What Is Lying/ Mortal Or Venial?

[havok579257]

So I have been stuck wondering about lying and exactly what makes a lie a lie and then what makes a lie a venial or mortal sin. I'll give some examples about where I am lost and we'll see if you can help me:

1. If I am arguing/debating(about some idea, let's just say if Jesus was real) with someone and I say something that i don't know is true or not is it a lie? Like if I tell someone Jesus is real and even non believing scholars agree there really was a man named Jesus from nazerath, but i don't know if this is really true or not, is this a lie? Or what if I think its true but am not sure? Then is it a venial sin? is there any way this scenerio can be a mortal sin?

another one:

2. what if say someone was behind you trying to get past you. you did notice them, but didn't think they were trying to get past you. they say something and the first thing you say is, sorry, didn't see you there when in fact you did see them there, its just the first thing that popped into your head. Is this a lie and if so venial?

If you could help me on these two examples it would greatly help me better understand lying and venial sin. Thanks!

[CatherineM]

[quote name='havok579257' timestamp='1301494930' post='2224673']
So I have been stuck wondering about lying and exactly what makes a lie a lie and then what makes a lie a venial or mortal sin. I'll give some examples about where I am lost and we'll see if you can help me:

1. If I am arguing/debating(about some idea, let's just say if Jesus was real) with someone and I say something that i don't know is true or not is it a lie? Like if I tell someone Jesus is real and even non believing scholars agree there really was a man named Jesus from nazerath, but i don't know if this is really true or not, is this a lie? Or what if I think its true but am not sure? Then is it a venial sin? is there any way this scenerio can be a mortal sin?

another one:

2. what if say someone was behind you trying to get past you. you did notice them, but didn't think they were trying to get past you. they say something and the first thing you say is, sorry, didn't see you there when in fact you did see them there, its just the first thing that popped into your head. Is this a lie and if so venial?

If you could help me on these two examples it would greatly help me better understand lying and venial sin. Thanks!
[/quote]
I'm sitting in my Moral Theology class right now, and we were just discussing this. Totally weird.

Natural Law says that all lying is a mortal sin because it violates the right use of our speaking facility, and is always intrinsically evil. However, if we use the three font principal of the morality of human actions, we need to look at Intention (finis operantis), the Act itself (finis operis), and the Circumstances including consequences. I don't believe in either case, you are intending to lie. In the first case, you don't know, but you believe it is true. In the second, it is really just a figure of speech. When someone asks me how I am today, I will routinely say something like "pretty good" or "so far so good" even when I am in a lot of pain, and really not feeling very well. It is the equivalent of a blind person saying as a greeting, "so good to see you."