--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've always been interested in…" description: "\"I've always been interested in definitions, because in the Bible, the Ten Commandments are there but there's no real clear definition of what sin is, i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/189/whitley-strieber-23318_bible_i-ve-always-been-interested-in-definitio_3043028.jpg" --- # I've always been interested in definitions, because in the… ![“I've always been interested in definitions, because in the Bible, the Ten Commandments are there but there's no real clear definition of what sin is, in a fundamental sense - how we can use the words to evaluate our lives as we go along: Am I doing something that is ethically good? Am I being…” quote by Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/189/whitley-strieber-23318_bible_i-ve-always-been-interested-in-definitio_3043028.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/189/whitley-strieber-23318_bible_i-ve-always-been-interested-in-definitio_3043028.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/189/whitley-strieber-23318_bible_i-ve-always-been-interested-in-definitio_3043028.jpg) > “I've always been interested in definitions, because in the Bible, the Ten Commandments are there but there's no real clear definition of what sin is, in a fundamental sense - how we can use the words to evaluate our lives as we go along: Am I doing something that is ethically good? Am I being worthwhile in my life at this moment?” [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author reflects on the lack of a clear definition of sin in the Bible, questioning how to ethically evaluate actions and life purpose. **In simple terms:** Sin is vaguely defined, prompting moral self‑assessment. Key Takeaway Seek personal ethical clarity. Themes ethics spirituality self‑reflection Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - personal decision‑making - faith practice - ethical dilemmas Key Concepts biblical studies morality existential purpose Questions to Reflect On - How do you define ethical good without clear rules? - What criteria guide your life’s worth? A Different Perspective Relies on religious texts for moral guidance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) [Commandments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commandments/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Ten commandments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ten-commandments/) [Worthwhile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthwhile/) ## Related quotes > [“But we can never change enough to impress God. And here's the reason: trying to impress God, others, or ourselves puts us at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-chester/but-we-can-never-change-enough-to-impress-god-and-here-s-the-reason/) [Tim Chester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-chester/) > [“The sin I have committed is the sin of adoption. I have adopted a different set of beliefs from the beliefs I was raised…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-tempest-williams/the-sin-i-have-committed-is-the-sin-of-adoption-i-have-adopted-a/) [Terry Tempest Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-tempest-williams/) > [To say that a man is sinful because he sins is to give an operational definition of sin. To say that he sins because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-f-skinner/to-say-that-a-man-is-sinful-because-he-sins-is-to-give-an-operational/) [B. F. Skinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-f-skinner/) > [“The definition of sin is clear: disobedience against the laws of God. But the age is so dark in ignorance that people defiantly deny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satsvarupa-dasa-goswami/the-definition-of-sin-is-clear-disobedience-against-the-laws-of-god/) [Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satsvarupa-dasa-goswami/) > [That is the true definition of sin; when knowing right you do the lower, ah, then you sin. Where there is no knowledge, sin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-besant/that-is-the-true-definition-of-sin-when-knowing-right-you-do-the/) [Annie Besant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-besant/) > [In fact, it’s the very impersonality of impersonal knowledge that renders such knowledge the most ethically potent of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/in-fact-it-s-the-very-impersonality-of-impersonal-knowledge-that/) [Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/) > [Cinema is my religion. It is a way to make people sensitive, through emotions. To make them feel, experience empathy. People are touched and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-dumont/cinema-is-my-religion-it-is-a-way-to-make-people-sensitive-through/) [Bruno Dumont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-dumont/) > [Ethically, what one generation tolerates the next may treat as normal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mal-fletcher/ethically-what-one-generation-tolerates-the-next-may-treat-as-normal/) [Mal Fletcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mal-fletcher/) > [First, there is the law. It must be obeyed. But the law is the minimum. You must act ethically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-rodgers/first-there-is-the-law-it-must-be-obeyed-but-the-law-is-the-minimum/) [Buck Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-rodgers/) > [One ... aspect of the case for World War II is that while it was still a shooting affair it taught us survivors a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-k-fisher/one-aspect-of-the-case-for-world-war-ii-is-that-while-it-was-still-a/) [M. F. K. Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-k-fisher/) > [Respect from the clean heart for the people who are ethically right opens the door of mind to see own life in the clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anuj-somany/respect-from-the-clean-heart-for-the-people-who-are-ethically-right/) [Anuj Somany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anuj-somany/) > [“Routine comes down like twilight on a harsh landscape, softening it until it is tolerable. 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They are involved with us on very deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/whomever-or-whatever-the-visitors-are-their-activities-go-far-beyond/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [A real stunner. Want to get swept up on a journey you will never forget and never quite escape? Open THE RITUAL OF ILLUSION…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/a-real-stunner-want-to-get-swept-up-on-a-journey-you-will-never/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [“I think he's wonderful and strange and kind of like a poem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/i-think-he-s-wonderful-and-strange-and-kind-of-like-a-poem/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [In them was not the savage blankness of the reptile species. 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'Whitley' ceased…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/i-became-entirely-given-over-to-extreme-dread-the-fear-was-so/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [I put the copy of 'A Christmas Carol' that my grandfather had first read to me 60 years ago on my desk, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/i-put-the-copy-of-a-christmas-carol-that-my-grandfather-had-first/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [In a reality made of energy, thoughts may literally be things. What if it was intended that we create our own realities after death?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/in-a-reality-made-of-energy-thoughts-may-literally-be-things-what-if/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [I wondered if I might not be in the grip of demons, if they were not making me suffer for their own purposes, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/i-wondered-if-i-might-not-be-in-the-grip-of-demons-if-they-were-not/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [Why were my visitors so secretive, hiding themselves behind my consciousness. I could only conclude that they were using me and did not want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/why-were-my-visitors-so-secretive-hiding-themselves-behind-my/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [The upheavals of adolescence silenced 'A Christmas Carol' for a few years. I became a firebrand atheist. Christmas - humbug! Too commercial! Then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/the-upheavals-of-adolescence-silenced-a-christmas-carol-for-a-few/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [No doubt, I wont be believed, and thats all right, because, in a sense, it leaves me free in ways that belief would not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/no-doubt-i-wont-be-believed-and-thats-all-right-because-in-a-sense-it/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [“This time, there was the ghost of a reptile in Szatson's smile. 'I don't handle little problems.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/this-time-there-was-the-ghost-of-a-reptile-in-szatson-s-smile-i-don-t/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [“If I look into the wings, I can see Mom standing like a statue, Medea or Lady Macbeth, one of those tragic horrors, her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/if-i-look-into-the-wings-i-can-see-mom-standing-like-a-statue-medea/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) > [I'm not so sure that horror should be dismissed as something less than literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitley-strieber/i-m-not-so-sure-that-horror-should-be-dismissed-as-something-less/) [Whitley Strieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) [Explore all 26 Whitley Strieber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitley-strieber/) ## More Bible quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [From Augustine down, theologians have tried to compel people to accept their special interpretation of the Scripture, and the tortures of the inquisition, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matilda-joslyn-gage/from-augustine-down-theologians-have-tried-to-compel-people-to-accept/) [Matilda Joslyn Gage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matilda-joslyn-gage/) > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [“The Devil can cite Scripture for his purpose, Sergeant,’ Anthony Payne replied. ‘That is from The Merchant of Venice, but it holds great truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-arnold/the-devil-can-cite-scripture-for-his-purpose-sergeant-anthony-payne/) Michael Arnold > [When you put your hand on the Bible, you are saying something much stronger than just telling your peers that you're going to tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-greenwood/when-you-put-your-hand-on-the-bible-you-are-saying-something-much/) [Lee Greenwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-greenwood/) > [“Scripture also teaches that human beings are morally responsible creatures”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-a-peterson/scripture-also-teaches-that-human-beings-are-morally-responsible/) Robert A. Peterson > [“The wife of a junior officer cooped up in a horrible canvas partition in steerage for five months wrote: "I had enjoyed much peace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-taylor/the-wife-of-a-junior-officer-cooped-up-in-a-horrible-canvas-partition/) Stephen Taylor > [O Word of God incarnate . . . It is the golden casket Where gems of truth are stored; It is the heaven-drawn picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walsham-how/o-word-of-god-incarnate-it-is-the-golden-casket-where-gems-of-truth/) Walsham How > [How can I trust that the Bible is reliable?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-horton/how-can-i-trust-that-the-bible-is-reliable/) [Michael Horton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-horton/) > [Every plant which my heavenly father has not planted with be uprooted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesus-christ/every-plant-which-my-heavenly-father-has-not-planted-with-be-uprooted/) [Jesus Christ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesus-christ/) > [Where I come from you're not raised to think on your own. It's not that you're pushed to read the Bible. The Bible is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-ferrara/where-i-come-from-you-re-not-raised-to-think-on-your-own-it-s-not/) [Abel Ferrara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-ferrara/) > [“I felt like praying or something, when I was in bed, but I couldn't do it. I can't always pray when I feel like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-salinger/i-felt-like-praying-or-something-when-i-was-in-bed-but-i-couldn-t-do/) [J.D. Salinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-salinger/) > [What comes to mind when you think of heaven? 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They came together the first day…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-macarthur/the-definition-of-a-church-is-crystal-clear-in-the-new-testament-we/) [John MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-macarthur/) [Browse all 8,465 Bible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've always been interested in definitions, because in the Bible, the Ten Commandments are there but there's no real clear definition of what sin is, in a fundamental sense - how we can use the words to evaluate our lives as we go along: Am I doing something that is ethically good? 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