Religion Q & A – Sin

Rachel asks: “How can people who had many bad sins become saints?”

Answer: Jesus came to save all sinners, no matter how bad their sins were. As long as a person repents of his or her sin, there is always a chance to go to Heaven. That’s how much God loves us all. There is not one person that He would want to go to hell. Those people who had committed many grave (or serious) sins are potential saints if they take the opportunity to change their lives around. Some saints who were serious sinners in their pasts are St. Augustine and St. Paul. They are examples of how God’s mercy and grace can reach the hearts of anyone who opens themselves up to Him.

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Kim asks: “If God knew Adam and Eve would eat the fruit from the tree, why did he create the tree in the first place?”

Answer: The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was placed in the garden of Eden as a test of love. God gave every human being intellect (the ability to think) and free will (the ability to choose). He did not want us to be “robots” in a sense and love Him because we were forced to or could not choose otherwise. Any parent would more deeply appreciate the love shown from their children if it is given willingly, as would any husband or wife in a marriage relationship. That is another way of God showing His love for us – He wants us to choose to love Him…never would He make us love Him back.

Also keep in mind that while knowing Adam and Eve would disobey Him, God already had a plan to send His Son to save all humanity. He knew what kind of a sacrifice He would have to make to make things right again – and it was hard for everyone, especially Him – but God’s love is so great that even sin and death could not stand in the way of Him opening up the gates of Heaven to us.

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Jonathan asks: “Why did God make the devil if he knew that he was going to betray God? He could’ve made a perfect world without him.”

Answer: This is similar to Kim’s question about God placing the tree in the garden. God made angels to serve Him and to help Him along in His plan for creation. Being all-knowing, He was aware that some of them would choose to turn away from Him. Since, however, He loved the angels, He gave them free will to love Him in return. Led by Lucifer, they – like us – decided that they were more important than God and would not serve Him.

It is true that the world would have been perfect without the devil. We know how wonderful it would be if all the evil we witness everyday were completely gone, but great virtue springs up in the souls of those who do stay faithful to God and fight the good fight. One day, Jonathan, when Jesus comes again, the devil will be cast away forever. We will experience utmost peace and happiness. As Scripture says in Isaiah 65:17, there will be a “new heaven and a new earth” and all will be well…

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Jacob L. asks: “What would happen if God sinned. Would he have to go to the devil? Please answer this when you come back, thank you.”

Answer: Sin, by definition, is the opposite of God’s will. Because God is all good and holy, everything that is the opposite of God is evil. God is truth; sin is a lie. God is unity; sin creates disunity. God is love; sin fosters hatred. God is beauty; sin is ugly. It is impossible for God to sin because it would contradict His very nature. This is why Jesus never sinned while He was here on earth. Being fully man and fully God, He was always in total union with the Father, so even when He was tempted by the devil in the desert He did not fall into sin like many of us would.

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Rachel asks: “Does a priest confess to another priest? Thanks for your time!!!!!”

Answer: Yes! Priests do go to confession and they do, in fact, confess to other priests. I don’t know who Pope John Paul’s confessor was, but I do know that he went to confession at least once a week. He did this not because he was a bad person, but because he wanted to keep his souls as clean as possible since he had the great responsibility of leading a Church of over 1 billion people. What an amazing priest he was!