Thinking something is a sin

[estopraesidium]

I know, all my posts are “is this a sin?”, but:

If I had a random worry that something might be a sin, which was completely ridiculous (it involved reading a line of text on the internet (there was nothing inappropriate with the text)), but still did it, is this a sin? I would think there must be a serious reason for thinking it is a sin, rather than this unfounded random feeling. I think I had some impulse to connect it with detraction, but that obviously does not make any sense because there was no detraction involved.

 

[dmar198]

I know, all my posts are “is this a sin?”, but:

If I had a random worry that something might be a sin, which was completely ridiculous (it involved reading a line of text on the internet (there was nothing inappropriate with the text)), but still did it, is this a sin?

No. Imagining that something is a sin is not the same as thinking it is a sin. It would only be a sin if you actually believed, in that instant, that reading it was a sin, or if, in that instant, you were not sure, but did it anyway. There is absolutely no likelihood, from what you told me, that either of those was the case.

Not every time a thought pops into your heard are you “changing your mind” to believe that thing, and then changing it back when the thought passes. So, if what you told me is true, it seems to me that you didn’t think it was a sin, nor did you think it might be, just because you got a random temporary worry; and so, there was no moral transgression.

 

[Curious_Seed]

I know, all my posts are “is this a sin?”, but:

If I had a random worry that something might be a sin, which was completely ridiculous (it involved reading a line of text on the internet (there was nothing inappropriate with the text)), but still did it, is this a sin? I would think there must be a serious reason for thinking it is a sin, rather than this unfounded random feeling. I think I had some impulse to connect it with detraction, but that obviously does not make any sense because there was no detraction involved.

Sin is separation from God, by transgressing the Law.

Transgression of the Law requires knowledge or conviction of the transgression, for it to be considered transgression.

As a Christian, the Holy Spirit is your paraclete, in matters of conviction.

If you wonder about whether an act is in transgression of the Law, you are probably convicted of it.