Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: ckp@grebyn.com (Checkpoint Technologies) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: Let's end the silliness of "relative" sinfulness, shall we? Message-ID: Date: 16 Jul 90 06:59:59 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: Grebyn Timesharing, Vienna, VA, USA Lines: 74 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu > The whole discussion of which sin is more or less "sinful" than > any other sin is a waste of our time and energies. To put it > simply, to commit ANY sin constitutes the breaking of the WHOLE > of the law, and hence disqualifies us (on our own merits) from > attaining the Kingdom of Heaven. (But praise God for His > indescribably merciful gift to us of His Son!) > > In other words: There *is* no sin that is any more or less > "bad" than any other (with the notable exception of the sin > of blasphemy). As Paul reminds us, ALL have sinned and fallen > short of the glory of God. (And let's not forget that this > man, whom we consider a saint, boldly claimed he was the chief > of sinners!) There is no "degree" of "sinfulness" in sin. Sin > is just that: Sin - our rebellion against God. No more, no less. I would just like to present the Catholic position on the "relativity" of sins. An analogy might suffice to illustrate the point. Let us suppose we have a close and honorable friend. Even though we are good friends, there may be things which I do (consciously or unconsciously) which annoy my friend. There may be still other things that I do which truely offend my friend, but not enough to break off the friendship. Finally, there may be certain things which are completely offensive and intolerable to my friend which would break off the friendship entirely. This analogy is really less of an analogy and closer to actual reality. In Jesus -- God made man -- God has made himself a truely _human_ _friend_ to us. But our friendship to God, just like any other friendship, can be destoyed by our carelessness. The Catholic Church has therefore identified two general catagories of actions which offend God to a greater or lesser degree, and thereby endanger our relationship to Him. The first general category of sinful thoughts/words/actions/ omissions are called "venial" sins. A venial sin is an act which dipleases God, but not to the extent that our relationship to Him is broken off. We stil remain friends with God in the state of grace, but we are obliged to make reperation for our venial sins through good works and self denial. The second category of sinful thoughts/words/actions/omissions are those which are serious and grave in nature. These are called "mortal" sins because in performing these offenses, we have broken ourselves off from our living friendship with God, and have brought death to our souls. Of course, God never cuts Himself off from us and is always ready to reconcile sinners to Himself. But the least which is required is an apology to God for the offences we have made against Him. This is done formally in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and is an obligation for Catholics who are aware of any serious offences which they may have committed against God. These sins also require some reparation or penance. But to get back to my main point, there are levels to the gravity of offences to God -- ranging from involuntary venial sins to premeditated mortal sins. All sins are offenses against God, and in that sense, all sins have infinite consequences from which we sinful humans could never recover based on our own merits. Only through the merits of Christ's Pascal Sacrifice are we redeemed. Nevertheless, we need to "work out our salvation in fear and trembling" (as Paul says) and strive for the perfection of virtue in our own life, "even as the Father is perfect." Because God gave us free will, we are still responsible for our actions, and we must use our wills to maintain and perfect our relationship with God, and make reparation (based on our love for God) for the offenses we have committed against Him. Certainly, to use these ideas of the "relativity" of sins as an excuse to offend God only in "little" ways is in itself a blatant and presumtuous offense against God. But understood properly, these ideas can bear the fruit of much virtue in life. chris -- First comes the logo: C H E C K P O I N T T E C H N O L O G I E S / / \\ / / Then, the disclaimer: All expressed opinions are, indeed, opinions. \ / o Now for the witty part: I'm pink, therefore, I'm spam! \/