the notion of sin by insisting on its relevancy beyond the theological. Its impact and effects are what provide its clearest definition. The emergence of the human and social sciences, especially within the 20th century, provides a framework from which to recognize and study the kinds of variances in human nature that result in a broad continuum of destructive dispositions and behaviors forever repeating in all human lives. Jung suggested that tendencies toward destructiveness are endemic within individual and collective human personality across time and cultures. This entry explores sin as an inevitable human fact ...