Are all sins equal?

[6glargento]

Some protestants claim that all sins are equal in the sight of God and they quote jesus saying “if a man looks with lust on a woman he has already commited adultry with her in his heart.” and catholics might respond by saying “All jesus is saying is that lust is sin adultry, but he never says that all forms of adultry are equal in severity.” is this a good comeback? Also catholics could quote Jesus conversing with Pilate when he talks about the “greater sin.” Or he could quote the old testament where God gives different penalties based on sin. What other proof texts could catholics bring forward to refute this protestant teaching?

 

[Malcolm_McLean]

Some protestants claim that all sins are equal in the sight of God and they quote jesus saying “if a man looks with lust on a woman he has already commited adultry with her in his heart.” and catholics might respond by saying “All jesus is saying is that lust is sin adultry, but he never says that all forms of adultry are equal in severity.” is this a good comeback? Also catholics could quote Jesus conversing with Pilate when he talks about the “greater sin.” Or he could quote the old testament where God gives different penalties based on sin. What other proof texts could catholics bring forward to refute this protestant teaching?

In an sense that is true. If something is fatal then it kills you dead, and it can’t be worse than that.
In another sense no. It is a lot easier to repent of looking at a woman with lust than of actually committing adultery. Also it does far less damage to the people around you.

I don’t think anyone really believes that all sins are equal. It is trying to force theory into a psychology that won’t go.

 

[Franciscan]

The logic is that any sin against a God who is infinitely good and just is an infinite sin. Therefore the offense is always infinite, but we know that some things are worse than others and that’s why we differentiate between mortal and venial.

 

[Tom]

Some protestants claim that all sins are equal in the sight of God and they quote jesus saying “if a man looks with lust on a woman he has already commited adultry with her in his heart.” and catholics might respond by saying “All jesus is saying is that lust is sin adultry, but he never says that all forms of adultry are equal in severity.” is this a good comeback? Also catholics could quote Jesus conversing with Pilate when he talks about the “greater sin.” Or he could quote the old testament where God gives different penalties based on sin. What other proof texts could catholics bring forward to refute this protestant teaching?

Scripture seems to contradict all sins being equal.
www.drbo.org:

1 John 5,16 He that knoweth his brother to sin a sin which is not to death, let him ask, and life shall be given to him, who sinneth not to death. There is a sin unto death: for that I say not that any man ask. 17 All iniquity is sin. And there is a sin unto death.

Mortal means death, like a “mortal wound” is a deadly wound.