Can an Atheist Commit Mortal Sin?

[Father Heathen]

It is written in the Catechism specifically that you HAVE to know that it's a mortal sin for it to be a mortal sin. Peace!

Then why not burn and/or bury every bible and let it be forgotten to save everyone from eternal damnation?

 

[Francis]

And also, because although the knowledge is damning, it can also bring us closer to God and help us have a happier, more fulfilling life. Fulfilling life v.s. Eternal death... yeah, i know. The cons seem to outweigh the pros, no? Peace!

 

[Jordan St. Francis]

Then why not burn and/or bury every bible and let it be forgotten to save everyone from eternal damnation?

There are basic moral laws of which no person can be ignorant. In regards to mortal sins, one has to have knowledge that what they are doing is gravely wrong - but they need not know its classified as a mortal sin in the Roman Catholic framework.

Atheists too, I believe, have an innate moral sense and are therefore capable of committing mortal sin.

 

[Willamena]

There are basic moral laws of which no person can be ignorant.

Like... "Not in the face! Not in the face!"

 

[Francis]

There are basic moral laws of which no person can be ignorant. In regards to mortal sins, one has to have knowledge that what they are doing is gravely wrong - but they need not know its classified as a mortal sin in the Roman Catholic framework. Atheists too, I believe, have an innate moral sense and are therefore capable of committing mortal sin.

...I really have no argument. That makes sense, really. I just feel that it isn't the exact same... I dunno. You sound right, though. Peace!

 

[logician]

There are basic moral laws of which no person can be ignorant. In regards to mortal sins, one has to have knowledge that what they are doing is gravely wrong - but they need not know its classified as a mortal sin in the Roman Catholic framework.

Atheists too, I believe, have an innate moral sense and are therefore capable of committing mortal sin.

This post it totally illogical. Mortal sin is only logical in the context of religion. Atheists by definition are not religious.

 

[Jordan St. Francis]

Not at all from the perspective of the faithful. From the POV of our theology, you as an atheist can still commit sins which are of such a grave nature that they place the eternal salvation of your soul in immediate danger. That is to say, they completely sever any link between you and God which you might, despite unknowingly, be engaged in and call for urgent reconcilliation and rectification.

This holds true, for us, regardless of what you believe. Your lack of believe does not give you unlimited moral freedom without consequences in the eyes of God.

The only other option is to say that atheists recieve nothing from God and stand damned in their unbelief, if you would prefer that.

 

[blackout]

I'm really screwed I guess. :flirt:

As an X RC I KNOW all the naughty things I do
are considered mortal sin by your gOd.

Of course your (version of) gOd is not my gOd...

but it does give me the warm fuzzies
to know that yer all a-okay with the 'justice'
of my facing eternal torture and torment by your own standards.

 

[logician]

Not at all from the perspective of the faithful. From the POV of our theology, you as an atheist can still commit sins which are of such a grave nature that they place the eternal salvation of your soul in immediate danger. That is to say, they completely sever any link between you and God which you might, despite unknowingly, be engaged in and call for urgent reconcilliation and rectification.

This holds true, for us, regardless of what you believe. Your lack of believe does not give you unlimited moral freedom without consequences in the eyes of God.

The only other option is to say that atheists recieve nothing from God and stand damned in their unbelief, if you would prefer that.

Again, there is no god, so the concept of mortal sin is illogical.

 

[RomCat]

God is nobody's version.
God is God.

 

[Jordan St. Francis]

Logician
Again, there is no god, so the concept of mortal sin is illogical.

If there is no God, then mortal sin exists for no one and the thread topic is moot.

Why you participate in threads [with your attitude] whose topic material depends on at least God's hypothetical existence is beyond me.

You don't believe in God. We get this very much. You don't have to make that any more clear.Perhaps you like to hear yourself saying it over and over again.

 

[capslockf9]

I have been wondering about this lately. To commit a mortal sin, among other things, you must know and accept that it is a mortal sin. Would an atheist be able to do this? Where, if it exists, is the line between knowing and believing? Peace!

You skateboard on
the side walk,
parking lot, or
maybe on the
freeway.
Then a order is decreed: "thou shall not
to skate. Break my
rules and you sin".

Now you know that
skating on the
freeway could result
in hurting someone
maybe even yourself.

Do you stop skating
because you do not
want to sin or.
You stop skating on the freeway because common sense prevails.
If sin motivates you to stop then you accept an authority over you.
Handing over you soveriegn authority any one or thing
is the most
henious of crimes.

 

[Father Heathen]

Because God in His Mercy gives us the Bible in
order that we may come into the light of the truth.

Couldn't he just have us born with all of that wacky yet oddly enough important for some reason biblical knowledge already in our brains, rather than damning the vast majority of humans to eternal damnation for not adhering to some goofy voodoo from a specific religion from a specific part of the world? Should salvation really be based on whether or not someone was lucky enough to be born in a region of the world where they practice the "right" religion.

And also, because although the knowledge is damning, it can also bring us closer to God and help us have a happier, more fulfilling life. Fulfilling life v.s. Eternal death... yeah, i know. The cons seem to outweigh the pros, no? Peace!

Why I don't understand why god would gift us with the ability to reason and use critical thought when it naturally leads people away from the bizarre absurdities of the bible and thus are damned to hell for using their brains.

God is nobody's version.
God is God.

So are you saying that all religions are equally true or that they all portray god exactly the same? Or are you saying that the cartoon caricature of your particular faith just so happens to be the "true" one, despite the total lack of evidence to elevate the claims of your religion above those of the next religion.

 

[Francis]

Why I don't understand why god would gift us with the ability to reason and use critical thought when it naturally leads people away from the bizarre absurdities of the bible and thus are damned to hell for using their brains.

Because we are expected to use it to lead us to Him. That's what generally happens when we use it rationally. Peace!

 

[gnostic]

What is the "mortal sin"?

 

[Diederick]

If there is no God, then mortal sin exists for no one and the thread topic is moot.

Exactly, but I'll just ignore that to go into this interesting hypothesis.

Assuming there is a God which does cast judgement after death and which has established some rules; it is of course possible for anyone to commit a mortal sin - unless that sin involves something particular that an Atheist doesn't have (like faith). However the Atheist doesn't consider it to be a mortal sin, nor might someone from a different religious conviction - it is only regarded as that by the cult which worships the apparent God-being with its rules.

The Atheist might not know that he is doing something wrong, for instance it might be forbidden to say a certain word (Jehovah) or draw a comic which might incidentally correspond with a certain prophet. With so many things to do wrong which seem neither good or bad in nature - it is easy to loose track of what one can and cannot do in the eye of God. This all becomes inherently impossible when you want to be on the safe side and take notice of all religious laws just in case you might accidentally break one and commit a mortal sin by failing to confirm to the dress code of your Granddad's cocktail party.

I don't commit mortal sins, as an Atheist. My actions are either good or bad, in various intensities. If I do something which is really bad (like killing a baby as mentioned earlier), I know it is very naughty of me by nature - not because someone wrote it down.

 

[Francis]

No, not because it was written down. However, you know that it's very wrong, and you know that the police will come and get you. Basically, even though you may not know that there will be repercussions in the next life or whatever, you know that there will be repercussions. And you do it anyways. So an atheist can commit mortal sin, i suppose. it seems odd to me, though. It's like someone who didn't get a warning getting in the same trouble as someone who did get a warning. now, yes, the atheists did get the same warning, but maybe God didn't give them the same reason to believe it as He gave us. So, now, would everything that would be considered a mortal sin for us be the same for atheists? Peace!

 

[logician]

If there is no God, then mortal sin exists for no one and the thread topic is moot.

Why you participate in threads [with your attitude] whose topic material depends on at least God's hypothetical existence is beyond me.

You don't believe in God. We get this very much. You don't have to make that any more clear.Perhaps you like to hear yourself saying it over and over again.

A strange complaint, since I really don't post it that often, while many on here post about their belief in god in most every post.

You have a strange double standard, or are quite defensive.

 

[Diederick]

No, not because it was written down. However, you know that it's very wrong, and you know that the police will come and get you. Basically, even though you may not know that there will be repercussions in the next life or whatever, you know that there will be repercussions.

Consequence has nothing to do with me knowing or feeling that something is wrong.

And you do it anyways. So an atheist can commit mortal sin, i suppose. it seems odd to me, though. It's like someone who didn't get a warning getting in the same trouble as someone who did get a warning. now, yes, the atheists did get the same warning, but maybe God didn't give them the same reason to believe it as He gave us. So, now, would everything that would be considered a mortal sin for us be the same for atheists? Peace!

Mortal sin is a Catholic (and Protestant) invention, which completely condemns a man's spirit to hell being "dead" to God. Now, first of all, I will probably be committing mortal sins a lot in this life, for being gay and an anti-theist and an individualist and all. I don't know all the rules of the Catholic/Protestant God and I have no wish to know them. The point is, there is no need for me to know them because they are either ridiculous or pointless. Ridiculous because it concerns religious affairs and spirituality belongs to the realm of unreality which should have no authority in the world of reality - which is where I reside. And pointless because all else that does belong in the world of reality is already established by nature - long before people thought of God. Nature-given instinct doesn't work for everybody, so just to make sure we invented law, so people can read what they can - and more importantly - cannot do.

Essentially, if there is a God and it does include "mortal sins" into its dictionary, then anyone can commit them - whether believing or not. Perhaps you should ask the Pope or the world-leader of the Protestant church whether it weighs heavier if you commit a crime and knew it was a crime and when you commit a crime without knowing it was a crime (like gathering sticks on the Sabbath).

 

[Adriel]

Because we are expected to use it to lead us to Him. That's what generally happens when we use it rationally. Peace!

No, when used rationally, the mind goes toward the rational which is far from belief in an all powerful God who is loving beyond all comprehension, yet allows grievous pain and suffering to occur every single day, and throws people into eternal Hell for exercising their use of free will, which he gifted them with in the first place. Religion and rational thought will never be one.

My opinion on the topic of this forum, no, an atheist cannot commit mortal sin because atheists do not believe that sin exists. There is obvious rights and wrongs, and we can do mortal wrongs, or break major laws, just like anybody else, but the word sin implies that we are disobeying God's commands for our lives, so for an atheist to admit to committing any kind of sin would be to admit the existence in God, so that individual wouldnt exactly be an atheist.
(I realize you probably wanted more opinions from fellow christians, but i thought I would just add mine for you to consider)