One of the most pressing issues about “sin” for theologians is the issue of intention. Does it count for a sin only when we intend something to be harmful? According to Biddle, in his Missing the Mark, we make a mistake in sinking all of sin into intention. Why?
First, he says, this makes sin purely individual (which arises through Peter Abelard in the 12th Century) and it creates a situation in which this obtains: if we did not intend something, we are not responsible for it. So, intention is individual and it creates potential irresponsibility.
Third, Biddle strays from this into a bit of a discussion about the tragic view of life that Christians need to embrace more completely. God made this world; we are in this world; and bad things happen to good people; and sometimes the impact of something is devastating whether intended or not. Meaninglessness sometimes impacts this world.
Very interesting chapter.