Double Standard in Church Condemnation of Certain Sins
The concept of a "double standard" in the condemnation of certain sins within the church touches upon how different transgressions are perceived, judged, and disciplined. Scriptural texts indicate that all ungodliness and unrighteousness are subject to divine judgment [5], and condemnation is the inseparable consequence of sin [2]. However, the severity of punishment or the degree of societal opprobrium can vary, both in biblical law and in church practice.
In the Old Testament, certain sins required specific offerings or had prescribed penalties. For instance, a trespass offering was mandated for concealing knowledge of a crime, involuntarily touching unclean things, rash swearing, or sins of ignorance [3]. The Law also recognized varying degrees of offense, with some requiring a "double recompense" [7]. The Babylonian Talmud discusses instances where an individual sentenced to two different court-imposed death penalties for two sins would receive the more severe of the two [13].
Within Christian theology, the gravity of sin is often considered. Thomas Aquinas, for example, argues that sorrow for a more grievous sin should be greater because it constitutes a more significant offense against God [11]. He also notes that a sin committed by a religious person might be more grievous than a similar sin by a secular person if it violates a religious vow, such as fornication against a vow of continence or theft against a vow of poverty [10]. This suggests an internal differentiation in how sins are weighed, not necessarily a double standard in condemnation, but a recognition of additional layers of transgression.
The Apostle Paul, in his letters, addresses specific sins within the Corinthian church, such as "uncleanness and sexual immorality and lustfulness," expressing sorrow for those who had not repented [1]. He also instructed the church to apply discipline, noting that "punishment which the church put on him" should be sufficient for a repentant individual [4]. John Calvin interpreted such disciplinary actions, like delivering an incestuous Corinthian to Satan, as a "temporal condemnation" intended for ultimate salvation [8, 12]. He also noted that "double condemnation awaits those who, from a desire to escape the judgment of God, retake themselves to the refuge of dissimulation" [9].
While all sin leads to condemnation [2], the church's response to different sins can appear varied. This variation might stem from the perceived impact of the sin on the community, the public nature of the offense, or the specific vows broken by the offender. Augustine noted that the church, in this world, is not yet free from all stain, implying an ongoing process of cleansing and discipline [6].
Sources
- 2 Corinthians “that again when I come my God would humble me before you, and I would mourn for many of those who have sinned before now, and not repented of the uncleanness and sexual immorality and lustfulness which they committed. -- 2 Corinthians 12:21”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Condemnation — The sentence of God against sin -- Mt 25:41. Universal, caused by the offence of Adam -- Ro 5:12,16,18. Inseparable consequence of sin -- Pr 12:2; Ro 6:23. Increased by Impenitence. -- Mt 11:20-24. Unbelief. -- Joh 3:18,19. Pride. -- 1Ti 3:6. Oppression. -- Jas 5:1-5. Hypocrisy. -- Mt 23:14. Conscience testifies to the justice of -- Job 9:20; Ro 2:1; Tit 3:11. The law testifies to the justice of -- Ro 3:19. According to men's deserts -- Mt 12:37; 2Co 11:15. Saints are delivered from, by Christ -- Joh 3:18; 5:24; Ro 8:1,33,34. Of the wicked, an example ”
- Torrey's Topical Textbook “Torrey's Topical Textbook: Trespass Offering — Esteemed as a sin offering, and frequently so called -- Le 5:6,9. To be offered For concealing knowledge of a crime. -- Le 5:1. For involuntarily touching unclean things. -- Le 5:2,3. For rash swearing. -- Le 5:4. For sins of ignorance in holy things. -- Le 5:15. For any sin of ignorance. -- Le 5:17. For breach of trust, or fraud. -- Le 6:2-5. Was a most holy offering -- Le 14:13. Consisted of A she lamb or kid. -- Le 5:6. A ram without blemish. -- Le 5:15; 6:6. Two turtle doves by those unable to bring a lamb. -- Le 5:7-10. A meat offering by the”
- II Corinthians “II Corinthians 2:6 (BBE) — Let it be enough for such a man to have undergone the punishment which the church put on him;”
- Jude “Jude 1:15 (Webster) — To execute judgment upon all, and to convict all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have impiously committed, and of all their hard [speeches] which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.”
- Schaff ANF/NPNF (Patristic) “NPNF1 Vol 5: Augustine — Anti-Pelagian — CHAP. 39 [XXXIV.]--BY THE HOLINESS OF BAPTISM, NOT SINS ONLY, BUT ALL EVILS WHATSOEVER, HAVE TO BE REMOVED. THE CHURCH IS NOT YET FREE FROM ALL STAIN.: And thus not only all the sins, but all the ills of men of what kind soever, are in course of removal by the holiness of that Christian layer whereby Christ cleanses His Church, that He may present it to Himself, not in this world, but in that which is to come, as not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. Now there are some who maintain that such is the Church even now, and yet they are in it. Well”
- Revelation (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Revelation 18:6: 18:6 Double her penalty: The severity of some sins required a double recompense (see Exod 22:4, 7, 9; cp. Isa 40:2; Jer 16:18; 17:18).”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 94: more obstinate by indulgence, they may be aroused by the rod. This the apostle intimates when he thus writes —“If any man obey not our word by this epistle, note that man, and have no company with him, that he may be ashamed” ( 2 Thess. 3:14 ). Again, when he says that he had delivered the Corinthian to Satan, “that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus” ( 1 Cor. 5:5 ); that is, as I interpret it, he gave him over to temporal condemnation, that he might be made safe for eternity. And he says that he gave him over to ”
- CCEL (Reformed) “Calvin, Commentary on Genesis, Vol. 1 (Gen 1-23), section 22.14: of those who mock God with false pretences, and at length rush into gross contempt of Him. However he may seem to leave us unnoticed for a time, yet he will fulminate against us with that terrible voice, ‘It is not as you pretend.’ In short, it is not enough that the judgment of God should be reverenced, unless we also confess our sins ingenuously and without shifts or evasions. For a double condemnation awaits those who, from a desire to escape the judgment of God, retake themselves to the refuge of dissimulation. We must, there”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part (Secunda Secundae), Of Those Things in Which the Religious State Properly Consists, Art. 10: Article: Whether a religious sins more grievously than a secular by the same kind of sin? I answer that, A sin committed by a religious may be in three ways more grievous than a like sin committed by a secular. First, if it be against his religious vow; for instance if he be guilty of fornication or theft, because by fornication he acts against the vow of continence, and by theft against the vow of poverty; and not merely against a precept of th”
- theology (Catholic (Scholastic)) “Aquinas, Summa Theologica, Supplement (Supplementum), Of the Degree of Contrition, Art. 3: Article: Whether sorrow for one sin should be greater than for another? I answer that, We may speak of contrition in two ways: first, in so far as it corresponds to each single sin, and thus, as regards the sorrow in the higher appetite, a man ought to be more sorry for a more grievous sin, because there is more reason for sorrow, viz. the offense against God, in such a sin than in another, since the more inordinate the act is, the more it offends God. In like manner, since the greater sin deserves a gre”
- CCEL (Reformed) “John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, section 94: at once to solemn correction by the Church. 4. Another distinction to be attended to is, that some sins are mere delinquencies, others crimes and flagrant iniquities. In correcting the latter, it is necessary to employ not only admonition or 2455 rebuke, but a sharper remedy, as Paul shows when he not only verbally rebukes the incestuous Corinthian, but punishes him with excommunication, as soon as he was informed of his crime ( 1 Cor. 5:4 ). Now then we begin better to perceive how the spiritual jurisdiction of the Church, which a”
- Babylonian Talmud (Jewish (Rabbinic)) “Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 50b.12: In addition to the case of the priest’s daughter who committed adultery, there is a practical difference between these two opinions, which is that one who was sentenced to two different court -imposed death penalties for two sins he committed is punished with the more severe of the two, and these tanna’im disagree as to which type of death penalty is more severe.”