Sin

“This accessible and clearly written book applies recent philosophical treatments of sin to a catalog of carefully distinguished facets of the concept of sin. The originality here extends to a deeper understanding of the nature of sin by explicitly connecting the concept to moral issues, including obligation, blame, collective action, supererogation, virtue, and evil.” —Edward Wierenga, author of The Philosophy of Religion

“Mellema’s Sin is a wonderfully clear and concise summary of what philosophers are saying about the relationships between the traditional theological categories of sin and wickedness and the philosophical categories of immorality and evil. It will be very useful for students of theological ethics and philosophy of religion, as well as for anyone interested in the dark side of human conduct.” —Edward Langerak, author of Civil Disagreement

"Philosopher Mellema delivers a wide-ranging and detailed exploration of how philosophy understands and explains sin. . . . Examples from the minor (how littering connects to a 'vicious pattern of behavior') to the severe (how racism and the Holocaust form society-wide sins that create 'collective guilt') help illustrate his points." —Publishers Weekly

"Gregory Mellema's Sin is a thoughtful philosophical discussion of sin as it relates to a variety of questions concerning moral responsibility . . . each chapter is well-organized and inviting for further reflection by its readers, and, as a result, it will be a worthwhile read for a good many academics." —Theology

"How might Christians introduce that awkward word ‘sin’ when discussing a world in which the dark side of human nature is everywhere tangible and visible but resistant to analysis framed in traditional biblical and theological categories? This short volume offers a possible pathway by means of a clear and concise summary of the fairly widespread interest in morality and ethics in contemporary philosophy." — Stimulus: The New Zealand Journal of Christian Thought and Practice

“Mellema suggests that we understand the Christian idea of original sin as a kind of ‘moral taint’ – that contemporary human beings ‘can be tainted by the evil acts of others to whom they are connected…’ even if they themselves are not responsible for those actions.” —Times Literary Supplement