Why to people sin?

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WINGS_DAY

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if someone knows that sinning is wrong and will lead them to hell/jail or both, then why do they do it???
 
WINGS_DAY said:
if someone knows that sinning is wrong and will lead them to hell/jail or both, then why do they do it???
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Without knowing that it’s a sin, there is no sin. In other words, outside of our free will, we cannot sin. Free will implies knowing.

The reason we do it is because we choose to do it. We choose to do it because of the effects of Original Sin: darkness of intellect and weakness of will.
 
Well this question is the easiest for me to answer. Personal choice. God did not lead me to join a gang. Being in a gang leads to more sins. Going to jail, prison, theft selling drugs and death. Then I joined an other gang about 9 years ago, call, AA. By working the 12 steps of recovery, I went back to church, well the rewards are just to many to list. Life is so much easier now. Thanks to God the Holy Spirit and the example Jesus left us.
well thats my expierence. Got to go.

God bless

jesus g
 
Here’s what the Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Concupiscence says:*[The Fall] weakened the power of the will, without, however, destroying its freedom. Hence that lamentable condition of which St. Paul complains when he writes:

I find then a law, that when I have a will to do good, evil is present with me. For I am delighted with the law of God, according to the inward man: but I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is in my members. Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Romans 7:21-25)*Read full entry here.We tend to blind ourselves into short-sightedness at the seductive pleasure of a sin, clouding our own reasoning when we know better.
 
The previous answers have all been good. Much doctrine has been brought forth, and all of it is good.

I think in my simple experience, I sin because I am weak and don’t have a strong enough will to do what’s right. Sometimes it’s not even sin per se, but a situation of good - better- best choices. Today is a weekday. It is not really sinful for me to miss Mass. However, IMHO it would be the best choice I could have made this morning. However, when I woke up I heard rain and thunder and saw lightening. My weak nature said, This bed is warm and dry. It feels good. It’s cold and raining so hard I won’t be able to stay dry if I go outside. I chose comfort. I’m not proud of it. I pray for greater strength to do what I know is best rather rhan what is most comfortable. I think that’s a modern illustration of our tendency because of original sin. Only with God’s help can I overcome it.
 
Also, many people don’t believe in hell. They way they define good and bad is subjective for them and sin doesn’t exist.
 
Great question. If I knew the answer I don’t know if I would need God anymore…hmmm, maybe that’s the answer. But I digress…

I think in some instances it comes down to instant gratification. While we may “know” the right thing to do, we are more interested in the immediate gratification or fear of repercussions. It’s definitely not easy to do the “right” thing and not always immediately rewarding either.
 
Scoobyshme said:
Without knowing that it’s a sin, there is no sin. In other words, outside of our free will, we cannot sin. Free will implies knowing.

The reason we do it is because we choose to do it. We choose to do it because of the effects of Original Sin: darkness of intellect and weakness of will.
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What you are talking about is culpability, not sin. Sin is objectively sin whether we know it is sin or not.

Take abortion for example. If we commit abortion, we sin - period. Abortion is always a sin, but someone who does not know it is a sin is less culpable than someone who knows it is a sin. Both sin, but both are not equally culpable.

An upper middle-class Catholic houswife who decides she has had enough kids and gets an abortion is more culpable than a scared and pregnant teenager who’s parents have never taken her to Church and gets an abortion out of desperation.

The same hold’s true for all sin. A man who steals a loaf of bread to feed his starving children is less culpable than a middle class teenager who shoplifts a CD from the local Walmart, but both sin.

-Tim-
 
TimothyH said:
What you are talking about is culpability, not sin. Sin is objectively sin whether we know it is sin or not.

Take abortion for example. If we commit abortion, we sin - period. Abortion is always a sin, but someone who does not know it is a sin is less culpable than someone who knows it is a sin. Both sin, but both are not equally culpable.

An upper middle-class Catholic houswife who decides she has had enough kids and gets an abortion is more culpable than a scared and pregnant teenager who’s parents have never taken her to Church and gets an abortion out of desperation.

The same hold’s true for all sin. A man who steals a loaf of bread to feed his starving children is less culpable than a middle class teenager who shoplifts a CD from the local Walmart, but both sin.

-Tim-
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I assumed he was talking about culpable sin, since non-culpable sin doesn’t send him to hell. 🙂
 
jesuspsr said:
Well this question is the easiest for me to answer. Personal choice. God did not lead me to join a gang. Being in a gang leads to more sins. Going to jail, prison, theft selling drugs and death. Then I joined an other gang about 9 years ago, call, AA. By working the 12 steps of recovery, I went back to church, well the rewards are just to many to list. Life is so much easier now. Thanks to God the Holy Spirit and the example Jesus left us.
well thats my expierence. Got to go.

God bless

jesus g
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what about all the priests/christians/etc that sin???of all people that shoud know not to sin, the priests still do…?
 
MarcoPolo said:
Here’s what the Catholic Encyclopedia entry on Concupiscence says:*[The Fall] weakened the power of the will, without, however, destroying its freedom. Hence that lamentable condition of which St. Paul complains when he writes:

I find then a law, that when I have a will to do good, evil is present with me. For I am delighted with the law of God, according to the inward man: but I see another law in my members, fighting against the law of my mind, and captivating me in the law of sin, that is in my members. Unhappy man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? (Romans 7:21-25)*Read full entry here.We tend to blind ourselves into short-sightedness at the seductive pleasure of a sin, clouding our own reasoning when we know better.
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so sin seduces us?like sexual attraction??isn’t that a physical/humankind ‘need’?
 
Hecares said:
The previous answers have all been good. Much doctrine has been brought forth, and all of it is good.

I think in my simple experience, I sin because I am weak and don’t have a strong enough will to do what’s right. Sometimes it’s not even sin per se, but a situation of good - better- best choices. Today is a weekday. It is not really sinful for me to miss Mass. However, IMHO it would be the best choice I could have made this morning. However, when I woke up I heard rain and thunder and saw lightening. My weak nature said, This bed is warm and dry. It feels good. It’s cold and raining so hard I won’t be able to stay dry if I go outside. I chose comfort. I’m not proud of it. I pray for greater strength to do what I know is best rather rhan what is most comfortable. I think that’s a modern illustration of our tendency because of original sin. Only with God’s help can I overcome it.
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so were are ‘naturally’ weak?
 
Boulder257 said:
Great question. If I knew the answer I don’t know if I would need God anymore…hmmm, maybe that’s the answer. But I digress…

I think in some instances it comes down to instant gratification. While we may “know” the right thing to do, we are more interested in the immediate gratification or fear of repercussions. It’s definitely not easy to do the “right” thing and not always immediately rewarding either.
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don’t humans naturally need/want gratification??
 
TimothyH said:
What you are talking about is culpability, not sin. Sin is objectively sin whether we know it is sin or not.

Take abortion for example. If we commit abortion, we sin - period. Abortion is always a sin, but someone who does not know it is a sin is less culpable than someone who knows it is a sin. Both sin, but both are not equally culpable.

An upper middle-class Catholic houswife who decides she has had enough kids and gets an abortion is more culpable than a scared and pregnant teenager who’s parents have never taken her to Church and gets an abortion out of desperation.

The same hold’s true for all sin. A man who steals a loaf of bread to feed his starving children is less culpable than a middle class teenager who shoplifts a CD from the local Walmart, but both sin.

-Tim-
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won’t both go to hell?
 
Hecares said:
The previous answers have all been good. Much doctrine has been brought forth, and all of it is good.

I think in my simple experience, I sin because I am weak and don’t have a strong enough will to do what’s right. Sometimes it’s not even sin per se, but a situation of good - better- best choices. Today is a weekday. It is not really sinful for me to miss Mass. However, IMHO it would be the best choice I could have made this morning. However, when I woke up I heard rain and thunder and saw lightening. My weak nature said, This bed is warm and dry. It feels good. It’s cold and raining so hard I won’t be able to stay dry if I go outside. I chose comfort. I’m not proud of it. I pray for greater strength to do what I know is best rather rhan what is most comfortable. I think that’s a modern illustration of our tendency because of original sin. Only with God’s help can I overcome it.
Click to expand...
what about super sin<>rape/murder/etc—isn’t super sin just human nature taking it’s course???
 
WINGS_DAY said:
what about all the priests/christians/etc that sin???of all people that shoud know not to sin, the priests still do…?/QUOTE

I can’t speak for everyone but myself. All I can do is pray for them.

God bless

jesus g
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