How ugly is ugly as sin? Very ugly. Sin is about the ugliest thing that exists. Imagine a world without sin. In this world no person would ever be purposely hurt by another. Robert Anson Heinlein, one of the best writers of the twentieth century, writes about sin from the perspective of a minimally religious charecter, Lazarus Long. (Ironically, Lazarus Long's name is derived from the biblical Lazarus, the one who Christ resurrected. Through a few of Heinlein's books, such as Methuselah's Children and Time Enough for Love, we discover that Lazarus is the oldest member of the human race, and apparentlly immortal.) In his journal, Lazarus writes "Sin lies only in hurting other people unncessarily. All other 'sins' are invented nonsense. (Hurting yourself is not sinful -- just stupid.)" 5 Even with this limited understanding of sin, it is clear that sin can be nothing but ugly. Therefore, to be ugly as sin is quite atrocious. This adage is usually used to describe physical appearances, rather than inner beauty (or lack thereof). For example: Ironically, building N52, the one which houses MIT's undergraduate architecture studios, is as ugly as sin.