Is running a red light grave sin?

[EasterJoy]

That’s a good one! I think I will say that.

I haven’t meant to be disrespectful to you or anyone else. I just think that there is a better way for us to bring people to the Church then listing all the ways we sin and making every bad decision into a sin.

I think the key is to separate guilt from shame, honestly. I don’t think even the most rigorous examination of conscience is going to harm anyone, provided it is not scrupulous nor shaming. If, OTOH, you beat yourself up and let the evil one heap the coals of shame on your head–what kind of person runs red lights, how could you? and that kind of thing–for something when God is only interested in having you turn away from caring about yourself in order to develop habits that are more generally loving, then that is very very damaging, indeed. And yes, I don’t think that distinction is made nearly often enough. God does not want to beat people with sticks over every bad decision, but rather to train them up into those who make good decisions as a habit.

 

[EasterJoy]

I hear that’s a regional thing. my experience in the car-centered culture of soCal and the southwest is that running lights is uncommon. we do, however, have the California rolling stop.

We call that a country stop where I come from, because of all the stop signs out in the middle of nowhere, where you can tell from 30 feet before you get to the line whether or not there is any traffic coming.

 

[EasterJoy]

…I just think that there is a better way for us to bring people to the Church then listing all the ways we sin and making every bad decision into a sin.

PS The other thing that I think helps is to not describe sins as if they were traffic tickets or counts in court or some other juridical thing. When the reality is that your Judge is also your Advocate and your Maker and the Love of your life, the court metaphor can become very problematic and, frankly, counter-productive to getting the truth of the situation across. If it works, great, but if it does not work, then I don’t think the metaphor itself is the truth that has to be defended. You’re right, when that metaphor is defended with too much vigor, it can get to the point of being an out-and-out falsehood.

 

[SecretaryMonday]

imagine the outrage if you’d actually committed a sin.

As I mentioned previously, I do think that I committed a sin. My question was whether or not it was mortal, considering that, even though nothing bad resulted, a dangerous little “slip” like that could have cost lives. It might at least have cost me my big red 80’s Dodge Ram pick-em-up truck with the working radio - although I think it’s probably built sturdier than whatever I would have hit. (I would have tried to Dodge them first, but more likely they would have been Rammed). I was surprised by the length of the thread, not by any outrage expressed. I think that the tone of the thread has been cautionary, not accusatory.

BTW, most people consider getting killed in a car accident a sort of a “death of self” that ought to be taken to account. Just sayin’.

As long as it looks good to others (following the traffic laws), it doesn’t matter if it really is how I behave in private (sulking when things don’t go my way).

Following traffic laws IS something that I do (mostly) in private. I don’t usually have a monitor riding with me that I have look good in front of. I can sulk and still stop for red lights, I’m good at multitasking.

 

[EasterJoy]

As I mentioned previously, I do think that I committed a sin. My question was whether or not it was mortal, considering that, even though nothing bad resulted, a dangerous little “slip” like that could have cost lives. It might at least have cost me my big red 80’s Dodge Ram pick-em-up truck with the working radio - although I think it’s probably built sturdier than whatever I would have hit. (I would have tried to Dodge them first, but more likely they would have been Rammed). I was surprised by the length of the thread, not by any outrage expressed. I think that the tone of the thread has been cautionary, not accusatory.

Realistically, the likelihood that you could have killed someone by squeaking a yellow into a red was not high, even driving a big vehicle. That’s not to say there aren’t a lot of traffic deaths due to running red lights, but it usually isn’t from the kind of clip you’re talking about. It is also not too common for the pedestrians to jump right out the second the light changes, either. The worst thing is that it got you to Mass feeling crummy about the kind of driving experience you gave the people you left in your wake. Worth repenting from, but not likely to kill anybody.

There are priests who think it is salutary to refrain from receiving the Eucharist when you believe you’ve done something to have ruined your disposition, without getting into the business of whether it was a mortal offense or not. The idea is not to split hairs but to ask, “Am I well-disposed to receive the Eucharist?” I know many people who have found the deprivation really taught them something about their priorities, when they refrained because the answer to that question was “no.” Still, that is people who are not in danger of becoming scrupulous. If one is prone to being scrupulous, then it is better to refrain from a stricter analysis than necessary. (To the scrupulous, that is itself a kind of a penance.)

And yes, I’d rather be on the road with someone who keeps the rules and sulks about it privately than someone who obliviously cuts me off or tailgates or any of that. Polite drivers really do make the driving experience better for everyone else, and if that makes them sulk (when they deserve the consolation of knowing they’ve given other people a more pleasant drive), well, they’re the ones suffering from their own impatience, instead of everyone else on the road with them.