Actually, I grew up going to church and hamartia was frequently brought up and defined as “to miss a mark.” I dare say a lot of those who’ve attended churches of Christian tradition are well aware of this definition.
The problem with focusing on the simple definition of a word (which may have not even originally been a Christian or Judeo-Christian term--like gospel and peace and even son of God which were used politically by Rome) is that it doesn’t take into consideration that a word is more than its simple definition.
A word is also defined by usage and context.
“Sin” or “hamartia” or in Hebrew “khata”. Both mean to “miss a goal”, “failure”, or “miss a mark”. But throughout the ancient writings known as the Bible (Hebrew and Koine Greek) khata and hamartia are presented not merely as making a mistake that has little or minor consequence.
Two simple examples: Cain in Genesis 3 is warned as he jealously stews over God’s acceptance of his brother Abel’s sacrifice that khata is crouching at the door, “it desires to have you.” Paul (who obviously writes in Greek and also knew Hebrew) describes hamartia as something that can take control of you and live in you bringing about the end result of death (Romans 7). The words are often used this way in the Koine Greek New Testament and the Hebrew Scriptures.
"I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I who do it but [hamartia] that dwells within me...For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it but [hamartia] that dwells within me.” (Romans 7)
This is a fallacy first year Greek students and some preachers fall into--to take a word study and merely go to the root of the word and build an entire point of the simple or even original definition not paying attention to the fact the words have nuance and context that also influence its meaning. (This is true in any language, by the bye).
Of course, hamartia and khata are not the only words translated “sin” in the Hebrew Scriptures or in the Christian scriptures. Pesha (Hebrew) and paratoma (Greek) are often translated as “transgression”, “rebellion”, and sometimes as “sin” which refers to breaking a trust or betrayal. Then there are the words like avon (Hebrew) and anomia (Greek) translated “sin” or “iniquity” but means “bent” or “crooked”. Now, if we just went with the simple meaning “crooked” or “bent” we might miss the point that these words are used metaphorically to describe behavior and character.
Bottom line: simple definitions do not tell the whole story or explain the nuances behind word usage.
