
Whose report must I believe?
[/b]
Here's what I got from Wikipedia. Apparently both word origins are listed!
Etymology
The word
sin derives from
Old English synn, recorded in use as early as the
9th century.
[1] The same root appears in several other Germanic languages, e.g.
Old Norse synd, or
German Sünde. There is presumably a Germanic root *sun(d)jō (literally "
it is true").
[2] The word may derive, ultimately, from
*es-, one of the
Proto-Indo-European roots that meant "
to be," and is a present participle, "
being."
Latin, also has an old present participle of
esse in the word
sons, sont-, which came to mean "
guilty" in Latin.[
citation needed] The root meaning would appear to be, "
it is true;" that is, "
the charge has been proven."
The
Greek word
hamartia (ἁμαρτία

is usually translated as
sin in the
New Testament. In
Classical Greek, it means "
to miss the mark" or "
to miss the target" which was also used in Old English archery.
[3] In
Koine Greek, which was spoken in the time of the New Testament, however, this translation is not adequate.
[4] In other research, this word has been associated with the "hem" of a garment.[
citation needed]
"
Sin" was also the name of the Babylonian/Akkadian moon god. Some students in recent times have postulated a connection with the modern English word "sin"[
citation needed], but this is likely a
folk-etymology. Note that the Babylonian/Akkadian deity name Sin is derived from the Sumerian moon god Nanna -
Suen. In the Sumerian myth "Enlil and Ninlil"
[4] Suen is trapped in the underworld. Sons of Enlil and Ninlil are given as substitutes to allow for the ascent of Suen.
I personally like the "to miss the mark" definition. In other words, a sin is a
mistake. We can learn from our mistakes. And no one is perfect, we all make mistakes, and yes we all "sin" so to speak, but I don't think we should condemn people for that. Now obviously there are some heinous acts that we do have to punish or remove people from society for, but those are the ones that are already considered felony crimes.
But I don't consider being gay or bisexual to be a sin at all.