Sin

A History

De: Gary A. Anderson

Narrado por: Timothy P. Côté

What is sin? Is it simply wrongdoing? Why do its effects linger over time? In this sensitive, imaginative, and original work, Gary Anderson shows how changing conceptions of sin and forgiveness lay at the very heart of the biblical tradition. Spanning nearly 2,000 years, the book brilliantly demonstrates how sin, once conceived of as a physical burden, becomes, over time, eclipsed by economic metaphors. Transformed from a weight that an individual carried, sin becomes a debt that must be repaid in order to be redeemed in God's eyes.

Anderson shows how this ancient Jewish revolution in thought shaped the way the Christian church understood the death and resurrection of Jesus and eventually led to the development of various penitential disciplines, deeds of charity, and even papal indulgences. In so doing, it reveals how these changing notions of sin provided a spur for the Protestant Reformation.

Broad in scope while still exceptionally attentive to detail, this ambitious and profound book unveils one of the most seismic shifts that occurred in religious belief and practice, deepening our understanding of one of the most fundamental aspects of human experience.

The book is published by Yale University Press. The audiobook is published by University Press Audiobooks.

Selected as a Choice Outstanding Academic Title.

"Wonderful and surprising…a significant contribution…" (Commonweal)

"Highly commended to students, scholars, and libraries as a valuable and insightful addition." (Catholic Books Review)

©2009 Yale University (P)2020 Redwood Audiobooks

help me understand Bible ！

"Committing a serious sin triggers the creation of some sort of thing." I Audit Prof. Anderson's Bible class, As a foreign student, listening to this book help me understand better: "It is impossible to understand sin and forgiveness in the Bible without attending carefully to the metaphors in which these concepts are embedded. "

Excellent thought

A little repetitive at parts (and similar to the book “Charity” by the same author), but the thought is sublime. It starts as an account of metaphors used for sin. It ends as a treatise on divine economy, and the value of mercy in the sight of God.