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Willy1
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Are they a sin? Aren’t they naturally occurring and are a body function?
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edward_george1
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No. We can’t sin while we’re sleeping. Sin requires that we choose to do something.
-Fr ACEGC
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Willy1
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Ok so we would have to physically do it.
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edward_george1
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What do you mean by that? You can’t sin in your sleep. You aren’t doing anything if a bodily function happens in your sleep.
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Willy1
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Ok, that answers my question. Thanks.
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Genesis315
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Here’s an interesting dream or vision St. Celestine V (St. Peter of Morrone) related having about this topic (from his autobiography):
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Willy1
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I read that. So is it saying that it is normal.
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JanR
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We can’t control our dreams. No intent = no sin.
Cute story about the donkey.
I agree that emissions, in and of themselves, are no sin, but I do have to wonder about those who sinfully fill their minds with bad images, or worse yet, perform acts of fornication and whatnot, and then dream about them with the attendant physical consequences. It is probably a moot point, as they have already committed the sin, but I think it is worth considering, whether they incur additional guilt for dreaming about the sinful matters and “having an accident” in the midst of these dreams. I don’t know.
Better to avoid the sinful images and acts in the first place.
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edward_george1
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No. Sin requires action. Dreams cannot be sins, even if they were caused by our waking actions.
Let’s not further encourage the scruples of those who struggle.
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Thank you, Father. It wasn’t clear to me that scrupulosity was an issue here. I just wondered if dreaming about committing the sins — involuntarily delectating about them and, in this case, having the physical manifestation that goes with it — could carry at least partial guilt, in that the agent wouldn’t have had the dreams if they hadn’t committed the sin in the first place.HomeschoolDad:
No. Sin requires action. Dreams cannot be sins, even if they were caused by our waking actions.
Let’s not further encourage the scruples of those who struggle.
I am never comfortable talking about my own inward spirituality, but by the grace of God, I have progressed just enough in the pursuit of virtue, that I very often dream of resisting temptations (of various kinds) and resisting the efforts of others to force me to sin. It has taken me over 40 years to get to that point. I still have a sin nature as deep as the ocean.
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edward_george1
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Key word is involuntary. Sin is voluntary. Full stop.
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