Medieval beliefs about sin and forgiveness
Human sin
To appreciate the power the Church wielded in the lives of ordinary people in medieval England, it is important to understand key beliefs about sin and the need for forgiveness.
Sin, in Christian teaching, consists of disobedience to the known will of God. The first example of sin described in the Bible comes in the story of Adam and Eve, who were placed by God in the Garden of Eden. They chose to disobey God and, as a result, were expelled from his presence and condemned to live in a harsh and inhospitable world. [For further information see Big ideas from the Bible > Garden of Eden, Adam and Eve, ‘Second Adam'].
The medieval Church inherited and taught the doctrine of original sin, the belief that all human beings share in collective guilt as a result of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, the Fall of Humankind, together with an ongoing predisposition to disobey God. Everyone, therefore, needed to be cleansed through baptism, to learn to resist temptation, and to live in such a way that, when death came, they would be ready to face God's judgement on their thoughts, attitudes and actions. (See Big ideas from the Bible > Judgement; Forgiveness, mercy and grace.)
The hope of forgiveness
Christianity teaches that through his death on the Cross, Jesus Christ took the punishment for human sin, thus ‘turning around' the effects of the Fall of Humankind, making it possible for individuals to be forgiven, to learn to live in obedience to God and eventually to reach heaven. The Church has always seen it as very important to remind individuals of this teaching and to encourage them to respond.
Delivery of Christian truth
There were three central elements on which the medieval church focused.
The Mass
Celebrating Mass (also known as the Eucharist) was an important sacrament. By taking part in this, believers symbolically shared in the victory paid for – and won by – Christ over the power of sin (known as the atonement). Through this they could receive the grace (meaning the gift) of salvation.
Confession
Helping people to confess their sins and receive assurance of forgiveness was the role of the priest. The medieval Church distinguished between venial and mortal sins:
- Venial sins were relatively small faults and shortcomings. The individual could confess these privately to God
- Mortal, or ‘Deadly' sins were wrong acts committed consciously and deliberately. They therefore placed the soul in serious danger and the Church taught that, in normal circumstances, they could only be forgiven through the sacrament of penance and by confession to a priest.
The sermon
Sermons were used to explain to believers how they should live. In a time when few could read, oral teaching in sermons was central to people's Christian education.
Sermons had several functions:
- To educate people about the Christian faith and the Church's rituals and practices
- To make known the contents of the Bible
- To help people understand the system of confession and to prepare for their confession to their parish priest in a careful way
- To explain about sin and virtue.
Judgement and purgatory
The religious outlook that medieval citizens took for granted differs in many of its emphases from that of even a devout and well-informed Christian today. People were extremely concerned with the fate of their soul after death. They took seriously the doctrine that everybody would be judged by God when they died. A Christian might be allocated a place in heaven, whereas an extremely sinful person, who had not repented, might suffer in hell. Nevertheless, most people would go after death to a state of ‘cleansing' for their sins. This state was called purgatory.
Purgatory: ‘Cleansing' of souls in the next world
Penance was particularly important because of the medieval church's teaching about Purgatory. This was a doctrine that crystallised during the later medieval centuries.
The idea of purgatory was based on the obvious fact that most people are neither extremely good nor extremely evil. Therefore, the Church declared that most people, even if not going to eternal damnation in hell, would not go straight to heaven after death either. Instead, they would spend a period in the spiritual state of purgatory where they could ‘pay for' / atone for sins committed on earth. Only when their souls were thus cleansed could they proceed to the full bliss of heaven.
It was believed that, whilst still alive, people could undertake deeds that would speed either themselves (in the future) or a dead friend or relative through this process. Penance was one such action.
1. Term for a worshipping community of Christians.
2. The building in which Christians traditionally meet for worship.
3. The worldwide community of Christian believers.
Disobedience to the known will of God. According to Christian theology human beings have displayed a pre-disposition to sin since the Fall of Humankind.
1. The action of forgiving; pardon of a fault, remission of a debt.
2. Being freed from the burden of guilt, after committing a sin or crime, through being pardoned by the one hurt or offended.
Disobedience to the known will of God. According to Christian theology human beings have displayed a pre-disposition to sin since the Fall of Humankind.
Name originally given to disciples of Jesus by outsiders and gradually adopted by the Early Church.
The Bible describes God as the unique supreme being, creator and ruler of the universe.
The Christian Bible consists of the Old Testament scriptures inherited from Judaism, together with the New Testament, drawn from writings produced from c.40-125CE, which describe the life of Jesus and the establishment of the Christian church.
According to Genesis (the first book of the Old Testament), Adam is the first human being, made in the image / likeness of God, placed in the Garden of Eden and given dominion over the earth.
According to the book of Genesis in the Bible the first woman, said to have been created by God out of Adam's rib, to be his companion.
The place described in the Book of Genesis in the Old Testament, in which God placed his first human creatures, Adam and Eve.
State of disobedience to - and alienation from - God believed to have characterised human beings since the Fall of Adam and Eve.
Adam and Eve's act of disobedience in the Garden of Eden described in the Old Testament Book of Genesis which led to estrangement from God for them and their descendants.
The immersion in or pouring over of water, in the name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, to signify the washing away of away of sin. Baptism in Christian churches marks the acceptance of the baptised child or adult into the church.
The beliefs, doctrines and practices of Christians.
1. Instrument of execution used in the Roman Empire.
2. The means by which Jesus Christ was put to death and therefore the primary symbol of the Christian faith, representing the way in which he is believed to have won forgiveness for humankind.
(c. 4 BCE- c. 30 CE). The founder of Christianity, whose life and teaching are described and interpreted in the New Testament. Jesus is the Greek form of the Hebrew 'Joshua'. He was also given the title 'Christ', meaning 'anointed one' or 'Messiah'.
In many religions, the place where God dwells, and to which believers aspire after their death. Sometimes known as Paradise.
The central religious service of the Roman Catholic Church, incorporating praise, intercession and readings from scripture. The central action is the consecration of the bread and wine by the priest.
An act of remembrance in which Christians consume bread and wine in the way that Jesus demonstrated at the Last Supper before his betrayal and death.
Religious ceremony which symbolises receiving an inward spiritual grace.
Title (eventually used as name) given to Jesus, refering to an anointed person set apart for a special task such as a king.
1.To set right or compensate for a wrong done. 2.The bringing together (reconciling) of man and God through the offering of a sacrifice which acknowledges human wrongdoing.
Undeserved favour. The Bible uses this term to describe God's gifts to human beings.
In the Bible, salvation is seen as God's commitment to save or rescue his people from sin (and other dangers) and to establish his kingdom.
A person whose role is to carry out religious functions.
Relatively trivial sin which was not a deliberate act of will; could be confessed privately to God.
The fact that all created beings will inevitably die.
To admit wrongdoing. In Christian practice, confession often forms part of communal worship; in addition formal confession may be made privately to a priest.
The spirit which gives life to a human being; the part which lives on after death; a person's inner being (personality, intellect, emotions and will) which distinguishes them from animals.
An act expressing repentance.
A talk which provides religious instruction and encouragement.
The spirit which gives life to a human being; the part which lives on after death; a person's inner being (personality, intellect, emotions and will) which distinguishes them from animals.
The Bible describes God as the unique supreme being, creator and ruler of the universe.
In many religions, the place where God dwells, and to which believers aspire after their death. Sometimes known as Paradise.
Jesus describes hell as the place where Satan and his demons reside and the realm where unrepentant souls will go after the Last Judgement.
In traditional Roman Catholic doctrine, an 'antechamber' to heaven, a place between Heaven and Hell, where the souls of those dead who are not damned, but not yet fit for heaven, go to be purged (purified) of their sins.
1.To set right or compensate for a wrong done. 2.The bringing together (reconciling) of man and God through the offering of a sacrifice which acknowledges human wrongdoing.
