{"id":6365,"date":"2009-12-04T00:02:03","date_gmt":"2009-12-04T05:02:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/community\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/04\/lifting-the-burden-of-sin\/"},"modified":"2009-12-04T00:02:03","modified_gmt":"2009-12-04T05:02:03","slug":"lifting-the-burden-of-sin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/04\/lifting-the-burden-of-sin\/","title":{"rendered":"Lifting the Burden of Sin"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"\"<\/span>After his opening sketch, Gary Anderson, in\u00a0Sin: A History<\/a>\"\"\u00a0<\/strong><\/em>, examines the old biblical image of sin as a burden that needs to be lifted.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
The most common image is sin (awon<\/i>) as burden that needs to be lifted<\/b><\/i> (108x), followed by sin as something to be forgiven (17x) and sin as something to be wiped away (6x).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
But most Bible translations blend these all into \u201cforgive\u201d; Anderson\u2019s contention is that they are missing an important metaphor: sin is predominantly a weight that needs to be lifted off one\u2019s back.<\/i>\u00a0Or, if one does not come clean, sin is a burden that the sinner must carry. This made me think of the novel A Scarlet Letter<\/i>\u00a0because Dimmesdale carries his burden while Hester Prynne\u2019s burden was mostly lifted because she had born her punishment.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
And Anderson observes that the verb can mean either \u201ccarry\u201d [load] a burden or \u201clift\u201d [unload] a burden. He points to Num 11:11-14 and 16:15 (see below after the jump).<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Another example that shows sin as a burden is found in Isaiah 1:2-4:<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

1:2<\/span>\u00a0Listen, O heavens,<\/p>\n

pay attention, O earth!<\/p>\n

For the\u00a0Lord<\/span>\u00a0speaks:<\/p>\n

\u201cI raised children, I brought them up,<\/p>\n

but they have rebelled against me!<\/p>\n

1:3<\/span>\u00a0An ox recognizes its owner,<\/p>\n

a donkey recognizes where its owner puts its food;<\/p>\n

but Israel does not recognize me,<\/p>\n

my people do not understand.\u201d<\/p>\n

1:4<\/span>\u00a0The sinful nation is as good as dead,<\/p>\n

the people weighed down by evil deeds<\/i>.<\/p>\n

They are offspring who do wrong,<\/p>\n

children who do wicked things.<\/p>\n

They have abandoned the\u00a0Lord<\/span>,<\/p>\n

and rejected the Holy One of Israel.<\/p>\n

They are alienated from him.<\/p>\n

<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

See also Isa 5:18; Ezk 4:4-6. And of course Lev 16, Yom Kippur, where sin is a burden.
<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
Other texts from above:<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Numb\u00a011:11<\/span>\u00a0And Moses said to the\u00a0Lord<\/span>, \u201cWhy have you afflicted your servant? Why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of this entire people on me?\u00a011:12<\/span>\u00a0Did I conceive this entire people? Did I give birth to them, that you should say to me, \u2018Carry them in your arms, as a foster father bears a nursing child,\u2019 to the land which you swore to their fathers?\u00a011:13<\/span>\u00a0From where shall I get meat to give to this entire people, for they cry to me, \u2018Give us meat, that we may eat!\u2019\u00a011:14<\/span>\u00a0I am not able to bear this entire people alone, because it is too heavy for me!\u00a011:15<\/span>\u00a0But if you are going to deal with me like this, then kill me immediately. If I have found favor in your sight then do not let me see my trouble.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/font><\/div>\n
16:15<\/span>\u00a0Moses was very angry, and he said to the\u00a0Lord<\/span>, \u201cHave no respect for their offering! I have not taken<\/i>\u00a0[lifted] so much as one donkey from them, nor have I harmed any one of them!\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/font><\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

After his opening sketch, Gary Anderson, in\u00a0Sin: A History\u00a0, examines the old biblical image of sin as a burden that needs to be lifted. The most common image is sin (awon) as burden that needs to be lifted (108x), followed by sin as something to be forgiven (17x) and sin as something to be wiped […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":197,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[337],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-theology"],"yoast_head":"\nLifting the Burden of Sin<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After his opening sketch, Gary Anderson, in Sin: A History , examines the old biblical image of sin as a burden that needs to be lifted.The most\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/04\/lifting-the-burden-of-sin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lifting the Burden of Sin\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After his opening sketch, Gary Anderson, in Sin: A History , examines the old biblical image of sin as a burden that needs to be lifted.The most\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/04\/lifting-the-burden-of-sin\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Jesus Creed\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2009-12-04T05:02:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/jesuscreed\/imgs\/Boschsevendeadlysins%20ds.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Scot McKnight\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/04\/lifting-the-burden-of-sin\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/04\/lifting-the-burden-of-sin\/\",\"name\":\"Lifting the Burden of Sin\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2009-12-04T05:02:03+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2009-12-04T05:02:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\"},\"description\":\"After his opening sketch, Gary Anderson, in Sin: A History , examines the old biblical image of sin as a burden that needs to be lifted.The most\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/04\/lifting-the-burden-of-sin\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/04\/lifting-the-burden-of-sin\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/2009\/12\/04\/lifting-the-burden-of-sin\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lifting the Burden of Sin\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/\",\"name\":\"Jesus Creed\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight on Jesus and orthodox faith in the 21st century\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jesuscreed\/#\/schema\/person\/5919e847c58ffe6efb5899fb61797252\",\"name\":\"Scot McKnight\",\"description\":\"Scot McKnight is a recognized authority on the New Testament, early Christianity, and the historical Jesus. 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