Sin question...

[Firefox]

Kind of important to be answered very soon… Is it a sin (also, is it mortal) to imagine someone committing crimes? I don’t think they would actually go committing crimes, but I did have a dream on this topic, and I woke up before it was finished. I then finished the story, partly because it was at an exciting part, (a chase scene) and partly so it wouldn’t recur. (I also realized that I’d have trouble defending myself against a non-stranger.) I know I fell asleep again in the middle of finishing it, meaning my half-awake state may haver been impairing my judgment, though I did ask myself whether I should (I decided it would be okay, citing that I wanted to prevent it from recurring. I don’t remember enough to know if I still felt a bit bad about it.) My confirmation sponsor is inviting me to noon Mass (day off) so I can’t just confess it just in case, since I don’t think confessions are heard beforehand. Any good answers?

 

[Della]

It’s no sin to have an active imagination. G. K. Chesterton had his character, Fr. Brown say (I’m paraphrasing), “Yes, I killed them all!” What he meant is he put himself in the criminal’s place, with his lack of morality, and imagined what he would do. If writing about evil characters and imagining the evil they would do in a story is a sin, then most of fiction is sinful. And we both know that isn’t true. Yes?

 

[shirleytowers]

Dreams are incapable of being sinful. You can’t control them

Daydreams of yourself committing a crime might be sinful (?) depending on the crime, but if you are thinking of another person, it don’t think it could be a sin.

I am just an amateur…but that is my guess on it.

 

[Firefox]

I realize the dream is no trouble, I’m only worried about the part of contnuing it.

However, there is a difference between a fictional character, and someone you know, I think…

Edit: Sorry if I’m unclear, I’ve been under a lot of stress recently, and this is just one more thing on top.

 

[Pax]

It would be a sin to conceive of and devise a plan to commit a crime only if you were doing so in a truly sinful manner. For purposes of writing a novel it would not be sinful. Fantasizing about doing something “if an opportunity” arose would be sinful. The sin of lust and violence is the easiest example to illustrate sinfullness for someone who might be contemplating a rape even though they never carried out the crime.

Thoughts themselves are not necessarily sinful. We cannot control everything that comes into our minds. We can, however, control what happens next. If we cultivate the thoughts and get enjoyment and satisfaction out of them, we have already committed the sin in our heart even though we may not have carried it out.

I hope this helps.

 

[Firefox]

Well, pretty much, I suppose what I’m worried about is that I was not committing crimes in this, it was that it was someone else I know. While I would never think that they would really do such a thing, I did continue it to get it finished with. So, I suppose what’s bothering me is that it was about someone else.

 

[Pax]

I would suggest that you bring this up in confession. Your confessor can help you determine if you are being overly scrupulous. It does not sound like you have committed a sin, but I am only guessing based on what you have said in this thread.

 

[Mintaka]

“Real people fiction” is artistically somewhat tacky, but not a sin.

 

[StCsDavid]

Write your story down as if you were writing a novel. Then once you’re fininshed ask yourself…“How can I use this for the glory of God?” If you can find a way do it. If you can’t burn the paper and move on with your life. It’s not worth fretting too much over.