Sinfulness of sin - Venning - VIII - Section 3 concluded

Required reading
Sinfulness of sin by Ralph Venning (available from Amazon or free on the internet, here for example).  Finish reading Section 3 by reading Point 7.

My summary
Now Venning looks at the final witness against sin, sin itself.

Firstly sin witnesses against itself by its names:
(i) The work of the devil;
(ii) All filthiness of flesh and spirit.

Sin also witnesses against itself by the arts it uses to disguise itself:
(i) Sometimes sin persuades us that such and such a thing is not a sin, though it looks like a sin.
(ii) Sin would persuade that what may be sin in another cannot be sin in you, all things considered, because you are necessitated.
(iii) It is one sin only, and this only once, says Sin.
(iv) It is only a little one, says Sin.
(v) It is in secret and no-one will see it, says Sin.
(vi) Yes, but you will hate it and dread it ever after, says Sin.
(vii) But I promise you that you shall gain by it, says Sin.
(viii) But others do it, says Sin, and why may not you?
(ix) But you have only to repent, says Sin, and God will forgive you.
(x) Yes, but you have escaped well enough hitherto, says Sin.
(xi) It is only your infirmity, says Sin.

What grabbed me
The second part on the arts of sin was particularly good.  Then after it Venning told us of one last argument that Sin gives that is very popular today: ' It [Sin] says, there is no such thing as sin. There is no difference between good and evil. As all things come alike to all, so all things are alike'. 

Of course Venning argues against this: 'To say that it [sin] is only in imagination and not real is to deny that there is any such thing as sense and conscience, which every man admits, and no-one can deny without denying himself and God. Between good and evil there is more difference than between light and darkness, life and death, ease and pain, food and poison, and these are real, and not differences made by our fancy only. That all things come alike to all is not always true; there are contrary examples. To say that all things are alike is never true but is a manifest contradiction.'

To listen to Sin's whisper that there is no good and evil is a denial of logic.  To make such a statement is a claim to make a true statement.  But the statement itself denies truth.  As Venning says, it is a 'manifest contradiction'!

Next week's reading
Begin Section Four by reading points 1 (Sin is the Worst of Evils) and 2 (Inferences from the Sinfulness of Sin against God).

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.