What makes a sin a sin?

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this is a question that has been bothering a group of my friends for a while. What exactly makes something a sin? For example, I simply cannot seem to meet eye to eye with the church on the whole contraception issue. I really don’t agree, but I have looked into statements and teachings, and I agree to follow the rules about it, even if I disagree. This is just one example (I don’t want to debate the contraception issue…it’s just an example) and my friends have other ideas. Issues such as masturbation, and other moral ideas.

So I guess what I am asking is if it is okay to disagree with the church on moral issues as long as we try to follow the rules they have?🤷
 
A sin is basically a moral evil. It something contrary to the will of God, which harms one’s soul. It means choosing something less good than we should have chosen.

Sin hurts us because it is contrary to our purpose. Human beings were created to love God and to be happy with him. When we choose something contrary to the will of God, we are not loving him as much as we should.

We should always do our best to understand why the Church teaches what she does and remember that Christ gave her the responsibility and the power to teach authentically on moral issues.
 
Delphinus85 said:
So I guess what I am asking is if it is okay to disagree with the church on moral issues as long as we try to follow the rules they have?🤷
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A Catholic is obligated to observe the teachings of the Magisterium. The Church’s moral teachings are to be embraced by the faithful – i.e., all Catholics are to accept and believe them. How can one “try to follow the rules” if one disagrees with them?

While the Church has not really provided an item-by-item checklist, the Catechism does outline a number of specific “sins” and provides the rationale behind their sinfulness.

The litmus test for mortal sin is:

a. The act must constitute “grave matter” (e.g., abortion)
b. The person must be aware that the act is sinful.
c. The person must go ahead and do the act freely.

Far too many people (myself included, btw) spend their spiritual energy trying to find loopholes: debating whether such-and-such is a sin, questioning the breadth of a particular teaching (“Abortion is wrong, but not in the case of rape…right?”), and so on. Remember that the Church’s moral teachings are there to help you, not trip you up. Have faith that their truth is guaranteed by Christ.

Peace,
Dante
 
well the issue is, in specific case, birth control. So fa, witht he arguements provided to me why it is wrong, I can’t grasp them. I still disagree, and do not feel a strong pull, but I DO believe the church is smarter than I am. I DO believe they know what they are doing, even if none of their arguements hit home with me. So I choose to follow their guidelines on the issue. I won’t go into personal details but after talking with a few different priests and my RCIA teacher, I am in the church’s guidelines on the issue, even if I disagree with them. I have enormous respect for their decisions, and this issue (for me, JUST birth control) is the only issue I’m not on the same page on. I will always teach whaqt the church says, and I will follow their rules (I won’t use ABC to prevent pregnancy when I am married) but at the heart, I do not agree. Is it okay to treat this issue this way?
 
Delphinus85 said:
well the issue is, in specific case, birth control. So fa, witht he arguements provided to me why it is wrong, I can’t grasp them. I still disagree, and do not feel a strong pull, but I DO believe the church is smarter than I am. I DO believe they know what they are doing, even if none of their arguements hit home with me. So I choose to follow their guidelines on the issue. I won’t go into personal details but after talking with a few different priests and my RCIA teacher, I am in the church’s guidelines on the issue, even if I disagree with them. I have enormous respect for their decisions, and this issue (for me, JUST birth control) is the only issue I’m not on the same page on. I will always teach whaqt the church says, and I will follow their rules (I won’t use ABC to prevent pregnancy when I am married) but at the heart, I do not agree. Is it okay to treat this issue this way?
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Here is one way to consider this. Once you say you “disagree”, you have place your personal judgement in a place of higher authority than that of the Church Jesus established. Is this the position you want to be in?
 
well of course not! 🙂 the thing is, I don’t see eye to eye on them, but I submit knowing that they MUST know something I don’t and they haven’t made that clear to me yet, so I CHOOSE to follow the teaching, even if I am not not on board with it. It’s like…I DO disagree, but I know my opinion is not bigger than the church’s teaching. SO I choose to follow it rather than follow what I judge to be right. But I still don’t feel strongly convicted about this teaching, and do still disagree with it.
 
Delphinus85 said:
well of course not! 🙂 the thing is, I don’t see eye to eye on them, but I submit knowing that they MUST know something I don’t and they haven’t made that clear to me yet, so I CHOOSE to follow the teaching, even if I am not not on board with it. It’s like…I DO disagree, but I know my opinion is not bigger than the church’s teaching. SO I choose to follow it rather than follow what I judge to be right. But I still don’t feel strongly convicted about this teaching, and do still disagree with it.
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I checked your profile and found that your an RCIA student. May you be truely blest in this jouney. One of the hardest things is to trust God enough to simply obey without disagreement, even when we don’t understand. As a cradle catholic I have come to realize that I didn’t have to make that a conscious choice like one who is converting. And yet, as I had to make the faith my own, I did have make that decision.
Regards,
 
There’s a difference between not understanding something and disagreeing with it.

It sounds to me like you agree with the Church’s teaching. You acknowledge that it is the right teaching, but you also acknowledge that you don’t understand why it is the right teaching. We’re all in that position sometimes! That’s one of the reasons Christ established the Church, so that we have a reliable teacher of the truth for all ages.

Keep up the good work and God bless!
 
Delphinus85 said:
well of course not! 🙂 the thing is, I don’t see eye to eye on them, but I submit knowing that they MUST know something I don’t and they haven’t made that clear to me yet, so I CHOOSE to follow the teaching, even if I am not not on board with it. It’s like…I DO disagree, but I know my opinion is not bigger than the church’s teaching. SO I choose to follow it rather than follow what I judge to be right. But I still don’t feel strongly convicted about this teaching, and do still disagree with it.
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This is a great attitude to have about the issue. Keep praying about it, and perhaps you’ll be blessed with the understanding you seek. If not, then have faith that the Church is right on the issue, and bolster that faith by talking to people like the folks on this forum. I’ve been here but a short time, but it’s apparent that there is ample support to be found here.

Peace,
Dante
 
Delphinus85 said:
this is a question that has been bothering a group of my friends for a while. What exactly makes something a sin?
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A sin is an objectively wrong act committed with full knowledge and free will. The gravity of the act determines whether it is mortal or venial.

We can know what acts are objectively wrong through Scripture and the Magesterium.
Delphinus85 said:
So I guess what I am asking is if it is okay to disagree with the church on moral issues as long as we try to follow the rules they have?🤷
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Not exactly.

Sin requires action. If you know the church teaches that X is wrong, and you personally don’t think X is wrong, but never do X then you are not sinning.

Separate from the act of doing X, there is the separate issue of “ok to disagree”. No, it is not “Ok” to disagree. We owe religious assent to the doctrines of the church, and assent of faith to the ordinary Magesterium. I suggest you look at the first 200 paragraphs in the Catechism regarding faith and obedience. If you do disagree, you are obliged to continue towards understanding and acceptance.
 
Delphinus85 said:
well of course not! 🙂 the thing is, I don’t see eye to eye on them, but I submit knowing that they MUST know something I don’t and they haven’t made that clear to me yet, so I CHOOSE to follow the teaching, even if I am not not on board with it. It’s like…I DO disagree, but I know my opinion is not bigger than the church’s teaching. SO I choose to follow it rather than follow what I judge to be right. But I still don’t feel strongly convicted about this teaching, and do still disagree with it.
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You are doing absolutely nothing wrong. So you can’t bring yourself to say truthfully “I agree with everything the Church teaches” – so what? You can’t force yourself to agree. You’ve taken the appropriate steps by studying the issue, but you just aren’t there yet. This means that – after doing what’s necessary to form your conscience – you’ve reached a conclusion that differs from that of the Church, which is unfortunate but not a sin.

Even so, in that situation, you’re obeying the Church’s teaching despite your inability to agree with it. That is the most you can do. Kudos to you! That is exactly what we’re called to do: if we can’t agree with the Church, do the right thing (that is, do what the Church teaches is the right thing) and pray for further guidance from the Holy Spirit.

If we can’t bring our consciences around to agreement with the Church on a specific issue, then our duty is to make an act of obedience on that point and hope that, one day, our understanding will align with God’s will and His Church’s teaching.

The most we can do is try. By studing the issue and trying to understand the Church’s teaching (and by obeying that teaching even though you disagree with it), you’re on the right track. Keep it up!
 
I also get hung up on the “why”. One of the things that bothered me was the “go forth and multiply” thing when the earth was “overpopulated”. Well, it turns out it may not be overpopulated and there should be more Christians. Originally I didn’t understand the why, now maybe I do.

On EWTN one of the priests, maybe Fr. Pacwa, described a scene where Jesus had just risen, the apostles had just been filled with the Holy Spirit, and you are standing behind them, watching. (Or maybe kneeling. 🙂 ) The apostles agree it’s time to get to work building His Church, turn around and see you. They ask you if you believe in the teaching of Christ and want to be in His church. You say, “Sure . . ., well, except for that stuff about birth control and masturbation.”

For me it’s simple. I just accept the teachings and believe the reasons for all of them will be revealed to me someday.

God bless you.
 
IMHO The best “short version” why contraception is wrong is from Charles Rice (The Good Code - EWTN).
  • God exists outside time, is perfect, and therefore his will (plans) does not change.
  • God creates souls.
  • From all eternity, God’s will/plan was to create a certain number of souls, which would eventually be with him in Heaven.
  • We are called (“go forth and multiply”) to be co-creators with God and provide human bodies for the souls that are part of God’s plan.
  • When we use contraception, we are basically telling God “Look here God, you may have some souls ready to go that you want to breath into human bodies, but I’m not going to let you!”
  • This basically attempts to derail God’s plan to create new citizens of Heaven.
 
For, mortal sin, it must be a serious offense, committed with
"full knowledge and consent."

Here’s he rub. What constitutes full knowledge?

Is it that I read in the Catechism, that it is wrong, or does it require a deeper understanding of it being wrong?

Here’s a hypothetical example.

In the case of artificial contraception, the Church tells me it is wrong, but I have 5 kids, and neither my wife or myself can afford to have another child, physically or financially. I can not come to and understanding on why at this point, it would be a mortal sin to use contraceptives and abstaining from sex when we’re in the moment of romantic passion, is ridiculous.

Does this person actually have “full knowledge,” of the seriousness of the sin?

I think not.

Jim
 
ricmat said:
IMHO The best “short version” why contraception is wrong is from Charles Rice (The Good Code - EWTN).
  • God exists outside time, is perfect, and therefore his will (plans) does not change.
  • God creates souls.
  • From all eternity, God’s will/plan was to create a certain number of souls, which would eventually be with him in Heaven.
  • We are called (“go forth and multiply”) to be co-creators with God and provide human bodies for the souls that are part of God’s plan.
  • When we use contraception, we are basically telling God “Look here God, you may have some souls ready to go that you want to breath into human bodies, but I’m not going to let you!”
  • This basically attempts to derail God’s plan to create new citizens of Heaven.
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Not necessarily. Sexual union between an husband and his wife isn’t always for the purpose of creating new life. Often it’s the unitive expression of love. If I already have 5 kids and can’t afford any more, is contraception sin?

If so, is it a sin for a couple who can not have children, to have sexual intercourse ?

Jim
 
If so, is it a sin for a couple who can not have children, to have sexual intercourse ?
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You could ask Abraham and Sarah. . .officially barren.

Hannah, mother of Samuel. Ditto.

And of course St. Elizabeth and St. Zecharius. Ditto.

Not to mention all the couples with wives past menopause.

Anytime you take God out of the equation (which is what you do with contraception), that is sin.

This focus on materialism and quality of life is so 20th century. It’s all dependent on ME and never on God.

Speaking generally and not to any particular person regarding the subject of ‘affording’ children. . .
Think that you can’t ‘afford’ another child?–you do not, and cannot, know that. You could scale back, win the lottery, work two jobs. . .and as a counterpoint, suppose you’re patting yourself on the back for having planned your finances so that you can ‘afford’ your 2 children when . . . one of the family develops a catastrophic illness, your house is flooded, war breaks out, etc. and suddenly there isn’t that ‘cushion’. Do you send the kids ‘back’ once you cannot ‘afford’ them?
 
JimR-OCDS said:
For, mortal sin, it must be a serious offense, committed with
"full knowledge and consent."

Here’s he rub. What constitutes full knowledge?

Is it that I read in the Catechism, that it is wrong, or does it require a deeper understanding of it being wrong?

Here’s a hypothetical example.

In the case of artificial contraception, the Church tells me it is wrong, but I have 5 kids, and neither my wife or myself can afford to have another child, physically or financially. I can not come to and understanding on why at this point, it would be a mortal sin to use contraceptives and abstaining from sex when we’re in the moment of romantic passion, is ridiculous.

Does this person actually have “full knowledge,” of the seriousness of the sin?

I think not.

Jim
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Please review the definitions of “knowledge” at dictionary.com. None to the definitions equate knowledge with understanding. You can know things without understanding them. Understanding is not required for full knowledge.
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Does this person actually have “full knowledge,” of the seriousness of the sin?
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As a hypothetical the answer is yes. Obviously, we cannot judge real souls.

The person would know the Church says it is evil to act in that way. That knowledge is enough. One then knows what is required of them.

Would you claim one needs to have the knowledge of a theologian to act correctly?
 
JimR-OCDS said:
Not necessarily. Sexual union between an husband and his wife isn’t always for the purpose of creating new life. Often it’s the unitive expression of love. If I already have 5 kids and can’t afford any more, is contraception sin?

If so, is it a sin for a couple who can not have children, to have sexual intercourse ?

Jim
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The Church position is that sexual union must always be open to the creation of new life.

A couple that cannot have children due to physical reasons can and should still have a mindset of being open to new life.

In a grave situation, NFP (a form of chastity, not artificial contraception) may be used to delay the birth of new family members.
 
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