Copying in exam

  • Thread starter Thread starter JL2011
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
J

JL2011

Guest
Hi,

I know this is probably an overdone question, but I couldn’t find anything about it. Is it grave matter to copy from someone else/letting someone copy from you in an exam that’s worth 10% of the whole semester’s grade?
 
JL2011 said:
Hi,

I know this is probably an overdone question, but I couldn’t find anything about it. Is it grave matter to copy from someone else/letting someone copy from you in an exam that’s worth 10% of the whole semester’s grade?
Click to expand...
Well, it is stealing. The copier is stealing information from the copee. The copier is obtaining something he or she has no right to obtain. It does matter if it 10% of 100% of the grade. It is like asking, “Is stealing $10 less grave than stealing $100?” Both are stealing - it is not yours!
 
Hmm, I didn’t see it as stealing, but as lying… anyway, they’re both sins. But my question is, is it grave matter to steal/lie in this case?
 
Speedypizza said:
I have no horse in this race, as I am long out of school. However that does not sound grave to me. Could you please back this up from the Catechism? :bible1:
Click to expand...
2454 Every manner of taking and using another’s property unjustly is contrary to the seventh commandment.

Taking and using your neighbor’s answers as your own is contrary to the seventh commandment.
 
anp1215 said:
2454 Every manner of taking and using another’s property unjustly is contrary to the seventh commandment.

Taking and using your neighbor’s answers as your own is contrary to the seventh commandment.
Click to expand...
That doesn’t make it a mortal sin.

Telling my wife that her new hairdo looks nice when I think that it is awful and making false statements up oath during a criminal investigation are both violations of the eighth commandment but the former would be venial while the latter would most-likely be mortal.

I have some personal experience in this area that I would like to share. Several years ago I was doing some soul searching and recalled that I had cheated on a number of exams in high school. Not being sure if those sins were mortal or venial, I decided to confess them since, if they were mortal, they HAD TO BE confessed.
.
But when I confessed that thirty years ago, I cheated on a number of high school exams, he began to counsel me on being overly scrupulous. If they were mortal sins, I doubt the priest would have brought this topic up because those sins would HAVE TO BE confessed. Priests hearing confession would know this and not have any issue with it. If I murdered somebody and confessed it many years later, the priest normally wouldn’t have any issue with it.

Since the priest DID have some issues with it, I suspect that they were venial in nature.
 
When deciding how serious the sin is, we need to look at the effect it will have.

First, the next incident where cheating can happen will be that much easier to justify to yourself.
Second, with 10% of the semester grade at stake, it is possible this cheating will decide if you pass the entirety or not. And that is serious.
You should pass the test on your own merits, but passing the entire course for cheating is even more of a falsehood.
You compound the lie. You not only lied about passing a test, but it is likely you are deceiving people concerning passing the course.
and worse, you will never know if you passed or failed the course for your own merits.

Further down the line subsequent courses suffer the same problem. Are you there because of your own merits or are you there for cheating.

It is very serious.
Is it mortal sin? Probably.
It leads to further sin and further confusion, both of which are serious matters.
 
vz71 said:
When deciding how serious the sin is, we need to look at the effect it will have.

First, the next incident where cheating can happen will be that much easier to justify to yourself.
Second, with 10% of the semester grade at stake, it is possible this cheating will decide if you pass the entirety or not. And that is serious.
You should pass the test on your own merits, but passing the entire course for cheating is even more of a falsehood.
You compound the lie. You not only lied about passing a test, but it is likely you are deceiving people concerning passing the course.
and worse, you will never know if you passed or failed the course for your own merits.

Further down the line subsequent courses suffer the same problem. Are you there because of your own merits or are you there for cheating.

It is very serious.
Is it mortal sin? Probably.
It leads to further sin and further confusion, both of which are serious matters.
Click to expand...
You make valid points. Please tell me then, why the priest thought that I was being overly scrupulous when I confessed these sins 30+ years later? All mortal sins MUST BE confessed. Even forgotten mortal sins need to be confessed if/when remembered.
 
Sir_Knight said:
You make valid points. Please tell me then, why the priest thought that I was being overly scrupulous when I confessed these sins 30+ years later? All mortal sins MUST BE confessed. Even forgotten mortal sins need to be confessed if/when remembered.
Click to expand...
30+ years after the fact, the immediate confusion and problems have likely been worked through and no longer are an issue.
And confessing 30 years later likely means you are not tempted further by that transgression, so it is not leading to further sin

If I cheat and get a degree that gets me a job, 30 years later on the same job the degree no longer plays a huge part if any at all.
For that matter, 30 years in the same career yields the same.

As time goes by, the knowledge I lied about plays a lesser and lesser part, until finally it is completely eclipsed by practical knowledge.

The sin may remain, but the benfits that make it serious become less as time goes by.
 
Sir_Knight said:
You make valid points. Please tell me then, why the priest thought that I was being overly scrupulous when I confessed these sins 30+ years later? All mortal sins MUST BE confessed. Even forgotten mortal sins need to be confessed if/when remembered.
Click to expand...
I don’t someone can answer why a specific priest told you something. Maybe in that particular context and circumstance it seemed scrupulous? Maybe you tend toward scrupulosity?
I’ve had a priest tell me to get my tubes tied and then confess it and be done with it, I’ve had a priest tell me contraception was ok because of my medical condition and I’ve had a priest tell me he did not think using contraception was a serious sin “in his opinion”. Three separate priests.One of which was at a very orthodox Catholic conference. I also had a priest nearly scare me out of confessional with his anger and blamed it completely on my husband for our struggles with following NFP. (I didn’t even bring up my husband in my confession.) Mind you this was years ago when I was returning to the church and trying to move from contraception to NFP. Priest are men of God but not infallible.Cheating on an exam that is 10% of a grade seems serious enough that one should err on the side of caution and confess it.
 
rayne89 said:
I don’t someone can answer why a specific priest told you something. Maybe in that particular context and circumstance it seemed scrupulous? Maybe you tend toward scrupulosity?
I’ve had a priest tell me to get my tubes tied and then confess it and be done with it, I’ve had a priest tell me contraception was ok because of my medical condition and I’ve had a priest tell me he did not think using contraception was a serious sin “in his opinion”. Three separate priests.One of which was at a very orthodox Catholic conference. I also had a priest nearly scare me out of confessional with his anger and blamed it completely on my husband for our struggles with following NFP. (I didn’t even bring up my husband in my confession.) Mind you this was years ago when I was returning to the church and trying to move from contraception to NFP. Priest are men of God but not infallible.Cheating on an exam that is 10% of a grade seems serious enough that one should err on the side of caution and confess it.
Click to expand...
This is what I was thinking too. I don’t see how anyone could justify cheating, or count it as a venial sin. There are a LOT of priests out there who seem to insert their own personal views when they counsel on what is or isn’t a sin, as you said. Cheating is passing off someone else’s work as your own. When one does this, they are lying and stealing.
 
vz71 said:
30+ years after the fact, the immediate confusion and problems have likely been worked through and no longer are an issue.
And confessing 30 years later likely means you are not tempted further by that transgression, so it is not leading to further sin

If I cheat and get a degree that gets me a job, 30 years later on the same job the degree no longer plays a huge part if any at all.
For that matter, 30 years in the same career yields the same.

As time goes by, the knowledge I lied about plays a lesser and lesser part, until finally it is completely eclipsed by practical knowledge.

The sin may remain, but the benfits that make it serious become less as time goes by.
Click to expand...
I understand what you are saying but if it was a mortal sin at the time it was committed, then it remains a mortal sin. Just because all of the things that you mention change over the course of 30 years, does not change the sin from mortal to venial.

Oh, and the reason why I am remembering them 30+ years later is because I am now raising children of my own and I am recalling things that were long forgotten which I never confessed either out of fear or ignorance at the time the sins happened.
 
Sir_Knight said:
I understand what you are saying but if it was a mortal sin at the time it was committed, then it remains a mortal sin.
Click to expand...
Agreed. It is mortal.
The benefits to be found in it will not last 30 years, but the sin will remain and the seriousness of it will likewise stay there.
 
JL2011 said:
Hi,

I know this is probably an overdone question, but I couldn’t find anything about it. Is it grave matter to copy from someone else/letting someone copy from you in an exam that’s worth 10% of the whole semester’s grade?
Click to expand...
I assume you mean look at someone else’s work, copy their answers, and pass the results off as your own. Yes it is a sin, as well as almost certainly violating your school’s library rules and honor code, and could result in failing the course or expulsion for both you and the person who allowed you to copy. It actually is much easier to study than to copy.
 
vz71 said:
Agreed. It is mortal.
The benefits to be found in it will not last 30 years, but the sin will remain and the seriousness of it will likewise stay there.
Click to expand...
Yes. For me, this is open and shut.
 
Wished I could take credit for the words, but I can’t.

It is better to fail honerably then to pass dishonerably.
 
puzzleannie said:
It actually is much easier to study than to copy.
Click to expand...
That’s what I have always said. I knew kids in elementary school who would go to great lengths making cheat sheets or writing on their arm, etc., etc. For me, it was less time consuming to just study. And much less stressful! 😛

Cheating is wrong. It doesn’t matter what the level of gravity is. Don’t do it!!!
 
Thank you all.

I know cheating is bad. Haven’t done it since like 5 years ago. But I guess helping someone else to cheat is the same, isn’t it?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top