Why do so many non-Catholics deny that the Bible mentions mortal sin?

Question

Recent comments by non-Catholics:

"Are mortal or venial sins mentioned in the Bible, no, they are not."

"Mortal and venial sins are an invention of the church in Rome. You won't find any such classifications in the Bible."

"There is nothing in the Bible about 'mortal vs. venial' sins. Those terms are man made."

"There is no 'Mortal sin and venial sin' it's all the same in Gods eyes."
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070802172248AAoxEhS&r

What is actually written in the Bible:

"There is sin which is mortal...but there is sin which is not mortal." (1John 5:16,17)
http://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/r/rsv/rsv-idx?type=DIV2&byte=5524548

>>That verse in 1 John is not in my bible which is the KJV. So where you got that at who knows.<<

iwant_u2_wantme2000, it is from the RSV. The KJV reads "unto death". That is what "mortal" means -- death.
http://mw1.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mortal

Answer 1

I do not understand the Protestants' stance on "sin being sin" with no matter of "degree" of evil or wickedness. There is no "difference" if one steals a nickel from his/her mother's purse or commits mass murder? That makes no sense to me. I believe God is a fair and just judge (Deut. 32:4; John 5:30). At the time of judgment, I find it hard to believe that He would treat the two sinners the same under those circumstances as that would be anything, but "just."

How can the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah be "very grievous" in Genesis 18:20 if all sins are the same? The words "very grievous" themselves distinguish the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah.
What is a "great" sin as opposed to another sin in Genesis 20:9? Again, "great" is a word distinguishing a "lesser" sin from a "greater" one.
In John 19:11, Jesus Himself uses the words "greater sin." If all sins are the same, how can one be "greater" than the other?

Answer 2

The Catholic church sure has a way with messing up a persons conscious. I went through much the same as you except I was alone with my conscious, it was awful , wondering if I should confess or not the embarrassment,I never want to go back there. I am sure I gave some bad thoughts to a priest. I do not think God cares,I do not think it is a sin. It is a health out let for you, until you are ready for the responsibility of a relationship. Now, to have sex and not be able to take on the consequence (baby) because each time you have intercourse you could potentially become pregnant, that is a sin. BTW everyone masturbates at one point their lives.

Answer 3

1 Jn 5:16-17 is there in the KJV but it says sin "unto death" (pros thanaton)which is another way of saying mortal or deadly sin. Some Protestants, especially Once Saved ,Always Saved' or1 Point Calvinists", try to avoid the reality of a believer's commiting serious sin as deadly by trying to limit mortal sin to apostasy,but the fruits of mortal sin cannot be ignored. The Book of ( Rev 20)Revelation says that heaven has no room for mortal sinners

Answer 4

Good morning Meg......I'm a non-Catholic however I am one that does believe that there are two sins according to the Catholic Church. They may not be written in the Bible that God stated Venial and Mortal sins but His Ten Commandments have been so written. Now in my opinion, your other religions that don't acknowledge the fact that there are two different types of 'sins' is unfortunate because as you stated that in the Book of John it does state that 'There is sin which is mortal' but 'there is a sin which is not mortal' which is considered the Venial sin. Now it's true that the Catholics have chosen this particular wording 'Venial' so individuals can understand it's meaning. This is considered as the 'other sin which is not mortal'. Now in my way of thinking, God had written down His 'Ten Commandments' which are considered all 'mortal sins' if one doesn't obey them. Now some Christians (non-catholics) don't understand the concept of a Venial sin which is forgiven by God if the individual is sincere and confesses to God himself in repentence. They don't use the wording of 'Venial' but use it loosely as 'all sins'. For instance, a Methodist Minister in prayer might say "Forgive our sins, Oh Lord" which might be considered to them as both 'Mortal and Venial' sins since they don't look upon as both separate. Now I can't say that a Methodist minister doesn't believe in a 'mortal sin' I would think in one aspect they should/would, since it is a 'mortal sin' to break Gods Commandments. They may not see or call the 'other sin' a Venial sin but it has the same meaning. Now as for the Catholics, they believe that an individual who has broken one of Gods Laws has committed a 'mortal sin' to where one needs a priest to ask forgiveness from God. I don't believe that your other religions honor that concept except for maybe the Lutherns. I may be wrong. I do know that the Methodist church doesn't honor that theory. This is why we have different religions of faith. Some believe in the "Speaking of the Tongues", the Methodist does not practice this, at least my church doesn't. Some religions do, others do not. What one believes in their faith. You believe in your way in worshiping God and other individuals have their own views in worshiping their God. I myself have my own way of believing in my Lord. I don't attend church anylonger because I feel that God is in my heart and as Jesus had stated, 'One doesn't need a building to worship me as long as you believe in me, in your heart'. Your heart is your temple to worship God. I read my Bible and practice good morals and ethics. I do believe however that there is a 'Mortal sin' and a 'Venial sin' to where we as Christians no matter of what faith should recognize. Have a blessed day!

Answer 5

There are sins that people can commit which God takes seriously enough so as to end their lives. An example of this is of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5:1-10 who lied to the Holy Spirit. God judged them for this and both were killed.

Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is another sin that leads to death, in fact it's called "The Unforgivable Sin".

Therefore logic would dictate that all OTHER sins are NOT necessarily mortal because you can confess, repent and be forgiven them and only those who die unsaved will be condemned to Hell because of those transgressions.

Answer 6

I am a christian and not a catholic,yes there is mortal sin,sin unto death,it is if you speak evil of God and the Holy Spirit,, Christ said he will not forgive you in this life or the life to come,,,, so people need to watch what they say about the Lord and Christians.

Answer 7

For the KJV girl...would you not say tat deadly=mortal??

If anyone sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, he should pray to God and he will give him life. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as deadly sin, about which I do not say that you should pray.
17
All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that is not deadly.


Right you are, Meg.

Answer 8

Meg, what a great point you've made.

I find it fascinating that people who go around preaching "Bible Alone" seem to overlook so much in their Bibles! It doesn't really seem to matter what the Bible actually says, but what they want it to say.

I've had so many similar experiences in which I would point out Catholic doctrine very clearly in the Bible, but they would deny the verses existed even while looking right at them!

Oh, and to the lady above who said she doesn't seem to have 1 John in her KJV Bible....I find it very hard to believe that you happened to purchase a Bible with a whole book torn out of it! Yes, Martin Luther robbed you of several books of scripture, but 1 John wasn't one of them!

Answer 9

Right you are, Meg -- good show!

Sitting back now to see what happens ...

(Edit) For the person below who seems to have misplaced that page out of her KJV, here it is (courtesy of BibleGateway dot com):
"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it."

Unto death = mortal. See Webster's Dictionary also for definition of "mortal".

Answer 10

Some people don't believe the bible holds the ultimate truth!