Sins are Disappearing. Where did they go

I write here often about George C. Barna and the Barna group. It is located in a university in Arizona and does questionnaire survey work about Christianity. Barna identifies as a Christing and sometimes publishes and makes appearances about his conservative views. His work in questionnaires about religion, however, tracks the same as secular groups showing the decline in the number of Christians. Further, as a believer, he asks about topics and thoughts that might not occur to secular groups doing this research. A recent example is an update on both Christian and secular attitudes toward "sin."

To many who write and lecture about Christianity, "sin" is THE central topic. While it may not be the topic most written about in scholarly journals and taught about in seminaries, it is the topic people in the pews talk about and worry about more than any other. When I attend the liberal church down the street from me I count the number of times the word "sin" is mentioned during a service. It averages six times. Yet, I have never heard anyone behind the pulpit define it. 

We all know one tenet of Christianity is that Eve was the first sinner, eating the forbidden apple, and that babies are born sinners. Another tenet is that only way to have sins removed from out resumes is by appealing to the imaginary authorities. Otherwise there is punishment for eternity. 

Barna's research found that this control system still works for people who self-identify as believers. About 3/4 of them believe people are sinners and that they themselves are sinners. Only about 1/4 of people outside the faith believe sin exists and that people are fundamentally sinners. Very few non believers feel they themselves are sinners. This means that if Christianity continues to slip in numbers sin will disappear with it. 

In my view, the faith began falling in credibility way back in the days of slavery and segregation. Interracial marriage was sin. Then alcohol was sin. Along came abortion and then gay marriage. It was sin after sin, only to eventually shrug and move on to a new sin. Sin was made central to the faith but sin is also the Achilles heel that will drive people out of the faith.

Even though sin and punishment have worked well for Christianity and made it a huge religion, sin is a good competitor. In my simple way of looking at the world, I see sin winning whenever I see people dancing the Charleson. That dance grew from the time of Prohibition when alcohol was illegal. Thousands of speakeasies served illegal alcohol. The favorite dance in speakeasies was the Charleson and to this day it projects the message, "Sin is fun."