Subject: Re: Antonym for "sin"
A quote I always liked, although I can't remember if it was Shaw or Wilde, is, "The only thing I can't resist is temptation."
On to the matter at hand...
I don't know that there is an antonym for sin any more than there is an antonym for crime. (A sin is a crime against one's god, goddess, or gods as the case may be. Or if one is an atheist, against one's core beliefs.) One can commit the crime of armed robbery (a specific event) but how many times does one not commit armed robbery?
As to why there seems to be an emphasis on the things not to do rather than on the good deeds (Mitzvahs (sp?)). It probably evolved from the idea that sins are the breaking of God's laws and laws are almost universally proscriptive in nature. For example, when dealing with my children, there are relatively few things I must tell them not to do in comparison to what they can do. Everyday, they come up with new things to do that I would never think of, yet still, the list of prohibited actions stays relatively short (my perspective of the LIST, not theirs).
