Is it possible to commit a mortal sin by accident?

  • Thread starter Thread starter AlanFromWichita
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
A

AlanFromWichita

Guest
Is it possible to commit a mortal sin by accident?

I tend to think that a person cannot; that mortal sin is an intentional moving away from God. And to me, that means mortal sin cannot happen “by accident.”

For that matter, if a person is not sure if something is a mortal sin, then how can it be full consent and knowledge? So I raise another assertion that one cannot mortally sin and not know for sure that it was a mortal sin. To me that is a contradiction.

But I’m aware that other opinions abound so I’ll just float those, and see what we get. I have no desire to argue about it, but I’d like to hear respectful thoughts, whether or not they are in agreement with what I have above. My goal is to share ideas, not to determine who is right or wrong.

Personal ideas are welcome, as well as references to other authors.

Alan
 
AlanFromWichita said:
Is it possible to commit a mortal sin by accident?

I tend to think that a person cannot; that mortal sin is an intentional moving away from God. And to me, that means mortal sin cannot happen “by accident.”

For that matter, if a person is not sure if something is a mortal sin, then how can it be full consent and knowledge? So I raise another assertion that one cannot mortally sin and not know for sure that it was a mortal sin. To me that is a contradiction.

But I’m aware that other opinions abound so I’ll just float those, and see what we get. I have no desire to argue about it, but I’d like to hear respectful thoughts, whether or not they are in agreement with what I have above. My goal is to share ideas, not to determine who is right or wrong.

Personal ideas are welcome, as well as references to other authors.

Alan
Click to expand...
St. Don Bosco had a vision of hell, wherein he saw a priest who had been condemned for eating too many chocolates. You think this priest would have been aware of the nature of his sins when he committed them?
 
Pitcharan said:
St. Don Bosco had a vision of hell, wherein he saw a priest who had been condemned for eating too many chocolates. You think this priest would have been aware of the nature of his sins when he committed them?
Click to expand...
We’re not bound to believe in any private revelations and I, for one, find that the idea that someone is in hell for eating “too many” chocolates laughable, and anyone who believes someone is n hell for the SOLE reason of eating too many chocolates is just a fundamentalist whackjob giving religion a bad name.

HONESTLY!

And if you believe your last sentence, sory, you’re not in line with the church. FULL KNOWLEDGE. FULL CONSENT. if that’s not present, you didn’t commit mortal sin, PERIOD.
 
AlanFromWichita said:
Is it possible to commit a mortal sin by accident?

I tend to think that a person cannot; that mortal sin is an intentional moving away from God. And to me, that means mortal sin cannot happen “by accident.”

For that matter, if a person is not sure if something is a mortal sin, then how can it be full consent and knowledge? So I raise another assertion that one cannot mortally sin and not know for sure that it was a mortal sin. To me that is a contradiction.

But I’m aware that other opinions abound so I’ll just float those, and see what we get. I have no desire to argue about it, but I’d like to hear respectful thoughts, whether or not they are in agreement with what I have above. My goal is to share ideas, not to determine who is right or wrong.

Personal ideas are welcome, as well as references to other authors.

Alan
Click to expand...
No. From the CCC:

**1857 For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: “Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.”

1859 Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God’s law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.

**
 
Katarina90 said:
We’re not bound to believe in any private revelations and I, for one, find that the idea that someone is in hell for eating “too many” chocolates laughable,
Click to expand...
Gluttony is not a laughable matter as the church has listed it among the seven capital sins.
Katarina90 said:
and anyone who believes someone is n hell for the SOLE reason of eating too many chocolates is just a fundamentalist whackjob giving religion a bad name.HONESTLY!
Click to expand...
Your statement implies that St. Don Bosco is a fundamentalist whackjob giving religion a bad name.
Katarina90 said:
And if you believe your last sentence, sory, you’re not in line with the church. FULL KNOWLEDGE. FULL CONSENT. if that’s not present, you didn’t commit mortal sin, PERIOD.
Click to expand...
I guess there must have been full knowledge and consent as the church teaches that Gluttony is one of the capital sins.
 
Pitcharan said:
Gluttony is not a laughable matter as the church has listed it among the seven capital sins.

Your statement implies that St. Don Bosco is a fundamentalist whackjob giving religion a bad name.

I guess there must have been full knowledge and consent as the church teaches that Gluttony is one of the capital sins.
Click to expand...
Eating too many chocolates is not necessarily gluttony. It could just be enthusiasm:thumbsup:
 
AlanFromWichita said:
Is it possible to commit a mortal sin by accident?
Nope. Accident means consent was not there.

I tend to think that a person cannot; that mortal sin is an intentional moving away from God. And to me, that means mortal sin cannot happen “by accident.” True

For that matter, if a person is not sure if something is a mortal sin, then how can it be full consent and knowledge? So I raise another assertion that one cannot mortally sin and not know for sure that it was a mortal sin. To me that is a contradiction. Ehhhh HERE is your problem. IF someone knows it’s wrong and does it anyway, even if they don’t know it’s GRAVELY wrong, it’s still a mortal sin. Rarely does one think “I know this is a mortal sin and I think it’s worth going to hell for”. Nope. People think “ehhhh this can’t REALLY be that big of a deal. It’s venial at worst. I know it’s wrong, but it’s not that bad.” THAT, my friends, is still a mortal sin. You know it’s wrong (even if you justify yourself to make it seem less wrong). You choose to do it. It is grave matter. check check check MORTAL.

But I’m aware that other opinions abound so I’ll just float those, and see what we get. I have no desire to argue about it, but I’d like to hear respectful thoughts, whether or not they are in agreement with what I have above. My goal is to share ideas, not to determine who is right or wrong.

Personal ideas are welcome, as well as references to other authors.

Alan
Click to expand...
 
Just believe what the catechism says. Full knowledge and consent.
 
define “accident”

if someone drank a little to much and didn’t mean to but did some crime while under intoxication … I don’t know
 
I vote - none of the above…😃

If one thinks in terms of discrete sins, then the answer has to be No…The requirement of “full knowledge” precludes an accidental mortal sin.

But the issue may not be quite so “cut and dry” as to fit neatly into discrete sin and a “yes or no” poll…

From the Catechism…
1863 Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul’s progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin.
Repeated and unrepented venial sin weakens charity…It disposes one to commit mortal sin…How?..Well sticking with the Catechism, it would be in the area of “gravity” of matter. It does so by making the step between venial and mortal sin very small. Not unlike the difference between misdemeanor theft and felony theft is a matter of $1.00

Thus - I could see a person gradually sliding away from the God through imperfect repentance then repentance on small things - gradually justifying larger and larger sin until the person falls completely away from the faith…
At what point did he meet the conditions of mortals sin??? Hard to say…
Accidental? Not really in the strictest sense of the word…Unintended (at the beginning of the slide) certainly.

Peace
James
 
triumphguy said:
Eating too many chocolates is not necessarily gluttony. It could just be enthusiasm:thumbsup:
Click to expand...
Ha ha! The road to Hell is apparently heavily funded by Lindt, Nestlé and Hershey.

Seriously, this begs a question (at least in my mind). If an inflexible atheist (a rarity, I know…) says, “There is no God” and firmly believes that there is no sin then he gets a free pass because he’ll never be truly aware that he’s sinning (gravely or not). There has to be more than what the words strictly mean. I must be missing something (a rare occurrence also:))
 
april32010 said:
are we going to have more polls to decide doctrine ?
Click to expand...
Good question. Let’s see if they have anything else for us:

Subject: Polls to decide doctrine
From: Alan Siegman (alansiegman@yahoo.com)
To: Pope Benedict benedictxvi@vatican.va;
Date: Friday, November 16, 2012 10:23 PM

Most Holy Father,

We have some results for you on the issue we discussed earlier. So far the vote is 23 to 2, supporting the impossibility of accidental mortal sin. It isn’t unanimous, but it’s statistically significant. If there is any substantial change I’ll inform you right away. 😉

Please let me know what else you would like us to determine. Might I suggest we investigate some sins of the flesh next? 🙂

Very truly yours,
Alan
 
AlanFromWichita said:
Good question. Let’s see if they have anything else for us:

Subject: Polls to decide doctrine
From: Alan Siegman (alansiegman@yahoo.com)
To: Pope Benedict benedictxvi@vatican.va;
Date: Friday, November 16, 2012 10:23 PM

Most Holy Father,

We have some results for you on the issue we discussed earlier. So far the vote is 23 to 2, supporting the impossibility of accidental mortal sin. It isn’t unanimous, but it’s statistically significant. If there is any substantial change I’ll inform you right away. 😉

Please let me know what else you would like us to determine. Might I suggest we investigate some sins of the flesh next? 🙂

Very truly yours,
Alan
Click to expand...
Accidental necking?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top