hedrick@cs.rutgers.edu (10/30/89)
As a result of some private email exchanges, I have concluded that our Catholic readers probably don't understand why Protestants find the distinction between mortal and venial sin odd. So let me try to clarify. First, Protestant theology doesn't speak of sins so much as sin. Sin is a condition of rebellion against God. Individual sins follow from that. Anything that you do contrary to God's will involves a choice not to follow God's will. This is mortal. Note that the concept that all sin is mortal doesn't have quite the same consequences for us that believing all sins are mortal would have for you. At least in traditional Catholic theology, there was a concept of "being in a state of mortal sin", between when you committed it and when you confessed it and were forgiven (though I understand that the intention to do so is probably sufficient in certain contexts). Mortal sins have to be limited, or you end up with the whole population in a state of mortal sin all the time. Protestants don't have the requirement of formally confessing. We have a requirement to "repent", but that refers more to a general approach than to individual sins. So we don't really have anything quite like a state of mortal sin. I haven't heard this said in so many words, but the general Protestant approach seems to assume that as long as we continue to trust in Christ, we can rely on God to forgive sins as they are committed, without specifically confessing them all. This is what shocked the Church about Luther: he didn't seem to take sins seriously, because he saw an almost automatic forgiveness. He didn't think they took sin seriously, because they had this idea that it wasn't always "mortal". Yuck. In fact as in so many other cases, the best position is probably one of balance. Certainly we should encourage people to have sensitive consciences. This means that they will realize when they have done something wrong. In such a case they will want to confess it and be forgiven. Furthermore, it is necessary for us to recognize that we sin, in order for us to realize fully our position before God. However it is possible to go too far. I think we all know people who are so worried about avoiding sin that they are unable to respond to the people around them with love. And if one develops the compulsion to find every last sin, it can lead to a rather unhealthy sort of introspection and self-absorption. Thus the Catholic and Protestant approaches each have their characteristic dangers. Presumably it is possible to practice them both in a way that avoids these. My suspicion is that when terms are properly understood, but Protestants and Catholics agree that sin -- i.e. the state of being in rebellioon against God -- is always mortal, but that individual sins -- if they are lapses in the life of someone who lives in reliance on God's grace -- need not be.