What to do with "Is x a sin" questions?

Question

I'm not sure if it's more appropriate to post this as a new question, or put a new answer on the old one, but a while back, someone has asked "Are 'is x a sin' questions on topic?"

That question was posted in Meta back when we were still trying to figure out the scope and purpose of the site. The highest voted question actually argues to keep them open and included this sentence in the answer:

As Christians we're not only looking for the truth about scripture, but also how to live our lives.

Since that time, the scope of the site has been more clearly defined, and while that may have been the thinking at the time, but the idea that the site is a site to learn about Truth, in that sense, is simply not constructive, and it's not what the site is for. Keeping that distinction is one of the primary reasons we've been able to survive as a StackExchange site. It's also been critical in keeping the quality level of both questions and answers up, and we've virtually eliminated the hostile (or at least argumentative and not constructive) content out of the site.

So my question is, now that we've defined the site guidelines more clearly, and we've got something that is working well, what should be done with "Is X a sin" questions?

Answer 1

If my question didn't make it clear enough, I believe that we should be closing such questions a "Primarily opinion-based". Whether or not the question is "on topic" as the original Meta post asks is not the issue.

The issue is that there are simply too many things that some people consider sin, while others don't. It leads to debate in the comments, and quite frankly, unless there is a clear Scriptural statement, some things are open to interpretation. In our Church, our pastor has preached a few messages that touch on this - how to discern the difference between a commandment, a conviction, and a preference.

• Commandment - clear, unambiguous Biblical statement (Thou shalt not commit adultery)
• Conviction - Belief that something is wrong based on Scriptural principles (Not viewing pornography because by definition, you're looking after someone in lust and "committing adultery in your heart".
• Preference - Preferring old-fashioned Hymns rather than more contemporary music.

The problem is that most "Is x a sin" questions fall into one of the two latter categories - otherwise they wouldn't need to ask. And whether something is really a sin is, as you can see, open to debate. I know people that think contemporary Christian music is nothing less than Satan's attempt to lure our kids into rock and roll, and from there into drugs, alcohol, sex, and all manner of debauchery. They'd argue that listening to Contemporary Christian music is a sin. Clearly there are those who feel otherwise. Each side is 100% convinced they are right.

That said, there is a way to make such questions more constructive. Consider the following questions:

• On what basis do some denominations prohibit Christians from drinking alcohol?
• Is it wrong to consume alcohol?
• How far is too far when it comes to drinking alcohol?

The first is objectively answerable. The second and third.. Not so much. The first should stand. The others, at best, serve as good examples of a non-constructive question.

All that can be summed up with this: "Is x a sin" questions are, in most cases, personal opinion questions. No good can come from them. I understand the desire to give Truth answers. A good chunk of the community consider ourselves to be Christians, and we want to glorify God, and lead people into truth. It's natural. But... If a real seeker comes here and sees the conflicting answer, we're doing absolutely nothing to help that person. We're simply demonstrating a lot of uncertainty or disagreement. That isn't glorifying God.

Further, this isn't a Christian site. It's a secular site about Christianity. The purpose isn't to save the lost, or provide pastoral advice. The purpose of all StackExchange sites is to make the Internet a better place. Providing conflicting opinions isn't meeting that goal either.

If we run across these questions, I recommend we follow the same guidelines I posted here.

• If we, who have been around the block for a while can lead by example it'll help.
• Friendly comments to newcomers that post "Truth" questions or answers explaining the issue and pointing to the [FAQ] and FAQ questions can help as well.
  • Emphasis on "friendly" Following the principles of the "Summer of Love".
• Editing questions/answers to get them to fit the guidelines, such as the one I did here: Why are some denominations so against the idea of personal revelation as a source of Truth?

Answer 2

'What is sin?' is a pretty large component of Christian faith, so part of me feels a loss to say we must exclude it. Possibly rephrasing those questions under 'What is the biblical bases for deciding X is a sin?' could save the subject without deteriorating the objectives of the site. For example, 'What is the Biblical basis for deciding that abortion is a sin?' would seem good for a Q&A format.

Answer 3

These questions should eventually be deleted. I suspect that we are keeping them around in order to bootstrap the site, out of worry: if we close questions that are so popular, seemingly most important to Christians, don't we risk having people abandon this site for something more useful? I don't think so. As David points out, these questions invite personal opinion. Personal opinion is toxic.

For the time will come when people will not tolerate sound doctrine but, following their own desires and insatiable curiosity, will accumulate teachers and will stop listening to the truth and will be diverted to myths.

The absence of personal opinion is what will make this site stand out among other sites. Allowing personal opinion will turn people away. After all, it's only a matter of time until you find a personal opinion that doesn't match your own.

---

The example that prompted me to reply is in David's question, which quotes the top answer to the older "is X a sin" meta discussion. The full text of that quotation references a question titled "Is masturbation a sin?" as an archetype of an appropriate "sin" question. The top answer in that question, quoted here (in full!) because I hope the whole mess will be deleted:

The root of the matter is lust.

Matthew 5:28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

I would say that the act itself is not the sin, it's the intent of the act.

This is the type of answer we want to avoid. The author is offering a personal interpretation of the Bible, and, in my view, is utterly butchering the concept of sin. Sin is an act, and the aim of the act matters: Jesus is teaching that a neutral act like "looking" can become sinful. But the intent (or purpose) does not matter for non-neutral sinful acts, due to Rom3:8. So the answer is not only deeply confused, but has almost certainly led people into sin. Of course the point isn't that I disagree with the answer, the point is that seeing this answer rated so highly makes me, for my own good reasons, seriously worry about whether I should contribute to this site and be a part of this community.

If the question had been "I'm a Catholic, is masturbation a sin?", one would reply "always", quote the CCC, and point out that it can't be done even to provide a semen sample for medical reasons.

---

David has already mentioned some good reasons to dislike these open-ended questions. My point is that they aren't just sometimes inconvenient, but in even the best cases are actively harmful to the formation of the community and the reputation of this site. The motto of this site should be "no personal opinions". Be friendly, but close and delete the question.

Answer 4

Why don't mods simply edit the post to state "Which Denominations think X is a sin and why?", and edit the entirety of the OP question?

For example, in the question "Is anal sex evil", the OP stated:

The God said that people should live in peace and happiness, and, the happiness is strictly correlated with humans joy. Reading good book before going to sleep is not a sin, neither is having a loving wife. I understand that anal sex is sin, cause it can't lead to pregnancy, and I lived believing that God would punish me if I not obey His will. The problem is, that, yesterday, my wife said that she's barren. We would never have children. Now I don't know if I can have sex with my wife while we don't even have a chance to have children. Or, if I can freely have sex with my wife, does it mean that I can have anal sex too?

Instead of closing it, why not reword the title to "Which denominations find Sodomy in marriage to be wrong, and why?"

The question itself could be rephrased to

"From my understanding, certain denominations regard sodomy between a married couple as a sin, because sodomy is a form of sexuality that does not lead to pregnancy. However, when a wife is barren, it would be logical to assume that the couple could not participate in any form sexual relations."

Of course, this completely destroys the intent of the OP. However, I think it looks bad when I come here and see most of the front page down voted and put on hold, with questions like "Is anal sex evil" -- it puts me off, to be honest. Is there some philosophy in stack exchange that prohibits the extreme modification of questions, such as I am proposing?