Mortal & Venial Sins

Thursday, April 26, 2007 -- Week of 3 Easter

"Morning Reflections" is a brief thought about the scripture readings from the Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer according to the practice found in the Book of Common Prayer of the Episcopal Church.

Morning Prayer begins on p. 80 of the Book of Common Prayer.
Evening Prayer begins on p. 117
An online resource for praying the Daily Office is found at www.missionstclare.com
Another form of the office from Phyllis Tickle's "Divine Hours" is available on our partner web site www.ExploreFaith.org at this location -- http://explorefaith.org/prayer/fixed/index.html


Today's Readings for the Daily Office (p. 960)
Psalms 37:1-18 (morning) 37:19-42 (evening)
Daniel 5:13-30
1 John 5:13-20 (21)
Luke 5:1-11

There is a passage in today's epistle that has spawned much speculation and debate. "If you see your brother or sister committing what is not a mortal sin, you will ask and God will give life to such a one -- to those whose sin is not mortal. There is sin that is mortal; I do not say that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not mortal."

In the context of 1 John, and the polemic we have already read in this epistle about those who have separated from the community, it is likely that the writer's vision of mortal sin is related to the behavior of the opponents he has been addressing as "antichrists." These are former members who have left the community. It is not entirely clear what the issues of conflict were, but the best guess is that those who left were docetists who denied the full humanity of Christ. They accepted that the divine came to earth appearing like a human in the life of Jesus, but they insisted that God could not suffer pain and death. The epistle of 1 John and the canonical writings insisted that Jesus was fully human. For 1 John it would be a mortal sin if one "denies the Father and the Son" (2:22)

Mark's gospel has a passage that is unique to Mark which speaks of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as "an eternal sin." Hebrews 10:26 says, "if we willfully persist in sin after having received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin."

These three passages have prompted a great deal of writing. The category of mortal and non-mortal or venial sin has energized much theological debate. What is a mortal sin and what is a venial sin?

Thomas Aquinas laid the traditional Catholic foundations about mortal sin. A mortal sin is one which must meet three conditions:
1. Mortal sin is a sin of grave matter.
2. Mortal sin is committed with full knowledge of the sinner.
3. Mortal sin is committed with deliberate consent of the sinner.

In other words you can't accidentally commit mortal sin; it is premeditated and deliberate. I think these are helpful distinctions. But the devil is always in the details.

If you have ever read treatises on categories of sin, you may find as I have that they can become pretty bizarre. Deliberately missing on Sunday and masturbation can get into the same lists as murder and incest. The theologians don't mean to say they are of the same weight, but the categories and reasoning get knotty. Why would male prostitution be singled out without any reference to female prostitution?

However, I find these studies to be helpful in three ways.

First, there are degrees of seriousness in our sins. (I've always thought it helpful that traditional Catholic categories consider spiritual sins more serious than carnal sins.)

Second, these lists help underline the seriousness and ubiquitousness of our sin. I've used a sin list as preparation before Ash Wednesday or for making my own confession. If you can't think of very many bad things and thoughts you've committed, the list will jog your memory and your conscience.

Third, though it almost feels like a footnote in some tracts, traditional theology always reminds us that we may be forgiven for our sins and offers us a path to forgiveness and renewal.

Lowell

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The Rev. Lowell Grisham
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
Fayetteville, AR

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