Can A Person Sin, Accidentally?

[dairygirl4u2c]

usually a sin is consider to 'intentionally, do, what you know, is wrong'

 

i know it's debatable even if a person can really sin at all, if they dont know X to be a sin, but intentionally does it. in this sense if you dont know it's w2rong, but it's considered a sin, itd have to be considered accidental. im not sure itd be considered a sin, though.

 

this question takes  it a step further, asking if a person can accidntally sin. not knowing it. or, there are subtle psychological points, but literally i'd think it'd have to be fully intentioned, no?

thoughts?

 

[BarbTherese]

Very big question indeed.  I did poll for a "No" then changed it to "Yes", but it came out a "No". For example, I may not have intended to kill someone (just for an example!) but to kill someone is certainly grave matter.  I did, however, allow myself to become enraged (if this occurred), therefore I am certainly guilty of sin (mortal or venial would depend on other circumstances).  Wow! Am I on unsure ground!

[LouisvilleFan]

That's not such an extreme example if you believe life begins at conception. Contraceptives unknowingly kill many human lives between conception and implantation, and it's rare that the parents know what they are doing. That doesn't make it right. However, our God is a loving God who forgives those who "know not what they do." That was Jesus' prayer seeking forgiveness for those who committed the greatest sin in crucifying him. If the greatest sin can be forgiven due to ignorance of sinners, why can't many lesser sins also be forgiven the same way?

 

That isn't to say we let the world live in ignorance of the Gospel. Doing that would hide our light under a bushel, causing it to suffocate and burn out. Out of love for sinners, we shine our light the wrong in our world so that people gain the opportunity to see the love of Christ in contrast to their sin, and freely choose to repent. So the answer is "No," we cannot accidentally sin, although after the sin we certainly can repent and "sin no more."

[southern california guy]

How about if you are sloppy.  Say you are driving a car and you are playing with your cell phone (In Texas where it is legal) and you drive off of the road and run over an class of preschoolers -- killing all of the kids!

 

It was unintentional, it was accidental, but your sloppiness or lack of attention caused you to kill all of those kids.  Are you responsible?  Hell yeah!  Are you accountable?  Hell yeah!  Was it a sin?  You bet!  Should you have a guilty conscience?  I would sure hope so.

 

I had heard the "accident" excuse used a lot.  "I didn't really mean to kill her... I was just going to teach her a lesson..  It was an accident.. In fact it was her own fault because she caused me to do it!!!"

[Aloysius]

you can be culpable for sins of omission, so 'accidentally' killing people can still be a sin if the reason you did so accidentally was your fault... ie getting drunk and driving and killed some people... your will may have been impaired by the time you got behind the wheel, and by the time you crashed into the people, but it was through your own fault that you got yourself into that situation and thus you are still culpable for those actions.  likewise if you could have learned how to safely drive but chose not to, and then accidentally killed people, there can be culpability for those accidents.

 

but every sin does indeed follow from an intentional act of the will, sometimes those acts are more indirectly related to the eventual bad action, but it all comes down to whether you can be culpable/blameworthy for the action whether directly or indirectly.  one must form one's conscience well and get guidance from good spiritual directors and priests to avoid becoming too scrupulous on that account (for instance, it could happen that you crash and accidentally kill people through no fault of your own, but an overscrupulous conscience tries to convince you that there were all sorts of things that were your fault that led you to that, so you must avoid that kind of scrupulosity)... I think a conscience should always be penitent for even those things one can explain away for themselves as not being culpable for, because penitence is beneficial for the soul and even the just man sins 7 times a day, but trustful and erring on the side of the great mercy that God has in overwhelming abundance when examining one's conscience.

[linate]

al seems to be getting at some form of intent required in the sin. or some awareness that is disregarded etc. that is a great point per accidental sins, though i was questioning more along the lines of complete ignorance in the act, and still be a sin. something akin to tripping, falling, and sinning, through no fault of your own.

[sixpence]

i think the answer is no for mortal sin, but yes for venial sin

[John Ryan]

One of the Hebrew words that is usually translated as "sin" comes from an archery term that means to "miss the mark." In a certain way, that is how I tend to think about sin. In one way, the word "sin" is used to denote a grave moral transgression. Yet, in a more philosophic and abstract sense, I think it can be understood as imperfection.

[Aloysius]

along that line, I have always found my most profound confessions have been when I not only examined my conscience with the Ten Commandments as a guide, but also re-examined it with the 8 Beatitudes.

[Apotheoun]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IhE_9PYuBPs

 

Fr. Maximos' master's thesis on this topic is available for download online.

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

As far as i'm aware the answer is yes, you can accidentally sin. There are two requirements for a sin to be actual and culpable as far as i'm aware, and these two requirements are 1.Full knowledge and 2.Full consent. If both these requirements are not present then the sin is accidental(for wan't of a better word.) Though still a sin.

 

I could be wrong though and my understanding incomplete. 

Edited September 16, 2013 by Tab'le Du'Bah-Rye

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

Well as far as i'm aware this is the churches doctrine on the matter, in the two requirements for a sin to be culpable. But i don't fully understand exactly what this means.

[Magdalena]

There are three conditions for a sin to be mortal:  1) must be a serious matter,  (there's a difference between stealing candy from your little brother and robbing the local 7-11);  2) know that it is a serious matter,  3) full consent of the will.  Let's also remember what we promise in confession when we say the Act of Contrition:  "...I firmly resolve, with the help of Thy Grace, to sin no more and to avoid the near occasions of sin.  That means that we have to make a concerted effort to avoid those things which cause temptations.  Temptations are not sins, but they can certainly lead us to sin.  ("...and lead us NOT into temptation...") 

 

Personally, I don't think there are many situations where one can truly "accidentally" commit a sin.  At some point, we either had to put ourselves in that situation, or we allowed our passions to lead us into a situation which we knew could be an occasion of sin.  We know ourselves...let's not add lying to ourselves to our list of faults. 

 

There are, of course, situations that we may find ourselves in, for which we had no culpability in creating, and in those cases, no sin is involved--but that is a matter that must be taken up in Confession. 

[Tab'le De'Bah-Rye]

I just wanted to add that even if one is not culpable for a sin commited, he or she still recieves the consequence of the sin,discipline. Just like all murder comes with a jail sentance whether manslaughter or cold blooded, possibly a poor example sorry.

 

Though in the gospel of John Jesus says " I did not come to condemn the world but to save," there are still disciplines required for sins to avoid hell, some people think discipline and rebuke is condemnation where as the condemnation Jesus is talking about is hell, it is good to say an apple is red and a lemon is yellow, we must make judgements.

Edited September 17, 2013 by Tab'le Du'Bah-Rye