Lesson 4: CLE 10

Tragedy and Hope

in Human Life
Christian Concept of Sin
1. PESHA (Offence) A relationship that is
broken because of the hurt caused by the
sinner

2. AWON (Guilt) Disfigurement caused by a

massive weight known as guilt

3. HATTAH (Sin) Losing one’s way in the

journey of life because of another human
being, wealth, fame, or power

Degrees of Sinfulness
1. Venial Sins
 Committed when requirements for
mortal sin are not met
 Done with insufficient knowledge
 Qualitatively different from mortal sin
 Person becomes spiritually ill
2. Mortal Sins
 Rejection of God
 Deserves the punishment of enternal
separation from God
 Entail three things
o Serious matter;
o Sufficient knowledge
o Deliberate Consent
 Person dies spiritually
 a. Common Mortal Sins o Sinful Regret
 Apostasy – public denial of - Sadness at not having done
Christian faith something bad
 Adultery – unlawful sexual o Sinful Desire
rapport - Determination to do
 Murder – killing one’s neighbor something forbidden
b. Contemporary Mortal Sins
 Drug abuse or drug dealing The Capital
0 Sin
 Genetic Manipulation  Vainglory – Petty claim to superiority
 Social Injustice and Inequalities
 Causing Poverty
 Environmental Pollution
 Becoming obscenely wealthy or  Envy – Dislike for the excellence of others
personal enrichment to the
detriment of the common good

Personal Sins Social Sins  Anger – Suppress and repel whatever is

Hurt others for variety Harm done by a group hostile
of reasons like to the members of the
jealousy, revenge, etc. other group.
Although no sin is
purely personal.  Avarice or Greed – Disorderly pursuit of
Pope St. John Paul, in his Apostolic Exhortation material things
on the Sacrament of Penance Reconciliatio et
Paenitentia teaches that every personal sin
hurts the communion of the saints.
 Lust – Unrestrained quest for sexual
Committed Sins Omitted Sins pleasure
Occurs when evil is Occurs when good is
done not done
A sin of commission is graver than a sin of
omission  Intemperance – Lack of self- discipline
(gluttony)
External and Internal Sins
1. External Sins
 Using senses (sight, hearing, smell,
taste & touch.)  Spiritual Sloth – Lack of interest in the
2. Internal Sins spiritual realm. It is acedia in Latin, but was
 Using the memory and the mistaken as pigritia, meaning the
imagination repugnance to work.
 The following are considered as
internal sins;
o Mental Complacency or Sinful
Fantasy NOTE:
- Imagination of doing The real capital sin is original sin. It is
something wrong without the source of all human sinfulness
doing it
o Sinful Joy
- Delight at having done
something evil
 Responsibility for the sins of others
 Seduction – deliberate effort to lead one
to sin
 Scandal – conduct that was performed
with no intention of leading someone to
sin. Induced some people to do wrong.
 Cooperation in the sins of others
– degree of responsibility that an
accomplice has in a sin perpetrated by the
principal culprit
 Formal Cooperation
- Wholehearted
collaboration of
accomplice in
commission of the sin
 Material Cooperation
- Heartless collaboration in
the sin done. Was forced
into the sinful situation
Conversion
 Refers to change of direction
 Understanding begins with a knowledge of
human consciousness or awareness
 Bernard Lonergan, the Canadian Jesuit
theologian, spoke of 4 levels of
consciousness and kinds of conversion
Levels of Consciousness
 Empirical – What: consciousness
regarding one’s surroundings
 Intellectual – Why: consciousness
regarding the reason behind one’s
surrounding
 Rational – Which: consciousness of the
choices one has and of the option made
 Responsible – Who: to whom he/she is
answerable for his/her behavior
Kinds of Conversion
1. Intellectual
 From emperical level to the
intellectual. The process of getting
rid of falsehood. Seen as authentic
the behavior.
the 2. Moral
 From intellectual level to the moral.
The process of shifting one’s
standard of judgement. Seen as the
courage to behave differently.
3. Religious
 From rational level to the
reponsible. The process of doing
everything for the one to whom
one is responsible. Seen as the
attachement to God alone above
all.