We are the Author of Our Sins

An adage that irks me is, “Hate the sin; Love the sinner”. The clear implication is that the sin is distinct from the sinner, which encourages people to “view the sinner as a victim of his sin, rather than the author of the sin he commits”. (“Hate the Sin but Love the Sinner': Not Scriptural, Not Catholic Doctrine” by Erven Park , New Oxford Review, June 2006) This is a dangerous concept with eternal repercussions.

Separating the sin from the sinner implies that the offender is not damaged by his wrongful action. For ex., the man who slanders another needs to worry only about how the victim is hurt by his act—as if he himself is not adversely affected by it.

Quite the contrary, it is only by recognizing the sinner as the source of his sin that we can understand Canon Ripley’s warning that “sin is disastrous for both the soul and the body.” (This is the Faith, p 57) And as the catechism explains it, sin is like a snowball rolling down a hill, gathering speed and size as it travels:

“Sin creates a proclivity to sin; it engenders vice by repetition of the same acts. This results in perverse inclinations which cloud conscience and corrupt the concrete judgment of good and evil. Thus sin tends to reproduce itself and reinforce itself, but it cannot destroy the moral sense at its root.” (The Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1865)

Only through penance (reconciliation) can the marred soul be healed. “Those who approach the sacrament of Penance obtain pardon from God's mercy for the offense committed against him, and are, at the same time, reconciled with the Church which they have wounded by their sins and which by charity, by example, and by prayer labors for their conversion." (Catechism, 1422)

How can we ask for pardon if we don’t recognize ourselves as authors of our sin?

The biblical account of the stoning of an adulterer offers testimony to the importance of recognizing sinners as the source of their sin. An angry mob is on the verge of stoning an adulterer when Christ instructs, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” (John 8:7) Shamed, the angry mob disperses. Christ informs the woman that since nobody remains to condemn her, then neither will he. But he adds these departing words:

“Go, and now sin no more.” (John 8:11)

Christ’s warning is clear. He is telling the woman, “You may go, but do not assume that my words to the crowd were approval of your actions. You have sinned and are responsible for it. Do not offend my Father again.”

If hating the sin were enough, there would have been no need for this final warning.

Donald Tremblay